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
Diversified organic farming can transform Marathwada
Smallholder women farmers in the climate-threatened Marathwada region of Maharashtra are ensuring nutritional security and additional income for their families through diversified organic agriculture
Families along Brahmaputra lose land to river erosion
Having lost homesteads and farmlands to river erosion, Assam’s farmers living in makeshift camps seek government intervention, even as state administration tries to rework a rehabilitation scheme announced in 2015
Bengal fishermen face livelihood quandary
Bottom trawling in banned near-shore areas has been destroying marine ecosystems, affecting traditional fishermen, and forcing some to work in those very trawlers to earn a living
Rural women place Sujini embroidery on global map
Craftswomen of Bihar have tailored Sujini, a traditional embroidery once practiced for internal use, to suit modern needs, lending it an international appeal
Gond children learn to conserve forests
With their forests degrading for a variety of reasons, Gond elders are rekindling interest about forest biodiversity among the younger generation, and are inspiring villagers to protect the forests
Kachchh pastoralists struggle as grasslands shrink in Gujarat
Pastoralists from Kachchh walk great distances in search of grazing lands for their sheep in Gujarat, even as pastures disappear or become inaccessible, and climate patterns get ever more erratic
Sinnar farmers switch to multi-cropping for resilient earnings
Growing a variety of crops in different portions of a field, farmers in Nashik district have improved soil health and productivity, reduced diseases and seed-to-sale time, and boosted revenue
Himachal apples give way to pomegranates
Changes in climatic conditions have led to Himachal farmers growing pomegranates, as many find that apple cultivation, other than high-density varieties, is no longer economically viable
Can handlooms provide a viable rural livelihood?
There are reasons not to give up entirely on the rural handloom sector, and we can learn from northeast India on how artisanal weaving can still be an attractive livelihood option