Villages are the building block of our country, however, due to the lack of job opportunities and no spirit of entrepreneurship, mass migration into the cities is a major challenge that our country faces. Ancient Indian society was based on a sustainable model where every village had people engaged in various trades.
There are several successful entrepreneurs here in the mountains who have revived old traditional ideas and have taken it to the next level. The locals have been made aware of different opportunities like local handicrafts, small organic shops selling local produce, local cuisine restaurants, digital centres and traditional folk-art centres amongst other things
A village can have the potential to function separately and independently in terms of food sustainability and the village economy. Ancient Indian villages functioned similarly. Every village had a manufacturing sector, service class, and artisans. They had their food security system. Barter and trade were only for the surplus.
Villages in Uttarakhand have been practicing a similar model where the locals participate as a community to compensate for the need. An example would be the sharing or bartering surplus milk, women self-help groups engaged in agriculture-related activities.
Small actions that are collectively done appropriately would help to achieve the goal of “village autonomy. “
