Field Stories

These stories bring out the real-life narratives, moments, and experiences, highlighting the stories and voices of the communities our fellows work with

Guftgoo-E-Mewat

Guftgoo-E-Mewat

“आओ भाईसाहब बैठो, कुछ ठंडा वंडा पीयो” These were some of the first words that...

Choices And Preferences Of Women In Bhuj

Choices And Preferences Of Women In Bhuj

As a woman who has more social class privilege than a lot of other women, I have had the opportunity and advantage to take decisions for my own life. When someone asks me about my choices in terms of what I like to eat, my favorite spot to hang out, movies I like to...

The Christmas Canopy In Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh

The Christmas Canopy In Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh

One of the key areas where a lot of social enterprises need support is in building their capacity for marketing. Especially if they're selling products and/or services. This includes establishing forward linkages, a basic understanding of digital marketing, the scope...

Diamond Rush: It’s All About Luck

Diamond Rush: It’s All About Luck

“Kaunsa wala khadaan dekhna hai? Sarkaari ya jo naadi kinaare hai woh ?” [Which mine do you want to see, the one which the government runs or the one near the river] asks Dau, one of  the team members at Project Koshika.  Project Koshika is an initiative...

Van Gujjar Settlements In Uttarakhand

Van Gujjar Settlements In Uttarakhand

It was my third week at Living Lightly and second week at our Dehradun regional office. Somehow, it felt familiar and I was extremely excited to meet my role model Sanjeev bhai, also a founder of an architectural organization, working with local artists. I was going...

डीएनटी समुदाय के साथ सामुदायिक कार्यक्रम

डीएनटी समुदाय के साथ सामुदायिक कार्यक्रम

आज़ादी के बाद स्वतंत्र भारत में आधुनिक दौर का आरंभ करते हुए आपराधिक जनजाति अधिनियम - Crimal Tribes' Act (CTA) को 1952 में निरस्त कर दिया गया. जिसमें विमुक्त और घुमंतु जनजातियों को आपराधिक जनजातियों के रूप में दर्ज किया गया था. अधिकारियों द्वारा एक निश्चित समूह को...

Reaching Rural Rajasthan And Attending Gavari, A Local Festival

Reaching Rural Rajasthan And Attending Gavari, A Local Festival

View as a pillion rider From Kerala To Rajasthan Via Karnataka My story started from a small village in Kozhikode, Kerala. I finished my schooling and graduation from there but I always had a feeling that it wasn’t enough for me. To expand my horizon and to challenge...

A Day At The Community Radio Station

A Day At The Community Radio Station

A local resident with a radio set As an India Fellow, I began my journey to becoming a socially conscious leader by working with and for people. As a part of the fellowship, each fellow works with an organization towards a social issue for 1.5 years. I’m working...

Reality Of A Person Living With Multiple Chronic Diseases

Reality Of A Person Living With Multiple Chronic Diseases

It was a rather gloomy day when I had a chance to meet Lakhuna Das*. I was documenting stories and journeys of persons with drug-resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB). Lakhuna Das's journey caught my attention. Mukesh Yadav, my colleague at Innovators in Health had already...

Bail Pola: A Gratitude Festival For Bulls

Bail Pola: A Gratitude Festival For Bulls

India is known all over the world for its rich collection of different cultures. People belonging to different religions, regions, caste and sect celebrate various festivals across the country. The uniqueness of Indian festivals is that it revolves around Lord’s...

Gavari, The Goddess Who Comes To Earth

Gavari, The Goddess Who Comes To Earth

As per Hindu mythology, when Sati married Lord Shiva, her father, Daksha was furious. Lord Shiva was a nomad and connected with the earth in unconventional ways. This was enough for Sati’s father to believe that he was not suitable as his son-in-law. Despite...

A 6KM Long Trek For Water And Why Every Drop Counts

A 6KM Long Trek For Water And Why Every Drop Counts

I can never forget Anupama’s (India Fellow alum) line, “Try and understand the pain point of the community.” It has been 11 months now that I am working with Project Koshika in the district of Panna in the Bundelkhand region. And it would be unfair to speak about...

A Heart-Wrenching Tale Of A 13-Year Old Mother In Rural India

A Heart-Wrenching Tale Of A 13-Year Old Mother In Rural India

It was 11:30 PM when I received a call from Reema’s* mother-in-law. They belong to one of the villages in Panna, Madhya Pradesh where Project Koshika runs a health intervention. Reema complained of severe stomach ache, nausea and fever. I pulled out my notes to see...

Why 50 kgs On A Weighing Scale Comes As A Surprise To Me

Why 50 kgs On A Weighing Scale Comes As A Surprise To Me

Malnutrition as a term never occurred in my conversations before I started working with Project Koshika in Panna, Madhya Pradesh.It has become a reoccurring word in my dictionary now. Koshika runs a maternal and infant health intervention in 10 remote villages of...