Community builds together.. Gopalpur is a small beach town on the southern border of Odisha in the Ganjam district. In this small town, about 500 metres away from sea, is a slum called Sai Baba Sahi. About 400 families live in this slum which is spread over 2.4 hectares. Out of these 400 families, about 340 families have received land titles (meaning an ownership of their own land). Along with the land titles, these families are also linked to the Awas…

A shared vision for a better neighborhood... Near Chandrabhaga beach in Konark, a small town in eastern part of Odisha is a slum called ‘Nolia Sahi’. About 1100 fishermen families have resided in the slum for more than 40 years. These people live in temporary structures without basic facilities and their major source of livelihood is catching and selling fish. It is one of the first slums in which the implementation of the Odisha Land Rights to Slum Dwellers Act, 2017…

With land, now I am able to provide two full meals to my children...Nestled in the small undulating hills of Nandagaon block is Khatalaput, a little community of 30 odd households. Khatalaput is home to Tula Khemundu, her husband and her five children – four daughters and a son. Her husband’s family – like most other families in the village – has lived here for more than three generations, but did not have a patta to the land till recently. Basic…

Not having access to the land is nothing but another form of violence against women... Yolanda is an Afro-Colombian, Activist, Community Leader, and Founder of Aso Manos Negra who has dedicated her life to preserving the culture and environment of the Guapi region of Colombia on the Pacific coast. As an internationally recognized activist and community leader, Yolanda has founded and lead a number of advocacy organizations including Aso Manos Negra, a feminist association that works to promote environmental sustainability and women’s…

Bhoodan & Landesa transforming Dalit livelihoods in Bihar... In the Kohbari village at Vinobapuri Tola, located in Barachatty block of Gaya district, there are 35 beneficiaries including 33 women and 2 men who received their Praman Patra from the Bhoodan Yagna Committee on 12th May, 2018. These Musahar community people were settled on the land a very long time ago, but have been unable to receive their land titles. Landesa facilitated the distribution of land titles to these families by conducting meetings…

A journey of a woman farm: From the farm to agripreneurship... Veenaben Bhoya is a 40 years old woman farmer from the village of Pipalkhed. She has two children, a girl and one boy, both of whom are studying. She is a very strong woman farmer and since last 4 years, in the district level CBO of “Ujas Mahila Khedut Sangh”. She is currently the President of the Women Farmer’s Federation promoted by Cohesion. She has completed her studies until the…

Land has given a new meaning to my life...Budhubari lost her husband about six years ago. With three children to feed and no fixed source of income, she hardly had the time to mourn his demise. Life suddenly became tough and even two square meals turned out to be a luxury.With no land of her own, the only choice available with Budhubari was to become a wage labourer and somehow survive. “When food was a daily struggle, education for my kids…

Secure tenure on Hills transforming landscapes and livelihoods... Among the Kuki tribes of Manipur, the chieftainship system of land holding is still in practice. This system is subject to highly unequal land and power relations, where land ownership is the exclusive right and prerogative of the chief. Astonishingly, villagers have no rights over land whatsoever. Clearly, the land rights system is still one of great challenges in the Kuki Society. Despite this, there have been slight changes and evolution in land…

The Vanita Shakti Mahila Sangathan (VSMS) is a community based organisation of more than 2500 women from the Dhanpur block of Dahod, a primarily tribal district in Gujarat. The Sangathan has emerged over the numerous years of grassroots empowerment initiatives by Utthan. With the aim to demonstrate gender just, rights based mechanisms to deal with challenges faced by marginalised women of the area; Utthan has been partnering with VSMS on issues like safety, security, resource rights, access to basic entitlements, sustainable livelihoods…

The present Ziumi which I live is like any typical village built on a lovely meadow. This is situated about 102 KMs from District Headquarter Senapati.The great ancestors of Ziumi were with the ancestors of the Zeliangrong in all through their migrations down the ancient days from the South East Asia, and then migrated to Makhel to join with the rest of the Naga families. Their movement continued until they finally reached Makuilungdi which is considered the cradle of the Zeliangrong…