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How One Woman Left Everything to Stop Tribal Girls From Being Trafficked in...
Five years ago, Rashmi Tiwari recalls entering a small tribal home in Orissa, as part of a social welfare funding project for CEO Clubs, India. The ground reality of the red corridor in the country...
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How Rupanti Munda Fought Naxal Attacks, Poverty to Become an International...
While Rupanti Munda grew up, she was used to the sight of armed Naxalites barging into homes in her tiny village – demanding food, money, and girls. Child marriage and human trafficking marred most...
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How This Organisation Is Giving India’s Tribal Musicians a New Lease of Life
Folk music is an indelible part of India’s storied oral tradition. Songs emanating from the tribal folk tradition are critical fragments of this country’s vast cultural diversity. Based on simple...
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Forced to Marry at 17, Tribal Girl Fights Alcoholic Dad to Give Class X Boards!
Vishakha Shirke is all of 17, but her determination to sit for her ten standard board exams despite all odds proves the strength of her will. The resident of the Mumbai Suburb Jogeshwari, was only 14,...
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Kerala’s Out-Of-The-Box Solution for Tribal Literacy May Be Just What It Needs!
Despite the fact that many welfare initiatives for tribals have been being passed in the state, a huge sense of dissatisfaction continues to prevail in Kerala as none of these schemes have really come...
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Dedicated Woman Forest Officer Singlehandedly Built 497 Toilets in Tribal...
Unlike people living in urban, rurban and even rural areas of the country, sensitising isolated tribal communities about the importance and need of proper sanitary facilities can be more or less...
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This Simple Step has Helped a Tribal Hamlet Ensure a Continuous Water Supply...
As the summer temperatures soar and arid tribal hamlets across the country struggle to keep their water sources from drying up, one Adivasi hamlet of Kannepalli in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district,...
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In Pics: The Nature-Loving Tribe That Fought To Save Their Sacred Peak &...
When I first heard about the Dongrias, it was way back in 2013. Their successful fight against a UK-based mining giant to save their sacred mountain caught the attention of newspapers. Their movement...
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Of Spice & Spirit: 24-YO Quits Cushy Job to Double Income of Gujarat Tribe!
This article has been powered by SBI Youth for India Fellowship. The year is 2018. It is a primary school in the Bardoli taluka of Gujarat. A few parents walk up to the class teacher and say, “Stop...
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Telangana Tribe Uses Leaves & Bamboo Mat to Grow Paddy, Saves Water & Time!
A rudimentary farming method practised by an Adivasi community residing in the Utnoor mandal of Adilabad district in Telangana, during the process of paddy farming, is not just organic but also...
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This Tribal Language Just Became India’s First to Have Wikipedia Edition in...
Santhali (Santali), a tribal language primarily spoken in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, received global recognition when it got a Wikipedia edition in its own script, earlier this month. Spoken by over...
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Photo Story: Tribal Alchemists of This Maha Village Create Magic With Their...
Nestled amidst the forested hills of Panchgani in Maharashtra, there is a little-known art village where the ancient legacy of Adivasi handiwork is quietly being carried forward by a group of skilled...
View ArticleGrown by Tribals, Coffee from Andhra’s Araku Valley Wins Gold In Paris’ Prix...
While states like Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are renowned for their coffee and vast expanses of coffee plantations, little is known about the forested valleys of Andhra Pradesh’s Araku Valley...
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This Unsung Hero Won An Olympic Gold, Took On The British & Fought for...
Captain of the first Indian team to win the hockey gold in the 1928 Olympics, member of the Constituent Assembly responsible for framing the Indian Constitution and a life-long activist for tribal...
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Meet the Indian Woman Behind the World’s First Friendly Contact with the...
Madhumala Chattopadhyay is a senior research officer with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment today. But on January 4, 1991, she was the first woman anthropologist to establish friendly...
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A Tea-Seller & a Teacher Set Up India’s Loneliest ‘Library In a Forest’ in...
One of the things we take for granted in our lives is a library. Perhaps it is because we can find one at a stone’s throw in most cities, towns and even some villages across India. But for the Muthuvan...
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Teacher Lives in Forests For 20 Years, Uplifts One of Kerala’s Most...
In 1999, when 29-year-old PK Muraleedharan left for Nenmanalkudy, a tribal settlement in Kerala’s Idukki district, little did he know that his life was to change forever. Muraleedharan was a volunteer...
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1000+ Tribal Youth From 51 Villages Now Have Jobs, Thanks To This MP Forest...
Beyond the mandate of nature conservation, forest officers often have the delicate task of balancing these elements with the interests of tribal communities who live in India’s forests. “During the...
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Unaware of Key Govt Schemes, 100 Tribal Families Find Guardian Angels in Maha...
Draupadi Waghmare, a resident of Khalapur in Raigad begins each day at 5 am to make sure she gets the freshest vegetables for her regular customers. After preparing lunch for her children, the...
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23-YO Tribal Girl Redefines Courage, Opens First Medical Store In...
Abujhmad forest in Chhattisgarh is considered to be one of the most unknown and disconnected regions in the world. Even after 72 years of Independence, it does not have a revenue map or civil...
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80-YO Tribal Woman Learnt Painting At 70. Today Her Art Sells In Milan & Paris!
Judhaiya Bai Baiga’s painting recently travelled all the way to a Milan exhibition in Italy and was sold instantly. This was not the first time Baiga’s painting was displayed in an exhibition along...
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Warli Art on Dried Mushrooms? Peek Inside a Unique Tribal Hamlet in Mumbai’s...
Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps, the quaint 3,000-acre Aarey Milk Colony of Mumbai lies in a world of its own. Flanked by the green belt of Aarey forest, the colony...
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How to Save Forest Culture? ‘Silent’ Battle by Odisha’s Kondhs is The Right...
“One of the main problems with the common development paradigm is that Adivasis are considered underdeveloped. People do not recognise that their prosperity lies in their unique lifestyle and world...
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Rice Tea to Millet Momos: This Woman Is Reviving India’s Tribal Culinary Gems
“Every time you eat food, you are not just tasting the dish, but also experiencing the culture of its source community and its evolution. It is true when they say that food indeed is a mirror to the...
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Couple Give Up Corporate Jobs, Found Award Winning Company to Empower Tribals
Two years into their corporate career, engineering graduates, Anurag and Shikha Jain, decided to quit their jobs to start their own venture. Today, their company is a national award-winning enterprise...
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IAS Officer Transforms Ramshackle Building Into Training Centre For Tribal...
Deep into the thick, dense forests in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra’s Bhamragad area, live the Madia Gonds. This endogamous tribal community is one of the country’s most under-developed tribes....
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Years After Dropping Out of School, Attapadi Man Became the First PhD of the...
Overcoming impossible odds, N Rangaswamy, a resident of Attapadi in Kerala, has become the first PhD holder in the tribal village. “I grew up in a small hut with my sisters and parents who were daily...
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Techie Quits UK Job to Help MP Village Become Financially Self-Sufficient
With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details. “It was a...
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Just 34, This Paralegal Battled All Odds to Win Forest Rights For Kerala’s...
With The Positive Collective, The Better India’s COVID-19 coverage is available to regional language publications for free. Write to editorial@thebetterindia.com for more details. Even when her entire...
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IFS Officer’s Innovation Can Stop 40,000 Metric Tons of Plastic From Reaching...
In an earnest attempt to eliminate plastic from our lives, we all have adopted many changes in our lives. However, the one thing that we have not been able to replace is the ubiquitous jhhadu (broom)....
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It Took 1,100 Km To Find The Gond Adivasi Who Won Britain’s Highest Bravery...
Do you know about Sama Veladi, a man of the Madia-Gond tribe from the deep forests of present-day Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, who was conferred with the Albert Medal (Lifesaving) on 9 November...
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IFS Officer’s Leak-Proof, Copper-Lined Bamboo Bottles are Great to Replace...
Eight months ago, Indian Forest Services officer Prasada Rao undertook an initiative to help the tribal communities in Tripura use the locally-available resources to make value-added products in a bid...
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‘Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?’: IITian Duo’s YouTube Channel Makes Learning...
‘Does air have weight?’ Maya asks in the Youtube video. She then takes two balloons with strings tied to the two sides of a stick. She then bursts one of the balloons. The side of the stick attached to...
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For 19 Years, Lone Doctor Braves Wild Animals & Dense Forests to Treat The Needy
For the past 19 years, Dr Vincent Xavier, 55, has been travelling into the dense forests of Southern India to look after the sick and ailing in tribal communities. The conscientious doctor walks on...
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Inspired By Dad, Woman Braves Threats to Help 1400 Adivasi Families Get Land...
It was only when Shabnam Shah turned 18 that she suddenly understood the problem of illegal land grabbing in her village – Mungaoli in Madhya Pradesh. This was despite the fact that her family had been...
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Odisha Women’s Self-Help Group Saves Entire Village, Boosts Income of 700...
In Koraput district, Odisha, lies a remote village called Kanjariguda which is home to an Adivasi community of farmers who predominantly grow ragi and rice. The village is so remote that villagers have...
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How a Fearless Adivasi Led India’s 1st People’s Revolt Against the British
Decades before what our history books consider to be the ‘First War of Independence’ (1857), there was the tribal rebellion led by Tilka Manjhi, a fearless Adivasi warrior, in present-day Bihar and...
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The Man Who Took Gond Art From Tribal Huts to The World’s Top Museums
An image of Lord Hanuman was drawn with lime and charcoal by hand on the humble red mud walls of a small hut in the remote village, Patangarh, of Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh in 1981. The artist...
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At This Unique Odisha Eco-Stay, You Can Enjoy Waterfalls & Learn From Tribals
I had first read about the tribal markets in Odisha around three years ago, it was instantly on my list of places to visit. A search for accommodation in that region led me to the Desia Koraput website...
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I Left City Life for an Odisha Village; Here’s What I Learned About...
As you make your way through Western Odisha along the Koraput belt, near Rayagada, to the Niyamgiri Hills, the trees around you will start getting dense. The location, though remote, is one that holds...
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Couple Left Mumbai to Empower 1000 Tribal Families Using Jamuns, Built...
In the Pali district, where the borders of Rajasthan and Udaipur intersect, there is a small village called Bera. It is distinguished by two things — the trees are never bare and the tribal communities...
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Kerala’s 1st Tribal Heritage Village Stay Left Anand Mahindra in Awe of its...
A recent tweet by Anand Mahindra, entrepreneur and chairman of Mahindra Group, will transport you to the lush green tea plantations of Vythiri in Wayanad, Kerala. The visuals are stunning — clear...
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Hero Helps 2000+ Tribal Families Fight Middlemen, Earn Up To 3 Times More
The custard apples that reach your fruit bowl go through endless rounds of bargaining all the while tribal farmer families in Kotra, Rajasthan, hope to get a fair price for their labour. However, from...
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Adivasi Women Are Reclaiming Centuries-Old Warli Art With GI-Tags & Huge Murals
It was predominantly an art made by women. Simple art consisting of circles, triangles, lines and dots. All arranged differently and only in white, either on red background of geru (red clay) or...
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Engineer Left UK to Help 10000 Tribal Community Kids Become National Sports...
#MakingSportWork: We celebrate the potential of sport to build a #BetterIndia with opinion pieces, stories and profiles of how sport can improve the lives of every Indian. Read more from this...
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Baiga Woman Turns Hut Into ‘Beej Bank’ for 150+ Rare Millets, Named Brand...
After getting lessons from her grandmother on the health benefits of millet, the grain that has started disappearing, Lahari Bai dedicated her life to preserving its seeds. She belongs to the Baiga...
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Starting at 60, Woman Turned Her Passion for Crochet into Toy Business; Earns...
Hand-crocheted items were a common sight in most households before the fast-paced textile industry took over the markets. Mostly mothers and grandmothers, after completing their daily household...
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Assam Woman Has Given 22 Years to Bring Education to Tribal Groups & Help...
Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of violence, torture At a learning centre in Lumding, Assam, children from the local tribes come faithfully every day to engage in a slew of activities...
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Earning Rs 1 Cr, Bastar Man’s Forest-To-Fork ‘Bazaar’ Transforms Tribal Lives
In the dense Bastar forests of Chhattisgarh, indigenous communities grapple with limited employment opportunities. Relying solely on their land for sustenance, the bountiful yields from the forests...
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Sikkim Woman’s Skincare Startup Uses Rare Himalayan Plants, Earns $1 Million...
Spending most of her time in big metropolitan cities like Kolkata, Delhi, and Bengaluru, Rinzing Choden Bhutia, originally from Sikkim, missed the experience of being surrounded by nature. While she...
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