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
Kashmir’s cricket bats go global, give English willow a run for its money
Bat-maker Fawzul Kabeer helps bring Kashmiri willow bats the attention and market they deserve.
Porters at Attari-Wagah border bear the brunt of India-Pakistan trade curb
Penury and debt stare at porters working at Attari-Wagah border as bilateral trade is hit hard by rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terrorist attack.
J&K: Gujjar women’s embroidered skullcaps lose out to modern fashion
Colourfully embroidered skullcaps are the cultural identity of the Gujjar women of Kashmir. With the younger generation not keen on wearing the caps, the women fear losing their tradition.
Plastic cuts into pottery culture – but not in Manipur
The signature red pottery of Thongjao village is spun by women who have never faced any dip in demand because Manipur locals prefer clay earthenware to plastic and aluminium, especially in festivals and religious rituals.
India’s rural youth show high interest in entrepreneurship, finds survey
While nine out of 10 rural businesses in India are first-generation enterprises, an increasing number of young men and women in rural India want to own businesses, finds a survey.
How Manipur’s rural women are weaving wonders from Kauna weed
Organic baskets, mats and other decorative handicrafts made of kauna grass grown in the marshes of the Imphal valley are providing a sustainable livelihood to women and their families.
Want bumper paddy harvest? Breed fish, say Bihar farmers
Digging ponds to breed fish as a livelihood brings multiple benefits to Patna farmers - fish pond water for irrigation, reduced use of chemicals and reverse migration to name a few.
How rural Rajasthani women break social shackles to earn freedom, respect from Africa tours
Rajasthani women - who barely went outside their state - earn respect after travelling to Mali in west Africa to teach women there how to form self-help groups, never mind make rotis and wear saris.
Jharkhand’s tribal women make natural cups and bowls but find no takers
Hundreds of women sell eco-friendly, sal-leaf cups and teeth-cleaning datoon twigs, but barely make Rs 70 a day. Still they persist with a grin that never betrays their hard life.