Health & Nutrition
Revive traditional wisdom for healthy life in villages
India has a rich heritage of local health traditions and reviving these diverse ethno-medical practices could ensure long and healthy lives for people in the countryside without spending huge amounts of money
Mobile labs in rural Odisha promote science-based solutions
With a science-based approach learnt from mobile science labs through the audiovisual medium, tribes in Odisha have adapted simple measures that have helped in reducing their health problems
Farm ponds improve lives of Singhbhum women
Constructed to ensure water security for cultivators, farm ponds have also helped rural women by reducing their daily treks to fetch water for domestic needs, and improving their personal health and hygiene
Rural community at receiving end of temple town’s sewage
Commercial establishments catering to religious tourism in the temple town of Guruvayur have contaminated the ground and surface water of a village in Thrissur by releasing raw sewage into natural drains
Bengal youth lead revival of heritage rice varieties
A bunch of young professionals have chosen to stay back in their villages in Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal to revive the heritage of folk rice varieties that were once cultivated by their ancestors
Kerala moves swiftly to treat Attapady’s tribes
The lynching of a mentally ill tribal youth has spurred Kerala to create jobs for tribes living in the progressive state, besides surveying them to identify the mentally ill, treat them and rehabilitate them
Karnataka farmers reap benefits of native cow’s milk
Rearing native cattle, farmers in rural Karnataka have brought about a welcome rural-urban link, benefiting economically and bringing health benefits to urban consumers
Of kamranga and kachnar: vanishing flavors and shrinking food basket
Innumerable varieties of native fruits and leafy vegetables found in different parts of India are becoming rare on dinner tables. We should make efforts to revive them for a more varied and nutritious food basket
Improved stoves boon for women in rural Sikkim
Smokeless cook stoves in Talkharka village near India-Bhutan border have improved the lives of village women by tackling noxious indoor air pollution, reducing firewood consumption and providing livelihoods
Araku Valley takes baby steps to address maternal health
An initiative to reach healthcare services to pregnant women and new mothers in the underdeveloped Araku Valley has seen a measure of success in tribal communities ruled by superstition and regressive practices
Why do villagers often ignore obvious yet valuable things?
We need to figure out ways in which people in rural India are able to make reasoned and sustainable choices to lead their lives rather than flow with trends that are more expensive or patently unsuitable
Assam farmers struggle over loss of orange orchards
New diseases and erratic weather have led to a dramatic drop in orange production, endangering the livelihoods of farmers in northeast India, where it is a major cash crop
Kerala village breaks new ground in sustainable living
What began as a community initiative to revive organic farming in the small village of Vengeri near Kozhikode has today expanded into a sustainable lifestyle that showcases how rural living can indeed be idyllic
Musahars denied healthcare because they are considered untouchables
The despicable practice of untouchability in Varanasi district is keeping the musahar community from accessing state healthcare facilities, and the situation is changing too slowly despite grassroots activism
Organic farming gathers steam in the Sundarbans
Faced with longer and hotter summers, many farmers in the Sundarbans have embraced organic farming with local crop varieties that are better adapted to a changing climate and fetch adequate returns as well
Mountain women live and work with bent backs
The absence of most men and the nature of work in the farm and forest have left women in Mandal village of Uttarakhand with no option to spend most of their time with bent over double, which severely damages their health
People with disabilities languish across rural India
Although there are 27 million people in India with disabilities, of which more than 70% live in villages, they are a neglected segment of the population despite pious intentions mouthed by the central and state governments
Women bear brunt of poor healthcare in rural Kashmir
Healthcare infrastructure is poor in rural areas of Kashmir, and it particularly affects the women, who have to rush to Srinagar to get proper medical attention, as there is a dire shortage of gynecologists in the districts
Odisha’s seasonal hostels help curb child migration and child labor
Poor villagers in Odisha’s migration-prone districts, who toil at brick kilns in the southern states for most part of the year, have found some succor in seasonal hostels that educate and nourish their children in a safe haven
The grey and grim hues of rural India
In travelling to the less fortunate parts of the countryside, it is difficult to come to terms with the stark poverty, squalid living conditions and bleak prospects of the young living in the neglected parts of our country