Waters of life

Tarun Bharat Sangh of Alwar is well-known for its work on reviving traditions of waterharvesting. But few know about the economic advantages of …

Dhamaal Growth

NIDHI JAMWAL wonders what happened after Gurgaon got colonyfied

Reclaiming retail democracy

Chaotic response to calamity

The killer quake struck unexpectedli in the still of the night. Entire villages were flattened and thousands perished. Though rescue and relief …

Study warns of desolate energy scenario

The Tata Energy Research Institute's report on fuel consumption trends calls for a clear energy policy to prevent India from being trapped in an …

Less fuel, less smoke but more jaggery

Sugarcane farmers in rural Karnataka are making jaggery using an efficient and smoke-free stove designed and promoted by a school headmaster.

Weaving a common destiny

The weavers of Kabir Basti had just two resources: wool and their own talent. With this they transformed their lives

Scent of good business

Herbs spell commercial success for villages in Jowahar Valley

The seven-second meet

On an assignment in the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve, TIASA ADHYA spends four days on a dinghy and chances upon the elusive cat on day three  

Sense of self

Biometry’s colonial roots  

The new urban dream

Sweden is successfully moving towards self-sustaining cities where long-term ecological gains rank higher than short-term economics.

The efficient way of looking at waste disposal

Urban waste will cease to be a problem if it is treated as a resource rather than refuse from consumption, which requires disposal.

Messiahs to rural folk

A few individuals are trying to bring about changes at the grassroots level through dedicated and sustained work

SELF (UN) EMPLOYMENT

Digging their own grave

Extracting minerals and ornamental stone in the Aravallis - despit its environmental costs - is such a flourishing economic activity that …

The road ahead

India with its deplorable rural roads can learn a lesson from Madagascar, which has successfully implemented a decentralised system of …

Fighting for survival

Shrinking habitat due to deforestation has forced elephants to enter human territory in Orissa's Keonjhar district

Spare change

Resources devoted to health care systems are neither divided equitably nor in proportion to the distribution of health problems

Industries eye forest land for plantations

Wood-based firms want to convert forest areas to their own use for raw material. In doing so, they ignore the fate of millions of rural poor, who …

False predictions

For years, energy experts and foresters have believed that the poor will eat away the forests of the developing world like locusts in order to …

Civil society & politics

Who dropped MESA?

Government clueless about the Bill it introduced 12 years ago to govern urban areas in tribal regions. Constitutional crisis follows

Lavasa: Dream for one, nightmare for many

Kumar Sambhav Shrivastava finds how people affected by Lavasa are coping with the destruction it has caused

People's initiatives

Orissa and UP villages once again prove that people are better managers of natural resources than today's obdurate governments

A Republican Paradise: Mendha (Gadchirolli, Maharashtra)

Defied the Forest Act ÔÇó Every resident contributes part of annual income for community works ÔÇó If somebody bribes a …