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Saran women banish poverty by cultivating vegetables
Rameshwari, in her mid-40s and clad in a colorful cotton sari, was busy in her field, sowing seeds and uprooting weeds. “Unlike in other places, you’ll find more women in the farmlands here than men,”...
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Brass smiths of Parev brave hardships to keep traditional craft alive
Not many know of Parev village, 42km from Bihar’s capital Patna, which is a hub of traditional brass utensils manufacturing units in Patna district. Dozens of big, medium and small units supply brass...
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Litchi growers of Muzaffarpur suffer from falling production
When litchi trees flowered well in March, farmers Ravinder Singh and Surender Yadav anticipated that the fruit harvest would be good. By the second week of June, they were bitterly disappointed,...
View ArticleRice bankers of Muzaffarpur hold out hope for women’s empowerment
Sumitra Devi and Manju Devi are women farmers with a difference. They are raising rice nurseries that are part of paddy sapling bank, locally known as Dhan Bichra Bank. It is an innovative initiative...
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Chamarkhani shoemakers persist through declining demand
Fekan Ravidas, a frail man in his early 50s, spends eight to nine hours daily to design, assemble, paste and stitch the traditional way, a pair of handmade leather shoes, locally known as Chamarkhani...
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Declining rainfall places farming at risk in Bihar
For marginal farmer Harindar Kumar, declining rainfall in Bihar year after year is a serious concern as agriculture, the main source of his livelihood, depends largely on the monsoon rains. The autumn...
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Maize loses sheen for Bihar’s farmers
Rajeshwar Mandal, a marginal farmer in Baisi of Purnea district who is growing maize crop twice a year, was happy with a bumper harvest again this year. But his happiness did not last long as he got...
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Rural BPO centers in Bihar open new doors for girls
Chandni Kumari, in her early 20s, never imagined that she would work on computers and earn Rs 3,500 a month without stepping out of her native village. Most of the residents of Alawalpur village under...
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Rural women place Sujini embroidery on global map
Chandrani Choudhary and her young daughter Tanushree were busy on a mid-October afternoon, giving final touches to a hand-stitched embroidery on a bright red stole. They had been working on Sundays...
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Cattle trade dwindles at Sonepur Mela
For Lulan Prasad Singh, in his early 60s, the Sonepur pashu mela (cattle fair) has lost its traditional character. Nothing is left of its legacies that give a glimpse of rural life. He finds the...
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