Magic ancient, magic modern
Vets window-dress their treatment with ritual mainly to reassure the anxious owners
Conservation catalyst
A non-governmental organisation in Rajasthan has motivated villagers to take up preservation of forests
Different callings
Cultivating vegetables the Jyapu way
Efficient uses of water, mixed cropping and enhanced productivity are the main features of the Jyapu method of farming.
Budget 2013-2014
The rebirth of ancient wisdom
The role of dais, traditional Indian midwives, is being reevaluated as modern medicine finds their lore ideally suited to Indian conditions
Saying it with flowers
Flowers may wither, but not their importance in the cultures of most countries
The African legacy of animal care
This continent throws light on how to blend animal care with traditional wisdom
Pampering potatoes
Potato storage seems to fare better with indigenous methods employed by farmers for generations
Dew distilled from stars and rainbows
For centuries, humans have collected honey and put it to various uses, from a sweetener making alcohol
A law unto themselves
After a gap of more than 30 years, Santhal tribals recently invoked an age-old practice of meting out punishment to a sex offender
Water of life
The natives of Banni in Gujarat have developed a unique rainwater From highly technique from highly saline ground water
Farm community abandons old practice
A Nepalese community that grows vegetables using traditional techniques is now succumbing to population pressures and rapid urbanisation.
Shifting greening options
Is jhum cultivation still a viable option for the future?
Chittaur kept head above water in drought
Perched high on a hill in Rajasthan's Chittaurgarh district, this 8th century fort had an intricate water system capable of harvesting three …
The past fights cancer of the future
Traditional systems of medicine offer holistic and effective formulations to handle cancer
Green peace in black curls
Traditional tea cultivation in China's Jinuoshan area, unlike in most other places, ensures ecological balance
The paper society
Japan's trashbins give it back half the paper it uses and reuses
Destruction as a way of sustainable farming
For centuries, the Iban tribals of Malaysia have cultivated crops by clearing trees, but without endangering the rainforests. At the centre of …
Putting trees before human life
On a single day in 1731, more than 350 persons -- 69 of them women -- sacrificed their lives to protect their trees from being felled in Jalnadi …
The past catches up with the present
A custom of community forest protection, started in 1832 by the Raja of Alwar, is making a comeback
A dying craft
The technique of producing iron from low-grade ore used by the Agarias was environmentally sound. But the community is marginalised today, and …
A water harvest
Catch rain where it falls. No one knew it better than the people living in Mandu, a hill-fort town in Madhya Pradesh, 1,400 years ago
Himalayan water-sharing system endangered
Modern practices are threatening to break up an unusual water-tapping and water-sharing process in Himachal Pradesh. Devised hundreds of years ago,…
A primitive trend practised the world over
The ancient Greeks and Romans attached a high social premium to males and resorted to strange ways of determining the sex of the unborn child.
