Positive Stories
I may have received Padma Shri but I will always be a small farmer: ‘Seed Mother’ Rahibai Popere tells Gaon Connection
Sixty-one-year old tribal farmer from Maharashtra was conferred India’s fourth-highest civilian award yesterday at the Padma Shri awards ceremony held in New Delhi. Rahibai Popere, who has conserved 154 indigenous varieties of seeds, told Gaon Connection that PM Modi has promised to visit her village but there are no roads to her remote village.
Shivani Gupta
A young man’s desire to join the army went bust, but he found other ways to fulfil his dream
Dipendra Singh from Satna, Madhya Pradesh, lost three fingers on his hand in an accident that left him unfit to join the army, something he wanted to do ever since he was a child. But, undaunted, the 22-year-old is ensuring others who want to join the army get a fair shot at it.
Sachin Tulsa Tripathi
Deepavali and lehyam love
An unexpected gift brought back Deepavali celebrations of my childhood where along with new clothes, crackers, laddus and murukkus was the compulsory Deepavali lehyam, that took care of all the indiscriminate and unwise eating one did at Deepavali.
Pankaja Srinivasan
Alcoholism can be conquered and here’s ‘how’ Bhushan did it
Gaon Connection collaborates with the World Health Organization for a social campaign against alcohol abuse. Video and audio stories along with memes make up Meri Pyaari Zindagi, a series that aims to raise awareness on alcoholism. Bhushan fully understood that alcohol was consuming every facet of his life but helplessness was immense. Read on to know more about how he overcame alcoholism.
Gaon Connection
Kerala’s Aniyamma Baby’s innovations can save cashew trees from borer infestation and cyclonic storms
Cashew farmer Aniyamma from Kannur in Kerala found ways to save her cashew trees from borer infestation, protect them from cyclonic storms, and regenerate new cashew trees from the old ones.
Divendra Singh
Approaching winters are busy times for both bees and the bee-keepers
Pravin Raghuvanshi, an entrepreneur and trainer who trains farmers in bee-keeping in Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, has created a buzz with his 100 bee boxes, which, on an average, get him about 3,000 kilogrammes of honey. Bee-keeping is a lucrative enterprise, he assures.
Shyam Dangi
Rural women in Shahjahanpur are turning their lives around, one straw at a time
Working from within their homes, 20 women of an SHG in a small village of Uttar Pradesh, are making products like straws, baskets and slippers from eco-friendly bamboo and khus, and supplementing their family incomes.
Ramji Mishra
Using indigenous seeds to sustain livelihoods, fight climate change and pay off loans
A tribal farmer from Madhya Pradesh has been conserving indigenous seeds for nearly four decades. These seeds require less water, are suitable for local climate and terrain, and are cheaper alternatives to hybrid seeds, she says. The adivasi farmer also plans to use her seed bank as an asset to pay off loans.
Shivani Gupta
Brimato, a two-in-one grafted plant that grows both tomato and brinjal
The agricultural scientists at the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi successfully develop the Brimato – a grafted plant that yields both brinjals and tomatoes. Each plant yields up to 2.3 kilograms of tomato and 2.64 kilos of brinjal. Plans afoot for its large scale cultivation.
Divendra Singh
Panna elephants enjoy a spa followed by week-long festivities
The first week of October was a gala at the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh as 15 elephants were indulged at a week-long rejuvenation camp where they did no work, but were pandered, pampered to and fed a delicious diet along with their annual health check-up.