Champa Harijan was born in Bodmajiguda, a village in Koraput district, to a daily wage labourer’s family. With just an elementary school education, she has been part of MSSRF for nearly two decades, including at the Tribal Agro-Biodiversity Centre (TAbC), since its inception.

Erattayar Gram Panchayath in Idukki, Kerala, has earned national recognition for its innovative and successful waste management initiatives. The Economic Survey 2024-25, recently tabled in Parliament, highlighted Erattayar as a model of sustainable development and community empowerment. The survey emphasized the Panchayat's comprehensive approach to waste management, encompassing door-to-door collection, resource recovery, and recycling.

"Many years ago, I was just entering the field of research. While I was traveling through Kainakari in Kuttanad, I saw a mother bathing her baby on a rail in the yard of a small house. After a while, I noticed that the mother was pouring the water from the rail that she was bathing the baby into a pitcher again. I asked them.

Farming has emerged as a pivotal livelihood for women in India, especially in the Koraput district. This report highlights the significant efforts undertaken by the Indian government, in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, to empower women in agriculture.

As the summer heat intensifies, water shortages are beginning to surface in the capital city of Chennai. The looming water crisis in metropolitan cities like Chennai and Bengaluru dominates headlines, causing concern for everyone. Yet, we often overlook the water problem faced by tribal communities residing in hilly areas, which remains largely unnoticed.

Sunitha, her husband Ramesh, their three children and their elderly mother, a family of six, live in a makeshift shed. Nearby you can see a concrete house sunken into the ground. The house was the result of decades of hard work of Ramesh and Sunita, a fishing family.

There are oak trees on both sides of that narrow dirt road. It was the time when the heat started to peak. In the distance, salt was piled up like a hill in the salt flats. All along the way women gathered in small groups for drinking water in iron carts with colored jugs.

The second story is about the community seed bank system in practice in Kolli hills, Namakkal. These seed banks are predominantly run and maintained by tribal women farmers of Kollimalai. Altogether they have conserved and sustained around 20 varieties of traditional millets, native to Kolli hills. 

From upscale hotels to the esteemed menu of the White House, Mandia (millets), the traditional food of Odisha, has emerged as a new trend in the food industry. Beyond merely preserving the rich culinary heritage of the state, this culinary movement has also paved the way for financial independence for numerous rural women. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, in collaboration with the hotel industry, has taken the initiative to include Mandia in their offerings for both domestic and foreign tourists