In The Field

At In the Field, we’re very interested in the debates around gender and work. We know that women face a number of constraints while running their businesses, and women are constantly strategizing on how to balance their domestic responsibilities while facing prejudice as women business owners. In this episode, we’re looking at how crucial social interactions within business ecosystems work to enable or limit the aspirations of women entrepreneurs. Thanks to Professors Vidya Soundararajan at IIT Bombay, Jeemol Unni at Ahmedabad University, Kanika Bansal, Mridulya Narasimhan, and Aishwarya Joshi and Preethi Rao, Diksha Singh, and Keerthana Ramaswamy. This episode is brought to you by LEAD at Krea University, an action-oriented research center based in India. WE Hub Foundation of the Government of Telangana is this study’s partner. For more information on LEAD’s Social Interactions study, watch this space at https://ifmrlead.org/stree. For further reading, check out their report on “COVID-19 Enterprise Response Research: Key Findings”, and to know more about LEAD’s work, please visit them on LinkedIn or Twitter @LeadatKrea.

In our final episode of Founders, we talk about the economics of female entrepreneurship and what it takes to make a dream come to life. Is it having a single-minded focus on the goal? Is it financial independence? Or is it the ability to say no - because in the end your entrepreneurial dream is yours alone? In the rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship, you’ve got to keep your eyes on the goal. And when you fail - pick up, dust off, and start again. Thanks to Hardika Shah from KInara Capital, Soumya Kapoor from IWWAGE, Lavanya Mohan and Professor Seema Jayachandran from Northwestern University.

If there’s a word that’s often used to characterise women’s careers it is “interruption”. Starting a business interrupts “life” too. It’s a big disruptive interruption that challenges what many see are the natural order of things for women - getting a steady job, earning a safe and regular income, and the idea of being settled. In this episode we ask, how do women entrepreneurs juggle it all to make it work? Thanks to Professor Seema Jayachandran and Soumya Kapoor. Supported by Her and Now.in .

In the first episode of Founders we set the stage by exploring how women are positioned in the economy and in society. When we try to wrap our heads around the challenges women face to participate in the workforce, entrepreneurship can come across as one of the hardest paths a woman could choose. Grit and sacrifice is very normalized in the stories of women’s working lives. But we can’t keep trying to imagine it, we have to learn what it actually takes. Supported by Her and Now.in . Music and Sound by Yashwanth Vinay.

Have you ever thought about how women are positioned in the economy? Two stories dominate discussions about India’s female labourforce: the low rates of female labour force participation, but also the fact that women make up a significant proportion of small businesses in India ! How do we make sense of these two stories - falling female labourforce participation and the significance of women as enterprise owners? Are they even connected? Join us in Founders, where we unpack the economics and social realities of women entrepreneurship in India. Supported by Her and Now.in . Music and Sound by Yashwanth Vinay. (Additional audio used under a CC Attribution License_Reuse allowed.)

Across the world, there is a space where the battle against COVID -19 rages. This frontline of the pandemic is the local government, which faces an unprecedented challenge. So what’s happening at Kerala’s frontline? This is the final episode of Kaalavastha, our 6 part series on Kerala, climate change and the meaning of resilience. Thanks to Jose Shailaja Teacher, Sarada Muraleedharan, Mridul Eapen, Soumya Kapoor, Prof Jiju Ulahanan and Dr Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose. The Kaalavastha mini-series is brought to you by the World Bank.

Kerala’s economy relies heavily on things that are native and unique to it - its natural resources, its traditions and heritage. In this episode we look at efforts to build resilience into the livelihoods of the people of Kerala and at some of its prominent traditional sectors. In their rebuilding, lies Kerala's future. The Kaalavastha miniseries is brought to you by the World Bank. Thanks to Jose Dominic, Gopi Parayil, Sreejith Jeevan, Lakshmi Menon and P. Robin. Additional sounds used are under a CC attribution: Weaving mills and factories » Bhagalpur, silk weaving handlloom.wav by phonoflora Kerala-4.wav by xserra.

As Kerala today thinks about how to reduce its reliance on remittances, and on how to revive the economy after the COVID-19 crisis, agriculture is one place where many say there is huge potential. But reorienting this is no easy task. Thanks to Mr DK Singh, Suma Vishnudas, Viju B and Vinayak Ghatate. The Kaalavastha miniseries is brought to you by the World Bank. Additional sounds: “Climate change in Wayanad, Kerala: ‘Farming only makes sense if it is a hobby” by People’s Archive of Rural India (CC license), Attributions under Freesound.org (Frogmouth.wav - shyamal), and Cheruvayil Raman audio from Thanima 2 / NITC 2017.

In Kerala resilience has been a part of the conversation for quite a while before it became the word we all seem to be talking about. So, given its head start, what is Kerala doing to keep the well from going dry? In this episode, we explore how new efforts to build Kerala’s resilience are focussing on it’s two most important resources, rivers and remittances. Thanks to Anil Das, Dilip Ratha, Thomas Mathew , VD Satheesan and Dr V Venu. Kaalavastha is brought to you by the World Bank.

The 2018 floods were called once in a century floods - because in people’s memory, there was only flood before it that had marked so many lives, the flood of 1924. But when the state flooded again in 2019, many asked, why this was happening again? Why was the once in a lifetime flood back with a vengeance in less than a year? In this episode we find out about a contentious topic that may have increased the scale of the disaster: Kerala’s relationship with land. Thanks to Sreeranganathan, Professor Srikumar Chattopadhyay, Sobha Viswanath and Viju B. Additional sound from Freesound.org are attributable under Creative Commons Attribution Licences: HEAVY_SMASH_001.wav, QUICK_SMASH_002.wav, QUICK_SMASH_001.wav, GRUNT_002.wav by JoelAudio and Waves in small rocky cavern.flac by Phistomefel. The Kaalavastha miniseries is brought to you by the World Bank.

Kerala has been marked by devastating floods in 2018 and 2019. But the state has been experiencing the effects of climate change for much longer. Scientists talk about 2015 as a sort of turning point. In this episode, we explore where and how people began noticing the changes. Thanks to Professor Abhilash, Harichandan Arakali, Sreedevi Pillai, Sobha Viswanath and Viju B. Additional music licensed from Freesound.org under Creative Commons Attribution License: "Rain, Moderate, C.wav" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk), “Waterfall” Straget, “Drizzle” by Soundatic. The Kaalavastha miniseries is brought to you by the World Bank.

Welcome to Kaalavastha. A word which conjures so many things in Malayalam: clouds, climate, the weather. In this 6 part series, we dive deep into God’s Own Country, past romantic ideas about rivers and mountains and the rain to find out what kind of relationship Kerala’s people have with their environment? And what will have to change as they learn about their vulnerability? What new kinds of local action are evolving? And how are Kerala’s communities planning for their future? We travel through the state to meet communities, government, and the diaspora, as Kerala redefines its development model to create a new legacy. The Kaalavastha miniseries is brought to you by the World Bank.

Announcing a new series on In the Field. The story of a state, the story of the weather, and the story of a people, chronicled over six episodes. Kaalavastha drops later this week on this feed. Subscribe now to In the Field if you haven’t already!

ITF is back! In this mid-series episode we want to talk about how non-profits are dealing with the pandemic and we ask a few of our friends and colleagues about what they’ve been experiencing. Right now we have more questions than answers, but here are a few things we want to share. We also want to hear from you, our listeners, about how you have been about the processes by which you are making decisions now, and participating in this moment - do you feel like your voice is being represented? Do you want a new way to be heard? How are you making plans, how are you sharing resources, and most of all, we want to hear your observations about whose voices are being counted and who is being left out?

The past decade has seen a proliferation of movements all over the world. Fighting for everything from racial equality, to end authoritarianism and corruption, for struggling farmers, for climate action, for net neutrality and to end sexual harassment. At the very heart of societal change very often, lies the NGO, that works alongside these movements, with the government, for the citizens, and thanks to funders. It’s these NGOs, that engage with the state, help deliver services, or make people more aware and empowered. But the NGO is constantly evolving , and more people take to the street to protest, where does this leave the NGOs? And when we talk about civil society, are we leaving anyone out? Thanks to Harsh Mander, Ingrid Srinath, Rajni Bakshi, Dr Ranjana Kumari, Obalesh Bheemappa and our friend Tejas Pande. In the Field is supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. Reach out to us at podcast@inthefieldindia.org.

In part two of our two parter on sustainability, climate change and consumption, we’re going find out about our relationship to the things we love - Like fish, coffee, travelling. These are things that are frequently talked about in relation to high consumption lifestyles, the kind that make climate change worse. We all know that sustainable producers needs ethical consumers. Going beyond the label, how are organisations in the sector contending with issues such as livelihoods of small scale producers, value chains and their inclusion in global markets, environmental and biodiversity sustainability, and most importantly the changing power structures needed in the marriage between producers and consumers. Basically, what does it take to make the marriage work? Featuring Chef Thomas Zacharias, Arshiya Bose from Black Baza Coffee, Dr John Kurien, Ganesh Nakhwa and Sumesh Mangalaserry. In the Field is supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

In this special two-parter we’re talking about sustainability and consumption. And we’re starting with a story about fish, to understand how the twin forces, climate change and our ravaging consumption, are depleting the oceans. This is a story about a system of production that is in desperate need of rescue. At the heart of it are the fish themselves, but also the fisherworkers, a group that seems just as endangered. Stay tuned for the second episode of this two parter next week! Thanks to Divya Karnad, Ganesh Nakhwa, John Kurien and Srini Swaminathan. Sounds: Sound Producer is Santhos Nataraja. Theme song by Hollis Coats. This episode was mixed and recorded at Third Eye Studios. Show and art design by Bhushanraj. In the Field is supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

Worklife in India has many elements to it, and we see the whole gamut of experiences in India from workers working with little or no welfare to more privileged workers, and increasingly all of us are working more and for longer. How do we get to a point where we can experience the best possible version of worklife, where the worker has more power in deciding how to distribute time, rather than becoming a part of a system where work happens all the time? Thanks to Apoorva Verma, Amrita Sharma, Hansika Singh, Kiran, Krishnavtar Sharma ji, Nishi Palnitkar, Priyanka Nair, Prottoy Aman Akbar, Rahul Srivastava, Reetika Revathy Subramanian, Ryan Bennett, Sanjay Patel and Shaheen Shasa. In the Field is supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. Reach out to us at podcast@inthefieldindia.org.

Welcome to this very special bonus episode of In the Field. Stay tuned for our next In the Field episode, coming very soon. This episode is brought to you by Indus Action (www.indusaction.org), an organization working on a very specific tenet of the Right to Education Act - they’re trying to improve the way affirmative action is implemented in India’s private schools. We make In the Field to to introduce you to the people trying to solve hard social problems, to their ideas and practices, and to the conversations that sometimes get stuck inside the social sector’s conference rooms. But some topics are better presented by the people who work on them. And this is why in series two, In the Field will feature bonus episodes that talk about specific themes in development, featuring the work of specific organizations and the issues they are driven by. We hope these bonus episodes will give listeners a way to learn about the most exciting, impactful work being done by committed organizations. This episode is sponsored by Indus Action. For more information about their work on rights based issues in India and opportunities for engagement write to info@indusaction.org.

Development work is full of models. And a famous one originated in Kerala - it was so famous it defined the state’s identity in so many ways; it was credited for producing a literate, educated population, for empowering women and an engaged, active public. But this is a stubborn old story, and one we’ll attempt to update. In this episode we trace back the history of Kerala’s development, find out how it got its world renowned reputation, and why it’s a land of mesmerising contradictions. In 2018, floods devastated Kerala, but it allowed the development model to become a question for debate once again. A new Kerala is emerging from the legacy of its development history and its changing cultural and social landscape. And as messy as it looks right now, we think Kerala is still showing us the way. Credits: Thanks to Bala Menon, Bharati Menon, Dr J Devika, Devika Radhakrishnan, Daneesh, Dhanya, Josy Joseph, Mujib, Raghav Sharma, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Sumesh Mangalasseri, Varun Menon, Dr V Venu, Vidya Varma, Yamini and Gayatri Vijayan and all the folks who are a part of Resilient Kerala. In the Field is a Vakku production. This episode is hosted and Produced by Radhika Viswanathan and Samyuktha Varma. Our Sound Producer is Santhos Nataraja. Soundscaping and sound design by Erwick d’Souza. Our theme song is by Hollis Coats. Show and art design by Bhushanraj. This episode was mixed and recorded at Third Eye Studios. Check out our show notes, transcripts and more information on www.inthefieldindia.org or reach out to us on social media. We’re @inthefieldindia. In the Field is supported by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies