OUKHOO IS not a place that you may have heard of, but the last pencil you used is almost certain to have come from here. The non-descript village in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir supplies slats—rectangular wood pieces— for most of India’s pencils. However, there is an acute decline in the numbers of the poplar (Populus deltoids) tree that is used in making the slats, say manufacturing units.
Down To Earth visited all the 17 units operating in the village to find that from the earlier average of 100-150 workers employed per unit, the number has come down to 40-50. There is no official record of the slats supplied or people employed to assess the decline in production of slats. But unit-owners and workers say that employment opportunities are disappearing. “These factories not only produce pencils but also provide us employment. We are around 30 girls working in the factory, and most of us belong to poor families,” says Fatima Nabi, a local girl working in a factory.
Denne historien er fra January 16, 2024-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra January 16, 2024-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE GREAT FARM HUSTLE
Agroforestry is fast emerging as a win-win strategy to mitigate climate change and improve farmers' income. It is particularly so in India, home to one-fifth of the agroforestry carbon projects in the world. Over the past months ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY has travelled to almost 20 villages across the country to understand how this market works. At all locations, she finds that communities and their land and labour are central to the projects. But they do not always benefit from the carbon revenue
CAN AGROFORESTRY CREDITS BE SAVED?
Ensure that farmers benefit from the carbon revenue and stay protected against market failure
Urban trap
Fearing loss of autonomy and access to government schemes, several villages across India are protesting against the decision to change their status to town
Dubious distinction
How Madhya Pradesh displaced Punjab as the country's leading state in stubble burning
TRADE TENSIONS
Why the benefits of agroforestry carbon trade do not trickle down to farmers
A fantastical lens
BIOPECULIARIS A LAUDABLE ATTEMPT TO CARVE A SPACE FOR SPECULATIVE CLIMATE FICTION WITHIN INDIAN LITERATURE. WHILE THE STORIES MAY NOT ALWAYS HIT THEIR MARK, THE ANTHOLOGY IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN A GENRE THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION
Help on hold
US' decision to pause foreign aid could lead to hunger deaths, ruin economies of nations across Africa
Irrigation by snow
Declining rain and snowfall make farmers collect snow from higher altitudes to water their apple crops
Stem the rot
A fungal disease has hit the most widely sown sugarcane variety in Uttar Pradesh, threatening the country's sugar production
The mythos of ancient India's scientific excellence
Policymakers are obsessed by a fuddled idea of resurrecting a glorious civilisational past, and even IITs have fallen in line
