Wood is the major raw material for manufacturing matchsticks. However, the match industry has been dependent on only a few wood species for making match splints and these species are now in short supply. Therefore, bamboo, one of the faster growing plants, is a sustainable raw material source for manufacturing...

Bamboo and rattan are ideal resources for development that integrates poverty reduction and environmental sustainability, and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan- INBAR priority is giving people at all levels the knowledge and skills they need for long-term development involving bamboo and rattan. Therefore, bamboo mat board, a plywood-like...

A first-of-its-kind survey in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, revealed the peculiar vulnerabilities and demands of fishworkers who migrate regularly to Odisha, Karnataka and Gujarat. When the authorities enforced large-scale lockdowns to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vulnerabilities of migrant workers were thrown into high relief. Other than the...

In India, tomato is both a high value crop, often exported to the Middle East, and an important subsistence vegetable grown mainly by women. Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) and its whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), are two of the most serious constraints to tomato production in India. When populations...

Helping to write a script for a farmer training video on vermiwash triggered my interest in trying it out myself, as I began to wonder if ideas from tropical India could work in temperate Belgium.  

In mountain areas, water continues to be a scarce commodity not only for irrigation purposes but even for drinking and other domestic uses. These challenges are encountered very frequently in India. These difficulties are present, inspite of the fact that important rivers namely the Sutlez, Beas, Ravi and their tributaries...

SEVA in association with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), IFAD assisted Post Tsunami Sustainable Livelihood Project trained women, self-help group members on herbal treatment for animals upto 21 days. Selected women members were trained intensively to work as Community Livestock Volunteers (CLVs). Then they train local village...

In early 2020, the unprecedented nature of COVID-19 prompted India, among many other countries, toput in place stark measures to stem the virus’ spread and the cost of human lives. We analyze data fromphone-based surveys on disruptions to agricultural production and food security, administered with1515 smallholder producers in the states...

Reflections on the ICSF workshop and recommendations to India’s draft National Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy (NIFAP), September 2019. The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) organized a national workshop to discuss the draft National Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy (NIFAP), being finalized by India’s Union Ministry of Agriculture...

A grassroots innovation that offers most of the advantages of conventional micro-irrigation at a much lower establishment cost. Pepsee micro-irrigation systems slowly and regularly apply water directly to the root zone of plants through a network of economically designed plastic pipes and low-discharge emitters. Technically speaking pepsee systems use low-density...

This practice consists of rectangular excavations in streambeds, named dohs, to provide temporary storage of runoff to enhance groundwater recharge, increasing water yields from shallow wells for supplementary irrigation. They also collect and impound subsurface flow. The technology is used in conjunction with shallow wells (odees), which enable farmers to...

Despite decades of work by various non-governmental organizations, most of the initiatives on agro-ecological farming and organic farming practices have either stagnated or sometimes fallen out. While a niche of farmers is able to reap the benefits of agro-ecological farming, there is a need to understand the barriers that stop...

Women in fisheries can utilize the SSF Guidelines to advance their interests, even as they relate to one another and build up solidarity and a common vision. Over the last several years, many fishworker organizations have been engaged in spreading awareness among the fishing communities on the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing...

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SDG 5. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. How has progress towards...

The 60th issue of Yemaya, being brought out after a gap of a year, coincides with a time of global crisis, when nations and communities across the world are battling the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. It is a time for sombre thought and reflection. This pandemic has also locked...

Ce livret pédagogique est le fruit des enseignements d’un projet mené pendant 5 ans, entre 2013 et 2018, avec 50 écoles primaires du bloc de Marakanam, dans l’état du Tamil Nadu en Inde du Sud : le projet Bio-écoles mené par SOL en partenariat avec Solidarité India. Ce projet est...

The Guhagar fishing village lies in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state in India. It has about 450 fisher families. Earlier, the regular routine for the fisherwomen of the village centred around visiting the beach and fish landing sites early in the morning to gather and buy fish that they...

The fish-processing industry’s path of using fishmeal to grow shrimp amounts to exporting the precious nutrition that India’s children badly need. In the early morning of 25 September 2019, on the shores of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, India, the humble sardine commenced its journey. The journey of its afterlife, that is. A...

Crop establishment is often poor in the semi-arid tropics. However, good crop stand establishment is essential for the efficient use of water and light, and a uniform stand is a pre-requisite for cropping success. Seeds that germinate quickly produce viable seedlings that are not dependent on rapidly declining moisture in...

Did you know that there is a small fishing village called Marianad, in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, India, which owes a lot of its history to a public health nurse from Bergamo – the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Italy? This nurse, Lauretta Farina, 86, passed away on 12...