This interview was conducted with the help of Rukmani Devi’s son and neighbour as the protagonist has hearing and speech impairment. Trigger warning: Mentions of domestic violence

In 2022, PRADAN, a non-profit working to empower rural communities, organised a workshop aimed at helping women transform their lives through agriculture. Among the attendees was Rukmani Devi from Jharkhand, who joined the session after seeing a crowd gathering at the village chaupal.

With the help of sign language, Rukmani's neighbour explained the workshop’s focus to her — boosting household income through diverse farming practices. The region, grappling with water scarcity, was being introduced to methods of cultivating multiple crops to sustain livelihoods.

Inspired by the ideas, Rukmani spotted an opportunity and resolved to transform her unused farmland into a source of income.

Born into a family of daily wagers in the Gumla district, Rukmani had a tough childhood. Deaf and mute since birth, she often faced harsh treatment from her father, who made her work harder than her siblings.

She spent her days doing household chores instead of attending school. “My father would beat us if we didn’t work as per his wish,” she conveys in sign language.

At 20, Rukmani was married off to an older, alcoholic man who was already married. "He would beat me and throw me out of the house," she recalls, adding that she often sought refuge in neighbours’ homes.

Her husband’s addiction took a toll on the family. Without any work, he would exhaust Rukmani’s daily wages and sell household utensils to fund his alcoholism. He crossed the line when he leased the family’s old mahua tree — their only prized possession.

In 2014, he died from tuberculosis, leaving Rukmani with four children to care for. “My situation started getting better post his death,” she conveys.

Rukmani raised her children on a widow’s pension of Rs 1,000 per month, while working in others' fields. "I worked all day to get one jackfruit. My only concern was to feed my children and pray for their future," she says in sign language.

Rukmani’s life took a turn when she learnt about farming through PRADAN’s guidance. With their support, she decided to grow peas and potatoes on her land. She obtained subsidised seeds from women’s cooperatives and sowed them across 30 decimals of farmland.

PRADAN also introduced a lift irrigation project in water-scarce regions, helping Rukmani with irrigation solutions to support her farming. “We laid pipes to connect fields to the nearest river, using solar energy for irrigation,” explains Satyam Sharma, an executive at PRADAN.

Rukmani’s first harvest of peas and potatoes was a success. She earned Rs 4,000 from the sale, using part of the income to renovate her home, including building a small mud kitchen and a shed for livestock.

"That year, we did not have to buy potatoes as we kept them for our own consumption and sold the rest of the produce of peas," she conveys.

By 2022, with the help of PRADAN’s irrigation support, Rukmani expanded her cultivation to two acres. She grew a variety of crops such as peas, chana, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, and mustard. Within just 1.5 years, she earned a seasonal profit of Rs 15,000.

“Earlier, we only had enough means to manage only one or two square meals. Today, we have a shelter, a home that we call our own, and our own clothes that are not worn out. I do not have to go to others’ fields and homes to get food for my kids,” she says.