The Indigenous Adivasis have lived in the villages of India's eastern state of Odisha for millennia, continuing traditional practices of farming millet and rice and foraging leaves and fruit from the forest to make plates, the local brew, and more. With those practices under pressure from a changing climate, they're now making their most significant effort yet to speak up for their community's needs. Women from 10 villages, with help from a local NGO, are leading the way, surveying and mapping out resources that are dwindling and pointing out what needs restoring. Key in their efforts: "dream maps" that show their villages in their ideal states, per the AP.
India is among the world's most vulnerable countries to climate impacts. Between 1993 and 2022, the nation was subject to 400 extreme events—including floods, heat waves, and cyclones—causing 80,000 deaths and economic losses nearing $180 billion, per the 2025 Climate Risk Index. Odisha is one of India's poorest states and among the most vulnerable. A study by researchers from Odisha's Fakir Mohan University published in 2023 found that food production there had decreased by 40% in the last 50 years due to climate change.
Women from marginalized and vulnerable communities are affected the most by climate change, and the Indigenous women of Odisha are an inspiration, says Neha Saigal, a gender and climate expert at the Bengaluru-based Asar Social Impact Advisors. This is the first time that many of the Indigenous women are formally leading an outward-facing community effort, and they say it's giving them more confidence in speaking up about community needs, including seeking rights over their common lands that will require outsiders, including authorities, to seek villagers' permission to make any changes to them.
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Comparing state government data from the 1960s with their results, the women have found that common areas in many of their villages had shrunk by up to 25%. The women plan to submit their maps and surveys to local officials, the first step in requesting village development funds to preserve or restore those common areas. The women estimate that $2 million might be needed, an ambitious ask, but they believe they have a 50-50 chance of success. "We want to make sure these resources are available for our children," says Sunita Muduli, a Paraja tribeswoman from the village of Putpondi. More here.
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