Immersing the researcher during Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): learnings from the field

BY Malika Kukreja Do you feel hesitant as a researcher before the start of field visit for primary data collection? Is there a fear of the unknown and unsettling questions about how you can gather maximum participation from the respondents? Since the research field of social sciences is about understanding society from the perspective of

Today’s Punjab: A Farmer’s Poetic Reflections

By Suveera Gill and Ramanjit Kaur Johal Punjab has been unable to break the vicious cycle of the green revolution resulting in the shrinking of agricultural output, degradation of the environment and mounting health crisis. The green revolution was initiated in the mid-1960s to fortify food security by establishing a wheat-rice cropping pattern that required

Women in Agriculture: Marginalised or On the Margins?

By Prof. Suveera Gill, Prof. Ramanjit K. Johal, and Malika Kukreja Have you ever witnessed a woman ploughing a field using a tractor, and that too in a traditional patriarchal society? Can you also imagine that a woman alone can run an entire stall in a weekly male-dominated organic market located in a different and distant

Fertility Hotspots: Using Termite Activity in Agro-Ecosystems

By Suveera Gill, Ramanjit K. Johal, Maitri and Sheena The traces of powder around wooden furniture and mud tunnels on the walls can unsettle anyone. Scampering for DIY remedies, from treating by sprinkling salt and applying natural oils to seeking professional help, is typical to combat the problem. Unfortunately, not only households but farmers too

Special on Gandhi Jayanti: 2nd October

Gandhi as a Food Journalist: First Nine articles by MK Gandhi By Archana R Singh Gandhi read his first newspaper at the age of nineteen when he traveled to London. He immediately became interested in writing for them!  The other area that interested him almost immediately upon his arrival in London was a cult of

Growing Organics ‘Organically’: A Reality Check

By Suveera Gill and Amanjot Kaur Have you ever thought about whether the food you eat as ‘organic’ is grown organically? Growing organics ‘organically’ requires concerted effort, time and investment on the part of the farmer. Mr. Ramnik Singh, the owner of the Khaalis Natural Farm, shared his journey of connecting with nature and love

Skilling Goes Online! – A Unique Initiative

By Chetanpreet K. Nilon A far cry from the headlines of most newspapers which overflow with images and stories of Punjabi youth addicted to drugs, our team was introduced to the motivated and driven young boys and girls of ‘Youth Football Club’ (YFC), an international NGO located just off the Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway in Jalandhar district

Finding Diamonds in the Rough

By Chetanpreet K Nilon Pandwala is a small village located on the outskirts of Chandigarh, a little beyond Zirakpur. Although the approach to this place is through the fast-growing township of Zirakpur with its high-rise concrete buildings, yet this village has retained its rural identity.  The Panjab University TIGR2ESS team has chosen Pandwala for its

The shy geniuses

By Ishrat Singh As you exit Mohali’s ‘airport road’ to climb onto the national highway towards Delhi, the last bit of Punjab on the Haryana border includes the town of Dera Bassi. The town’s developers seem to be a confused lot; while the town has many factories and is full of urban structures like housing societies and shopping

Transect walk: Exploring Kitchen Gardens!!! By Dr. Jaswinder Kaur, Dr. Amanjot Kaur and Mr. Sukhdarshan Singh

“To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul”Alfred Austin A transect walk has been recognized as a valuable resource which serves the major function to introducing researchers to the socio-geographic layout of the studied area. During the walk, one is certainly able to practice the mapping exercise especially locating the various