“You take us to be poor, but we’re not”: Proud Not Primitive, a campaign on communities that can take care of themselves

The Jarawa of the Andaman Islands enjoy a time of opulence. Their forests gives them more than they need. ANVITA ABBI, PROFESSOR OF LINGUISTICS, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY The Dongria Kondh grow over 100 crops and harvest almost 200 different wild foods, which provide them with year-round, rich nutrition even in times of drought. Over generations, … Read more

Kondh Adivasis farmers known for their sophisticated practices of agro-forestry: Koraput region, “one of the world’s great biodiversity hotspots” – Odisha

Helping children learn in their own language: StoryWeaver

With over 10,000 stories in 124 languages, StoryWeaver is a vibrant reading site that helps children learn while giving a boost to obscure languages

Tagore’s Santiniketan, “an Abode of Learning Unlike Any in the World” – West Bengal

Santiniketan’s bell – Photo © Ludwig Pesch Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of a place of learning that is unfettered by religious and regional barriers. Established in 1863 with the aim of helping education go beyond the confines of the classroom, Santiniketan grew into … Read more

Lighting up villages with solar power and doing other challenging things: Kudumbashree Adivasi women’s group of Edamalakudi – Kerala

The adivasi women of Edamalakudi, Kerala’s remotest panchayat, have formed a headload workers’ group, helped light up their villages with solar power, and practice group farming in wild elephant territory. All are Muthavan tribals. Almost all are members of Kerala’s extraordinary anti-poverty and gender justice movement – Kudumbashree. They are also neighbours of Chinnathambi, the … Read more