Caritas India and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) convened a joint meeting for the Regional Fora to set out a new phase of the Regional Fora Accompaniment programme. The two-day meeting on 26th and 27th October 2022 at Caritas India New Delhi was attended by 10 Regional Fora Directors and one assistant Forum Director along with 12 Regional Fora Co-ordinators. The meeting was also an opportunity to take stock of the progress and results of the previous

Arunachal beekeeper Nabam Nigla is holding up a honeycomb filled with hundreds of bees crawling on his hands. Bees and its products are not only well known with high market value but also provide sustainable livelihoods to many smallholder farmers in remote areas. Asian honeybees or Apis cerana to be precise are found in the Northeastern part of India especially Arunachal Pradesh. Asian honeybees are managed for honey production and are excellent

Peace is intrinsically linked to the cooperation of different sections of society, including faith leaders, Government, Non-Government organizations, civil society organizations, and the community. It is an idea which defines how opposite sects can live alongside each other in harmony. Samvaad peacebuilding and reconciliation programme constantly creates awareness and sensitization to bring cohesion among different groups and individuals for their

Neo-liberalism gave birth to the emergence of cash crop culture in the country. A huge surge was seen among farmers who shifted from food crops to cash crops to receive better profits. This has shifted the complete control of farming into the hands of corporates whether it is seeds, water, fertilizers, input or cost.  The smallholder farmers were the worst affected due to their vulnerability, low risk-taking aptitude and climate change. The agrarian

Smallholder Adaptive Farming and Biodiversity Network (SAFBIN) members consider regenerative agriculture systems, disaster risk reduction measures and carbon farming as the key areas for the next phase of the programme. A proposal development workshop was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from October 17 – 21, 2022 to develop the next phase of SAFBIN considering the learnings and final evaluation findings. The key focus revolved around small farm resilience

Large number of small-holder farmers with dispersed and fragmented landholdings predominately define Indian agriculture. These small-scale farmers own 85% of the arable land. Often these farmers are unable to negotiate a fair price for their produce due to their lack of collectivization and value addition and hence remain at the bottom of the value chain. In order to address the problem and as part of a community-owned sustainability plan, Caritas

Around 58 percent of the total population of Bardhwan district relies on the agricultural sector for livelihood. The farmlands of the district are extensively cultivated given the soil’s rich fertility and good moisture content. Rice is the most important crop in the district and is grown with its various varieties around the year. Farmers of Bardhwan and their family members have been directly and indirectly exposed to highly hazardous, banned

Caritas India is taking the fight against human trafficking at the micro level in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The next phase of the programme will focus on campaigns, research, and integration with government structures. The programme will use a multi-pronged approach to target human trafficking by creating model villages, developing SOPs and knowledge materials for awareness and exploring the formation of institutions for its advisory/think tank