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With free print newspaper, Indian farmers record their protest

Rina Chandran

February 04, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, New Delhi

Because of internet shutdowns, six friends created a bilingual newspaper to document and record the farmer protests in India. Thousands of farmers have been protesting for weeks about the government’s new agricultural laws. Since there are many older farmers and the government has blocked the internet, they give out free print copies of their biweekly “Trolley Times” newspaper with information on speeches, medical aid, and community kitchens. While producing the newspaper has become harder, they are able to print about 5,000 copies for the farmers.

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Pakistan pins big hopes on small dams to help farmers beat drought

Imran Mukhtar

January 25, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Pakistan, Nagarparkar, Sindh

A government scheme in Pakistan involves the construction of water-harvesting dams in areas that experience droughts, which allows farmers in the region to use the irrigation water from the dams for their crops. One farmer is growing onions and wheat and because of the access to water, his income has increased more than 60 percent. There are concerns about how helpful the water from the dams will ultimately be in the arid region, but there are plans to build more dams in the next few years.

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With women-only transport, South African city tackles sexual abuse

Kim Harrisberg

January 18, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

To combat high rates of sexual violence in the Cape Flats neighborhood, an entrepreneur steeped in activism founded a women-only driving school. Hundreds of women have learned to drive without having to fend off assaults or harassment from male instructors, while gaining a skill that frees them from the risks inherent in taking public transportation or taxis. To tackle the latter risk, the same entrepreneur, Joanie Fredericks, recently started Ladies Own Transport, an all-female taxi service.

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Ex-logger leads firefighters defending Indonesia's peatlands

Harry Jacques

October 14, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Indonesia, Rawa Mekar Jaya, Riau

An Indonesian government program called Masyarakat Peduli Api, or “Fire Care Community,” aims to improve community responses to wildfires and restore peatlands — valuable ecosystems that store carbon. Through community engagement and education, this volunteer fire brigade patrols the peatlands and addresses small fires before they spread. The program remains underfunded, but residents recognize the importance of their work.

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India's tribal farmers tap solar irrigation to cut migration

Soumya Sarkar

July 27, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Jharkhand

New solar-powered irrigation systems in the Chotanagpur Plateau region in India are giving farmers more dependable water and allowing them to diversify their crops, allowing them to also grow their income. Many farmers from a local village used to migrate to other places to search for work, but a new irrigation system has allowed them to grow cauliflower for a competitive price. While the cost of buying and installing a solar-powered irrigation system can be high, this form of irrigation could be more climate-friendly and help stabilize crop production.

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In green jobs boost, communities get bigger role running Pakistan's national parks

Rina Saeed Khan

July 17, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Pakistan

Khunjerab is the country’s oldest and largest national park and is a model of successful community-led management and conservation. Eight villages inside the park agreed not to graze livestock in a 12-square-kilometer area in exchange for designated grazing areas that rotate so each can recover after being used. Locals get 80% of the park’s employment opportunities and the local communities receive 75% of the visitor-generated revenue. As a result, Marco Polo sheep and Ibex numbers have grown substantially. A new Protected Areas Initiative has been funded to expand conservation efforts using this model.

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U.S. town creates local currency to boost coronavirus relief

Gregory Scruggs

July 09, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Tenino, Washington

Facing the economic strain from the financial fallout caused by the coronavirus crisis, Tenino is printing its own money like it once did in the wake of the Great Depression. The small town in Washington has issued at least $2,500 worth of wooden bills to exclusively be used for small businesses on Main Street. Thirteen residents have applied for the funds and $150 have been spent by residents on necessities as of June. Other small towns across the country have already sent inquiries to the mayor of Tenino, seeking to imitate Tenino's effort.

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Green stimulus: Pakistan sets virus-idled to work planting trees

Rina Saeed Khan

April 28, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Pakistan, Islamabad

A solution in Pakistan to the economic distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic is also tackling another crisis at the same time: climate change. A program called 10 Billion Tree Tsunami employs workers who lost their job due to the quarantine by having them plant saplings all over the country. Wages aren't high, but it does offer workers an opportunity to feed their family until the crisis passes. The jobs created are focused in rural areas for women and other young people. The program is one of the few continuing through the pandemic, and already they have planted 30 million trees.

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In Kenya slums, community leaders step up to coronavirus challenge

Katharine Houreld

March 18, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

In Kibera, an informal settle in Nairobi, Kenya with little access to clean water, community organizations are setting up handwashing stations and deploying teams of volunteers to educate people about the spread of COVID-19. One organization called Shining Hope for Communities is addressing a lack of service for Kibera's half a million people.

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'Visible women': Feminist mappers bridge data gap in urban design

Anastasia Moloney

March 07, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The underrepresentation of women in technology and computer science has led to the creation of Geochicas, a group of women who recruit and train female, open source mappers across the world. Open source mapping is a male-dominated pursuit but one that informs urban design and public policy. When mapping a city, women tend to add services that are overlooked by men, such as childcare services, hospitals, and women's health clinics. Diversifying the volunteers who do this work to include more women leads to mapping that is more inclusive and minimizes crowdsourced-data bias against women.

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