Prakash Kushwaha, a 23-year-old small-scale farmer of Rajawar village is also known as khabari (journalist) in his village because he is a keen radio listener. Prakash had to quit his studies and help his parents in their agricultural activities. The passion for learning and gaining knowledge made him a keen listener of the radio and now he has a good knowledge on agriculture, climate change and other issues. Being a victim of a drought that hit the village and destroyed crops, Prakash understands the importance of adapting to climate change.

One day, Prakash heard about the Rural Reality Show on climate change on Radio Bundelkhand and decided to participate in this competition. He formed a group of people whose main occupation is agriculture. The group was given the concept of Amrit Mitti to adopt and demonstrate the same. This group gathered the necessary information from various sources and started practicing Amrit Mitti, which soon replaced fertilisers in their field. Prakash and his group has promoted the concept very rigorously in their village. Now all the villagers of Rajawar are well aware about the concept of Amrit Mitti and most of them have adopted this practice. This group from Rajawar also won the first prize in India’s first rural reality show on Community Radio ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’ and received widespread media attention.

This is the story of 18-year-old Varsha Raikwar who is very fond of the radio. Varsha has had a very deprived childhood as her parents sent her to Agra in order to earn a wage and support her family. After a few years, Varsha took a very difficult decision to come home, knowing that her family will suffer a lot. As an alternate career, she joined Radio Bundelkhand which provided her the opportunity to learn. Unfortunately, Varsha had to leave the job because of societal pressure. She however continued to listen to the radio. When Varsha heard of the Rural Reality Show ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’, she motivated some women from her village who too had similar interests. They adopted the kitchen garden activity to reuse waste water from their household activities. Now this group has better knowledge about this concept and they also offer advice to other villagers on how to make an effective kitchen garden. As a result of their efforts, more than 30 villagers have adopted this concept. Varsha’s group was the zonal winner of the ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’ rural reality show.

Sheela Nayak is an inspiration for her village women and community. Being the sole earner of her family, she has a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. Sheela started working as an Anganwadi worker twelve years ago. She is separated from her husband and lives with her father in a single room along with her three children. Her financial condition is so bad that her family cannot even afford a radio, even though Sheela listens to it when someone in her neighbourhood has their radio on. She became aware about the environmental changes while teaching her daughter. On seeing the acute water shortage in the area she used to think why people can’t conserve water. Sheela heard on the radio about water harvesting systems and participated in India’s first rural reality show ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’.

She motivated a few of her family members to participate in the competition. Sheela’s group made a Roof Rain Water Harvesting Structure on their own. It was a low-cost structure made by reusing waste materials. The concept was adopted by a few other villagers. Now she feels that people have started listening to her when she says something regarding climate change. Her group is one of the zonal winners of ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’ rural reality show.

Shyam Lal Pal, 41 years old, has studied upto class 12. A farmer by profession, he urges everyone to plant trees. Through the Rural Reality show ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’, Shyam Lal got the opportunity to demonstrate the concept of agro forestry to others. His group proved to the others that agriculture, if practiced systematically, can be of immense financial and social benefit to society. Shyam Lal’s group is a zonal winner of ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’ rural reality show.

Sunita Bohre, a 38-year-old class 8 pass woman lives along with her two kids in her parents’ house. Her husband is working as a Quality Check Supervisor in a factory in Rajasthan but is unable to give any financial support to his family. Sunita regularly listens to the radio for any career updates or job opportunities. It was through community radio that Sunita heard about vermi composting and how it can be good business venture. Sunita learned about vermi composting but due to social boundaries, she could not opt for it as a business and had to drop the idea.

One day, when Sunita heard about the rural reality show on Radio Bundelkhand, she decided to participate in the competition. She formed a group and participated in the competition. As a part of the competition, Sunita’s group adopted vermi composting as an adaptation option and, in the process, learned a great deal on the particular subject. Sunita, with the help of her group members, made vermi compost at her house and used it in her wadi. Now Sunita is well equipped with the process of making vermi compost and has the option to opt for it as a business or even become a trainer for others to set up their own business of vermi composting. Her group is also a zonal winner of ‘Kaun Banega Shubh Kal Leader’ rural reality show.

These people have set an example for us that if they can do so much for the environment, then why can’t we.  q