๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ
Nandini Dharane lives in Khatgoan village of Bidar district, Karnataka, where women have always worked on farms but are rarely recognised as farmers. Born into a financially vulnerable family, Nandini had to take on household responsibilities early and discontinue her education. She married young and spent years balancing farm work, childcare, livestock care, and running a small dal mill from home.
For more than 12 years, Nandini worked on her familyโs land without any role in decision-making. The land title was not in her name, crop choices were decided by men, and her labour remained invisible. Climate change further deepened the crisisโerratic rainfall, rising input costs, and repeated crop failures pushed many families into debt, making migration seem like the only option.
A turning point came when Swayam Shikshan Prayog India introduced the Women-Led Climate Resilient Farming (WCRF) initiative in Khatgoan, with support from the Oak Foundation. While most women were hesitant, Nandini stepped forward and became the first woman farmer from the village to join the programme.
With training and handholding support, she began organic farming on a small 30-guntha plot. She learned to prepare Jivamrut, Nimboli Arka, and vermi-compost, and adopted practices such as seed germination, composting, and crop rotation. The initial seasons were difficult, but she persisted. Gradually, soil health improved, input costs reduced, and yields stabilised. Seeing these results, her family began to trust and support her decisions.
Today, Nandini is an active SHG member and a trained resource person with SSP. She has saved nearly โน6,000 by shifting to organic inputs and increased her farm income by 40%. She has helped women farmers access soil testing services through the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and supported convergence with government schemes worth โน4.5 lakh. She has also actively mobilised and trained 100 women farmers from Khatgoan village to adopt WCRF model practices.
From being unseen on her own land, Nandini Dharane has emerged as a confident farmer leaderโshowing that when women lead farming, communities become stronger and more climate resilient.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
02 January, 2026