Report

February 4, 2018

Collective Farming: Creating an Identity for Women Farmers

Applying their minds to adopting improved agricultural practices and shifting to vegetable cultivation on a large scale through collective farming, the women of Gaudaguda village unite to change not only agricultural practices but also show their potential at organizing themselves by bringing the market to their doorsteps, thereby streamlining processes
January 5, 2018

The State-Society Interaction: A Developmental Debate

Do the changes being slowly inculcated in tribal life, represented by the adivasis of Kewlajhiri, add up to development? Do traditional practices, customs, beliefs need to be shed in order to bring about transformation in people’s lives? Does the government take into account the wealth of traditional wisdom when it determines how to develop a village?
January 4, 2018

Sustainable Farming: A Collective Learning Approach

Farmers collective shift from inorganic chemical based farming to organic NPM farming in their villages
December 6, 2017

Ambadahara: A Story of Transformation

Opting out of shift cultivation and work in mines, the lives of the women of Ambadahara village takes a turn for the better when they started experimenting with different crops with PRADAN’s help. Their success in the fields enhanced their confidence and helped them identify, engage in and solve many other development challenges in their village.
December 5, 2017

Cultivating Watermelons, Igniting Change

Moving away from the predictable traditional crop, eight Jaheraya SHG women’s decision to cultivate watermelons sprung from an attempt to prove their worth as independent farmers, who could take vital decisions regarding farming and marketing produce; it was a subtle defiance of patriarchy, of the annihilation of men farmer’s beliefs about a cash crop and of a small example of change that is unstoppable now
November 3, 2017

Integrated Soil Fertility Management: Converting Subsistence Farming to Productive Farming

Maintaining or improving soil health is essential for sustainable and productive agriculture. ISFM strategies assist farmers in following a scientific process for cultivation without eroding the soil’s inherent capacity to produce more by maintaining its fertility level
October 7, 2017

MGNREGA: Rights and Entitlements

Making work such as the construction of toilets under MGNREGA conditional upon meeting the Swachch Bharat Mission targets puts villagers in diffiuclties till the SHG women become aware of their rights and entitlements, which they then proceed to collectively ask for, winning the admiration of the officials
September 5, 2017

Menstruation: Social Conditioning and Barriers

Taboos, superstitions, lack of awareness, lack of infrastructure, shame and embarrassment about menstruation are barriers to the confidence, self-esteem and dignity of girls and women, affecting their well-being and health as a consequence
September 4, 2017

Tasar Silkworm Rearing in Rajdah

Rearing tasar worms is a precarious and fragile practice that the Santhal tribals and other villagers engage in, both because this has been their traditional occupation and because a good harvest provides them a much-needed economic support
September 2, 2017

Shift in Tribal Food Habits: From Sustainable to Nonsustainable

Giving up on traditional food and blindly having ‘development’ agendas in agriculture thrust on them has resulted in the tribals losing their wise and time-tested habits and practices, leading to heavy loss in health and economic terms. Today, they are neither here nor there—neither modern, ‘developed’ and prosperous nor in touch with their own indigenous crop cultivation methods and wholesome food habits