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
Workers of closed tea gardens struggle to make a living
Tribal people in and around the shuttered tea gardens of north Bengal are living on the edge of destitution and are being forced to a life of hard labor and exploitation by local contractors to stave off starvation
Madhubani painters want better deal for their work
Despite global recognition, women painters of the Madhubani folk art form in Jitwarpur village have failed to escape the clutches of middlemen, who corner most of the profits. State initiatives could help stop the exploitation
Why do villagers often ignore obvious yet valuable things?
We need to figure out ways in which people in rural India are able to make reasoned and sustainable choices to lead their lives rather than flow with trends that are more expensive or patently unsuitable
Many farmers across India are returning to their roots
Traditional wisdom combined with modern methods of agro-ecology such as zero budget natural farming is helping Indian farmers in diverse parts of the country to adapt to changing weather patterns
Litchi growers of Muzaffarpur suffer from falling production
Fluctuating weather patterns have started impacting the famous litchi orchards of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, resulting in poor harvests and decreased sweetness of the fruit that is impacting the livelihoods of thousands of farmers
Assam farmers struggle over loss of orange orchards
New diseases and erratic weather have led to a dramatic drop in orange production, endangering the livelihoods of farmers in northeast India, where it is a major cash crop
Organic farming gathers steam in the Sundarbans
Faced with longer and hotter summers, many farmers in the Sundarbans have embraced organic farming with local crop varieties that are better adapted to a changing climate and fetch adequate returns as well
Mountain women live and work with bent backs
The absence of most men and the nature of work in the farm and forest have left women in Mandal village of Uttarakhand with no option to spend most of their time with bent over double, which severely damages their health
Bahurupi folk theater finds few takers in West Bengal
The Bahurupis of West Bengal, who donned greasepaint and entertained the rural masses through folk and street theater by masquerading as mythological characters, have dwindled in numbers due to lack of patronage