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
Tamil farmers innovate to overcome fodder shortage
Faced with a shortage of cattle feed, farmers in several districts of Tamil Nadu have adopted offbeat solutions that not only bring feeding costs down but also increase the yields of milk
Manipur villagers initiate successful economic development
Residents of Nongpok Sanjenbam, an underdeveloped Manipuri village, have come together to bring about economic and social transformation, enjoying the benefits in the process
Stress-tolerant rice aids Uttar Pradesh farmers
With her crop surviving nearly two weeks of submergence and recovering from an intense flood, Sohabati Devi of Maharajganj has every reason to smile and be proud of her decision to plant a stress-tolerant rice variety
Educated Tamil youth boost growth with hi-tech farming
Returning to their roots, educated youth in Tamil Nadu have boosted agricultural production manifold by modernizing their ancestral land, and by using Israeli farming technology
Poshan sakhis transform reproductive health in Odisha
Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and lactating mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries
Chhattisgarh tribes taste success raising honeybees
Living a marginalized life in the mining region of Dantewada, local tribes dependent on forest produce, rain-fed agriculture and wild honey have successfully taken to modern apiculture
Traditional agricultural wisdom still relevant in Assam
Scientists are now validating the wisdom behind Dakor Boson, a bunch of rhyming verses that has offered tips to farmers in Assam and its neighbouring areas for centuries
Hilsa fishers driven to the edge by overfishing
The hilsa fishermen of Howrah district in West Bengal are struggling against declining catch, stiff competition from mechanized trawlers and non-traditional fishermen entering the lucrative occupation
Coastal farmers tackle salinity with innovative measures
Farmers in coastal Tamil Nadu are countering salinity caused by droughts and groundwater depletion through rainwater harvesting and by reviving traditional organic farming practices