Governance
Kashmiri farmers struggle to sell bumper fruit harvest
Despite a good harvest of apples and pears, farmers in Kashmir are finding it difficult to sell their produce due to restrictions imposed by the authorities on transportation and communication facilities
Odiya tribes shed tradition to space out childbirths
Odisha’s tribal women, suffering the adverse health effects of childbirths in quick succession combined with strenuous agricultural and household work, are breaking community norms to use contraceptives
Native Amrit Mahal cattle need better conservation
There is an urgent need for better conservation of Amrit Mahal, a draughty, native breed of Karnataka that can toil and endure for long hours at a stretch, but have been dwindling in numbers
Better awareness improves maternal and child health
Awareness meetings that equip women with knowledge on health and nutrition during pregnancy and after childbirth is helping to tackle malnutrition in rural Singhbhum in Jharkhand
Digital tech in curriculum enriches participatory learning
By enabling teachers design applications and help students create artifacts, best practices in use of technological tools can facilitate contextualized learning and its application
Bhunjia women need better care after childbirth
Women of Odisha’s forest-dwelling tribes face a greater health risk because of their preference for childbirth at home. Counseling by health workers is now slowly helping new mothers get better postnatal care
Missing foot soldiers in the war on poverty
Unless the government improves the anemic delivery structure of rural health and education, the neglected and overworked frontline workers will not be able to fight underdevelopment adequately
Community bathrooms help women bathe in privacy
For most women in Bengal’s villages, a bath is a hurried dip in ponds while fully clothed to avoid the unwelcome male gaze. Community bathrooms enable them bathe in private and maintain better hygiene
More attention needed on community mobilizers
Rural development programs often take community mobilization for granted, and those who dedicate themselves to this difficult task are ignored or neglected. This needs to change
Recurrent floods traumatize people in rural Kerala
Even as Kerala reels under yet another flood due to extreme rainfall, people in the tiny village of Upputhode in the Western Ghats are still traumatized from the loss they suffered in last year’s deluge
Coastal communities in Tamil Nadu prepare for disasters
Fishing communities living on the Bay of Bengal coast in Tamil Nadu, who are vulnerable to extreme weather events, are being trained by the Tamil Nadu government to prepare for disasters
Community farming in Goa stops land conversion
Many villagers in Goa have banded together to revive rice cultivation through collective mechanized sowing and transplanting. The success in several villages has now become a catalyst for others
Battling social fault lines in rural water supply
The laudable aim of supplying piped water to all rural homes will have to tackle the existing power equations that deeply divide our society, and are tilted in favor of the elite in villages
Water availability and quality in rural water supply
The aim of delivering clean water to rural homes has to address the twin challenges of sufficient local availability of this depleting resource and ensuring basic quality standards
Maize loses sheen for Bihar’s farmers
Seemanchal farmers, who switched from wheat and jute to water-friendly maize, are earning less despite high demand and good yield, and look to the government to intervene
It’s raining sand in Rayalaseema
Changes in crop patterns, waning forest cover, an explosion of borewells and the death of a river have produced dramatic effects on land, air, water and forests in Rayalaseema
Tribal and Dalit youth need new role models
There is need to promote talent among tribal and Dalit girls and boys and build them up as heroes in order to boost self-perception and identity of these depressed communities
Vineyards of hope amid Marathwada drought
Despite the drought gripping the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, one village in the region has flourished by growing grapes using innovative water saving methods
Uttar Pradesh youth help elderly access benefits
Lack of literacy and complicated documentation were hurdles that hampered financially dependent rural elderly from accessing the government’s welfare schemes. Educated youth are helping them get the benefits
Local communities restore Ansupa Lake in Odisha
In a remarkable turnaround, local communities have rejuvenated the weed-infested Ansupa Lake in Odisha in the span of just six months, boosting fishing and income opportunities from tourism