Odisha
How ‘Canal Man’ channelled strength for Odisha village
Daitari Naik’s Talabaitarani village in Kendujhar district is no longer the parched land where people were forced to drink muddied water. The 3km canal he dug almost single-handedly ensures lush crops all year round.
Drone didi: Odisha sarpanch takes aerial route to deliver pension
Saroj Agarwal of Baleswar gram panchayat in Nuapada district is promising to deliver more services in remote villages through a drone, having used it already to deliver a pension.
Tech transforms tribal women’s lives in Odisha, Jharkhand
Tribal women farmers, despite their extraordinary contribution to farm labour, are on the receiving end of multifaceted, systemic discrimination. A tech enabled project by Digital Green is empowering this vulnerable group to become agents of change within their communities.
Patayat Sahu’s tale of plants, potions and Padma Shri
Country recognises 65-year-old villager of Nandol in Odisha for curating a garden with 3000 varieties of medicinal plants that help to cure many ailments.
Mixing it up: Odisha farmer’s journey inspires other women
In a mineral rich district of northern Odisha, Suprava Pradhan achieves financial independence by mixing millet cultivation with other crops, like mushrooms, and rearing livestock too, paving the way for other women farmers.
Hockey popularity prompts Odisha children to wield sticks
Children of Khambesi in remote Rayagada district throng to the playing arena, underscoring the ever-increasing love for the game in India’s hockey cradle.
“Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as I received the award”
Damayanti Nayak’s inspiring journey is causing many farmers to take up collectivized and synchronized farming. Here Damayanti recalls how she went from growing crops for self consumption to earning 2 lacs from farming - in her own words
Why a road is a roadblock for Bonda Tribes in Odisha
A slushy, patchy, potholed road is pushing up transportation costs, preventing tribal inhabitants of Andrahal village in Odisha's Malkangiri district from availing government loans for building pucca houses.
Photo essay: When millets go mainstream to bring a revolution
Once known as poor man’s food, millets are being recognised for their nutrition and climate resilience. In Odisha, tribal women self-help groups are leading a revolution through their millet-based food enterprises.
Ills of eucalyptus drive Odisha tribals back to legacy crops
In southern Odisha farmers are switching from water-guzzling eucalyptus trees to diversified farming of traditional crops to boost soil fertility, crop yield, household income and dietary diversity.
To buy supplies, millet is money in Koraput’s barter system in Odisha
Women across tribal villages store mandia or finger millets in large containers and take out small portions throughout the year for soap, oil, vegetables, dried fish, tobacco and the like
Synchronised farming, collective marketing boost farmers’ income in Odisha
Farmers in an Odisha village are reaping rewards from synchronised cultivation and coming together as a collective for purchase and sale of their produce.
Humble broom sweeps poverty from tribal hamlets in Odisha’s Koraput
Made mostly by tribal women, the humble household broom is a designated handicraft that is bringing income and empowering many families to become financially independent and protect their forests.
Jungle Warriors: Odisha women set up jungle huts to save forests
Women in Nayagarh district’s villages start jungle kutirs that serve as a resource hub where they gather and make plans to protect jungles as also individuals’ forest rights.
Match Made in Heaven: A new life for Odisha’s sexagenarian newlyweds
In rural Odisha two sexagenarians, fighting domestic hardships and loneliness, defy convention and get married.
How millet magic is empowering women in rural Odisha
Loaded with nutritional benefits and climate resistant properties, finger millet can be a life-transforming crop – especially if mini-millet flour mills, making the processing easier.
Irrigation facilities improve farmers’ lives in Odisha
Many tribal farmers in Odisha were living below the poverty line due to lack of irrigation facilities. New bore wells and farm training are helping them earn more now, according to a Harsha Trust social worker.
How these creches in Odisha help tribal mothers work in peace
To improve the health of tribal children and to help women collect forest produce without worrying about their young children, the Odisha government starts creches for toddlers.
Why this woman in Odisha is called a traditional seed guardian
Kudeladu Jani, a tribal farmer in Odisha’s Kandhamal district who’s been conserving traditional seeds for two decades, says they’re precious because they need no chemicals, are nutritious and protect the community’s traditional agro-ecological knowledge.
Odisha women fight malnutrition with backyard gardens
Women in distressed and malnourished regions of Odisha are growing nutrition gardens to feed their families organic vegetables and legumes consistently through the year at no additional cost