In 1992 I joined Ananthasakthi, a mutually aided thrift cooperative society promoted by the Timbaktu Collective in Sri Sathya Sai district (formerly Anantapur). I joined as a village-level sangha (group)…
In May 2021, the Government of India introduced a new monitoring system for MGNREGA—the country’s flagship employment guarantee scheme. Called the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), it requires that the…
We are beginning to see some interesting trends play out in Andhra Pradesh—fallow lands are being cultivated while fertile lands are being left fallow. There are two reasons for this…
For years the middleman was whisking away profits from us—the small and marginal cashew-nut farmers of the Koya tribe in Buttayaguden, Andhra Pradesh. In 2020, I set up a company…
In Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, unseasonal rainfall from November 2021 to May 2022 resulted in a significant drop in mango yield. “I’ve never had such a poor yield,” said N…
Vantimamidi is a small village near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Eastern Ghats, the village is at an elevation of 792 metres. Despite being surrounded by streams, Vantimamidi…
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic buckled the country for many weeks. We may have passe the peak, but are still struggling with rising infection rates in many parts…
On a hot sunny day, I was travelling for work across the lush green paddy fields of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, when I suddenly noticed three people trying to…