Read the opinion pieces from those at the sharp end of development world – from practitioners in the field to district officers and even ideators creating schemes for the future. Field Journal is the place for civil society groups to share their experiences and insights – their highs and lows – in their journey to put India on the path to progress.
Ground Report
Our water, our management
It is vital to tap the local community - get them involved - when implementing piped-water supply schemes through the Jal Jeevan Mission, as the lessons from Panna, MP prove.
Mud houses that help keep the cool
While the monsoon brings relief from this summer’s soaring temperatures to some, development worker Jyoti Rajput looks at how Rajasthani tribes beat the heat in their mud houses.
The vanishing art of weaving bamboo baskets
A couple struggling to earn money by weaving bamboo baskets – their traditional livelihood – makes a development management student wonder if it’s wrong to expect some support from the government.
Why do women revert to the chulha despite Ujjwala Yojana?
Some rural women still do not use cooking gas because it is not affordable. A development student feels that the government needs a bottom-up approach in designing welfare schemes.
The voice of a labourer
A villager who raises his voice for labourers’ rights and juggles multiple jobs to make a living inspires a development management student to be courageous and just. The lead image shows Grishma Kajbaje and her friend during a field visit.
A veil won’t cloud her vision
A development management student is inspired by a strong and bold former woman panchayat leader who overcame all odds in a highly patriarchal society to develop a model village.
Uninhibited menstruation talk on “Hello Saathi” helpline
Want to have an uninhibited talk about menstruation? Try the “Hello Saathi” helpline, a game-changing scheme from the menstrual health group Uninhibited helping 150,000 people in less than two years, as two of its practitioners report.
When a wedding gift becomes a high interest loan
Development professional Sanjana Kaushik discovers how notra tradition, once a beautiful culture of generosity and oneness, where everyone in the Bhil tribe helped host weddings, has sadly become a vicious money-lending cycle.
“Beej Gram” scheme makes farming financially viable
Farmers benefit by distributing seeds produced from the high quality foundation seeds that the Government of Madhya Pradesh supplies at a subsidised rate.