Ground Report
Assam’s rural theatre: Curtains up or down?
Despite competition from Netflix and YouTube, small theatre troupes in Assam enjoy a loyal patronage. Yet, with acting as their main livelihood, the artists face uncertainty during the pandemic.
Throw mustard in the elephant’s face
With grains available through the public distribution system, farmers near Manas National Park find no need to grow paddy, and have switched to mustard cultivation to avoid crop raids by elephants.
Earning a lakh from half an acre
Blood, sweat and a little land: how the frail but hardy Pushpa Chhetri earns over a lakh from her half-acre plot of land in Assam.
Sustaining a social enterprise during lockdown
A company that makes eco-friendly tableware by roping in marginalised tribal women, uses different funding approaches to sustain their livelihood through the lockdown.
Leveraging climate action to help rural poor
If climate change mitigation uses decentralised, community-centric programs, it could transform the lives of India’s most marginalised rural poor.
Of livelihoods in barren terrains
In remote and barren terrains people should be helped in turning adverse conditions to their advantage, rather than pursuing unviable dreams.
The inception of Village Square
Village Square wants to bridge the gap between urban and rural India, taking inspiration from India’s founders, says Anish Kumar, Transform Rural India Foundation co-lead and a member of the Village Square inception team.
Mahatma’s dream in a digital world
Can Gandhi’s idea of self-reliant villages work today? Using technology, villagers can discover markets for natural homemade products they can produce.