When the President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama, had met the woman sarpanch of Nichlagarh, Sharmi Bai, during his India tour in 2015, Nichlagarh still existed in the dark age of connectivity. Illiteracy level was at 70 per cent and digital illiteracy at 100 per cent. Today, Nichlagarh has become a beacon…
DEF and Synergy, a Sikkim-based NGO which aims at promoting partnership between various groups, organised a one-day seminar for non-government organisations, self-help groups and entrepreneurs in Gangtok on April 2, 2016. During the workshop, the participants were enlightened about opportunities on e-Commerce, social media and crowd funding and corporate social responsibility. Following the welcome address…
Balkishan Khawaas, Baldani Devi’s husband who hailed from Bihar, was forced to migrate to Punjab in search of better employment and financial security. In the absence of any bank account, every time he had to travel back home, he would to carry all his hard earned cash with him. A couple of times, he was…
One day Soochna Sevak Padam Bheel in Meriyakhedi Khurd, Madhya Pradesh, was approached by some villagers who came up to him and said, “Sir, the ration dealer will probably not distribute ration to us this time.” Surprised, Bheel enquired “But why, what happened?” As per the new rules, the ration dealer had refused to distribute…
Internet is paving the way forward for prosperity in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh. In a short period of two years, weavers in the heritage town have made incredible online business and touched Rs. 20 lakh sales figure by handloom sarees, suits and duppatas across 20 countries. This feat recently even made it to the front page…
Weavers in Musiri hail from low-income families and mostly weave sarees or dhoti. Almost every weaving household, barring three, weave on handloom. Like most weaving clusters, here too, the occupation is a family tradition where the art of weaving has been passed down the generations. In fact, children start weaving as early as at the…
Sabhyasachhi Patra, a VII passed student from Abhirampur village in Nuapatna, Odisha, was struggling to complete his education due to the family’s poor financial condition. His father is a landless weaver, and the entire family, including Sabhyasachhi, depends on handloom silk weaving as a source of livelihood. The financial condition and pressure from his family…
Raghav Mahto was 20 when I first met him in 2006. He was from a small village in Mansoorpur in Bihar’s Vaishali district. His house is hardly 10km from the famous Vishwa Shanti Stupa. He belongs to the Kumhar caste classified under other backward classes. He has not studied beyond Class II; yet, Mahto has…
Digital access changes lives in more than one manner
Kozhikode district collector N. Prasanth conducts administration through civil society participation and social media. He calls the movement ‘Compassionate Kozhikode’