Rural India is home of the original gig-economy worker. Enterprising villagers hop from tilling fields to tending shops, to door-to-door selling each day. Read the latest trends in micro-enterprises, rural start-ups and the shifting livelihoods of India’s villagers.
Livelihoods
Strawberry sweetens deal for Maharashtra farmers
The luscious strawberry is moving beyond its comfort zone of Maharashtra’s Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar region, bringing a smile to farmers in other regions of the state as well.
Holi moly: Here’s a look at Tharu tribe’s celebrations
It takes a village to celebrate Holi for several days in a row, and the Tharu tribe of southern Uttarakhand leaves no stone unturned to do so.
Assamese monks on mission to save rare culture and language
Even before the UN declared 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, this Buddhist community of 2,000 people began an initiative to preserve the Tai Phake history, culture and identity by teaching its young to speak, read and write their native language.
What’s a tiger reserve without a safari?
The tiny, off-grid destination in North Bengal’s Buxa tiger reserve is a paradise for nature lovers, but its tourism-dependent residents are plagued by a mountain of problems.
The Kolhapur rice tipping the scale one grain at a time
Nearly a decade after getting the recognition it deserved – bagging a GI tag in 2015 – Maharashtra’s fragrant and slender Ajara Ghansal rice is now becoming the foodie’s favourite.
Shrimply Tamil Nadu
Does the sight of shrimp make you hungry? This photo walkthrough shows how shrimp farming is reshaping the environment, livelihoods and social relations in a coastal village of Tamil Nadu.
Flower farming is no bed of roses
Welcome to the world of Dutch roses and those who usher brief moments of joy in our lives—the growers.
Meet 82-year-old Wani, who runs Kashmir’s last traditional oil mill
Every village in Kashmir once had ox-driven oil presses made of wood and stone until machine extraction came. But one man clings on. Ghulam Mohammad Wani’s mill is the last of its kind in Kashmir.
SFURTI: Helping farmers to become artisans with a novel scheme
Two-third of India lives in villages with limited access to economic agricultural opportunities. SFURTI, a government scheme, is trying to help villages imagine their lives beyond farming – helping them become earning artisans.