Krishna Basumatary
Red Cap in India
As our first Red Cap woman, Krishna has been part of the team in Assam since August 2010. She is concentrating on work with the womens' groups from the outlying villages around Manas National Park, teaching women how to prevent conflicts with wildlife and how to foster sustainable development. Krishna is one of the few young women of her generation lucky enough to have attended school up to the 10th grade. However, she did not manage to finish high school, since the Bodo insurgency forced many schools to close.
She joined a weaving course, and later she trained to manage self-help groups, supported by the Assamese Cooperative Society. When Krishna got married and became the mother of three children, she still continued her social activities, and in 2002 she got involved in the self-help group in her village. In 2009, Krishna took part in a food-processing training program led by Awely's Red Caps and our partner organization Aaranyak. She now produces juices, jams, and pickles that she sells in the local markets, adding substantially to her family economy.
