Giving Compass' Take:

• Using a unique, farmer-focused research methodology, a new project encourages women to view themselves as principal farmers, researchers, teachers, and active agents of social change. India Development Review provides details.

• How can we replicate such an effort in other communities dependent on farming? In what ways would expanded access to education change the game for women in India and elsewhere?

• Here's more on how empowering women leads to innovative agricultural practices. 

Churinsoro is a village under the Ayodhya panchayat of Baghmundi block, Purulia district, West Bengal. One of the most remote and under-developed areas of West Bengal, and far from the reach of government programs and facilities, this used to be a hotbed of the Naxalite movement.

The people living here are homogeneous tribal groups — Santhals, Ho, Bedia, among others — and they maintain exclusive identities. Socialization is generally endogamous, as these people identify more with those belonging to their tribe. For them, earning a livelihood involves back-breaking physical labour with low returns. Women suffer the most, their identity being that of a laborer, regardless of whether they work in their own fields or on others’.

Women’s identities are that of a laborer, regardless of whether they work in their own fields or on others’.

Poor farmers own little, if any, of the lowlands, where rice has traditionally been grown. There is very little rain-fed rabi crop, and yields are generally low. Mechanization is also low; seeds of crops other than rice are generally hand-broadcast; weeds are removed by hand; and fertilizers (if used) are also hand-broadcast.

Read the full article about the power of women's collectives at India Development Review.