Author: Sarada Lahangir
“Social media activism has given my life meaning”
Socially conscious Charubala, aka Deepa Barik, tweets about people’s problems, bringing them to the Odisha government’s attention. Inspired after seeing the destitution of a couple devastated by the 2019 cyclone, her tweets have helped more than 3,000 people get problems resolved. Read about her work in her own words.
Odisha’s “Twitter Girl” helps solve people’s problems
This International Women’s Day, Village Square spotlights social media activist Charubala aka Deepa Barik. By tweeting and tagging the officials concerned, she helps resolve people’s grievances.
Profiting from propagating native seeds
Hearing of a likely seed famine, marginal farmer Sudam Sahu of Odisha started conserving native seeds and now champions organic farming with those seeds.
“I didn’t want to give up on life”
Rambai Das was kicked out of her marital home when she was 20 for giving birth to a girl a second time. Grieving personal losses, she became a farmer despite taunts from others. Now a success, she dreams of her daughter becoming a nurse.
Odiya tribes discover the wonders of millets
Being climate-resilient and needing less water – never mind being super nutritious – millets are becoming the crop of choice for Odiya tribes, thanks to the state government’s Odisha Millets Mission.