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Dec 13, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Niroj Ranjan Misra |Teesta Rajan
This is a fragrant saga of reinvention, the ability to bloom amidst adversity. The success story in Odisha’s Ralaba village unfolded in the aftermath of the Super Cyclone that struck India’s eastern coast in 1999. It threw a knockout punch on Ralaba, a village located 17 km from the beach town of Gopalpur in Ganjam district of Odisha.
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Dec 9, 2023 | 
gaonconnection.com | Niroj Ranjan Misra
Angul, OdishaAnil Kumar Pradhan travelled a long and rocky road to success which culminated in him winning the National Gopal Ratna Award on the National Milk Day, on November 26 this year. The 35-year-old bagged the award for being the second best artificial insemination technician, or AIT, in the country who has improved the lives of hundreds of farmers and cattle breeders in Angul district of Odisha through artificial insemination of cattle, increasing the milk yield and hence the profits.
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Dec 6, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Idrees Bukhtiyar |Niroj Ranjan Misra |Novita Singh
Ghulam Rasool Kakroo, a weathered walnut trader of Lagama, the oldest walnut market in the remote Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, wears a cloak of concern. At 65, he has witnessed the gradual erosion of Kashmir’s famed walnut trade over the past few years, fearing its imminent collapse. Opening his shop two months ago to sell walnut kernels, Kakroo bemoans the stark reduction in demand. He attributed the trade’s decline to the influx of imported walnuts.
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Dec 6, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Niroj Ranjan Misra |Novita Singh |Neha Saigal
Reshamdevi Mallick (38) of Daringbadi village in Odisha’s Kandhamal district is the managing director-cum-chief executive officer of Greenflag Farmer Producer Company. Here’s her story of transformation from being a supervisor in an NGO to becoming the leader of a company – in her own words. When the pandemic showed no signs of letting up, my life partner Rajesh Mallick and I shed sweat and tears to set up Greenflag Farmer Producer Company Limited.
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Nov 21, 2023 | 
gaonconnection.com | Niroj Ranjan Misra
Bhindhanima (Cuttack), OdishaPradeep Kumar Sahoo, a farmer from Bhindhanima village, is a famous name in the business of aromatic oils. The 39-year-old villager has set up a company — Utkal Aromatics Private Ltd in Cuttack, Odisha — which cultivates, manufactures and sells palmarosa oil and lemongrass oil that have medicinal properties and are in huge demand.
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Nov 2, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Jyoti Thakur |Apta Ramesh |Niroj Ranjan Misra
Throughout his school life in Bhadole village of Kolhapur district, Rahul was labelled as a child with a ‘learning disorder’. Rahul, who belongs to a displaced community, converses in his native language Marathi. This made it harder for the shy boy to adjust to the tough demands of mainstream education, where the subjects were taught in Hindi and English. His struggle to cope with the system and being frequently mocked as a ‘slow learner’ in class adversely affected Rahul’s self-esteem.
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Nov 1, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Apta Ramesh |Niroj Ranjan Misra
Think of it this way: With just some fermented rice and black gram batter, most south Indian homes and eateries make idli. Some are not very exciting, fluffy or tasty, but still idli. However, when this healthy breakfast option, or rather anytime snack, is steamed on wood fire at a humble food stall in Kanakapura, a bustling city 65km south of Bengaluru, the simple idli becomes a remarkable delight.
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Nov 1, 2023 | 
villagesquare.in | Niroj Ranjan Misra |Gurvinder Singh
The Bhatra family of Monoharguda, a village in the vast tribal expanse of Nabarangpur district in Odisha, weaves a tale of triumphant ambition in the world of martial arts, specifically the Indonesian discipline of Pencak Silat. Rabindra Bhatra, 18, and his sisters, Urmila Bhatra, 14, and Sujata Bhatra, 12, along with their maternal uncle Ganesh Pujari, 19, have become torchbearers of success in this little-known sport in India. Their journey is adorned with threads of tenacity.
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Oct 27, 2023 | 
gaonconnection.com | Niroj Ranjan Misra
The harvest is still on and Dinabandhu Khara has already gathered 360 quintals of potatoes from two hectares of land in Suku village (1 quintal = 100 kilogrammes). These are rain potatoes, he explains, which the 52-year-old tribal had sown in Asadha (June-July) for an additional income. Normally, potatoes are cultivated from October onwards. Khara is looking forward to a profit of above Rs 60,000 this season. It is going to be a happy Diwali for him and his family.
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Oct 18, 2023 | 
gaonconnection.com | Niroj Ranjan Misra
Cuttack, OdishaWild yams or bana alu as they are locally known in Odisha, are under the microscope, and a team of researchers at the Central University of Odisha in Sunabeda town of Koraput district are discovering how these tubers are bursting with nutrients. The researchers are from the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources of the University. Debabrata Panda, who leads the research, said that they are working on the possibility of promoting wild yams commercially.
