cottage industry

her life

Buy these Diwali goodies to light up lives of rural artisans

It’s India’s season of joy, so why should the less privileged be left behind? Village Square curates five cottage-industry initiatives from where you can buy products this Deepavali to give business to those from marginalised backgrounds.

her life

The sweet story of Kolkata’s Rabrigram

Rabrigram’s women have raised the bar of economic prosperity by supplying over 1,000kg of Indian dessert rabri to Kolkata, every day – fetching the village an annual revenue of Rs 60 lakh.

her life

Are handlooms in rural India only capable of weaving poverty?

We need to reflect why once handlooms wove joy, culture and incomes but today weave only poverty, unable to sustain livelihoods of people in our villages, except for a few outliers

her life

Families in Neikkarapatti make jaggery, unmindful of challenges

Sugarcane farmers in this part of rural Tamil Nadu have been adding value to their produce through a slow and arduous process, and offer jaggery as a healthier alternative to sugar