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
Bihar farmers grow makhana to tackle weather uncertainties
Climate-induced extreme weather events damaging their traditionally grown maize and paddy crops, farmers have switched to growing resilient foxtrot, known for its nutritional value
Farmers go green by growing organic cotton
Switching to organic farming practices has resulted in improved soil health. It has reduced cost of cultivation for farmers, despite organic cotton fetching the same market price
Lockdown program helps villagers access welfare schemes
An initiative launched to offer relief during lockdown has helped returned migrants and those who lost their livelihood access government’s social welfare schemes
Bengal’s traditional shellac dolls face lacklustre future
Lack of demand coupled with rising cost of raw material has sounded death knell for shellac dolls in West Bengal with just a single artisan practicing it
Cooperative helps rural women gain financial independence
Celebrating International Women’s Day gives members of a rural women’s collective the opportunity to reflect on their improved livelihood and progress with renewed zeal towards financial sustenance
Women get trained for employment and starting enterprises
Second Chance program helps girls who had quit education take up jobs after a short training, and helps women farm and set up small units
Paddy farmers reap rich harvest through SRI cultivation
Growing paddy the traditional way pushed farmers into poverty as the yields were low. Switching to SRI method has helped them harvest more than twice the normal yield
Plant nurseries bear fruits of success, empowerment for women
By coming together as a group and raising plant nurseries, women who were being exploited by money lenders, earn more to feed and care for their families better
Women weave plastic waste into utilitarian products
Traditionally adept at weaving, women around Kaziranga weave products with threads made from plastic bags, and cotton thread, to reduce plastic pollution and earn a livelihood