In Maharashtra, This Sarpanch Led Her Village to Net Zero Carbon Emissions With 90000 Trees & Solar Power

Sharada Gaydhane, the twice-elected sarpanch of Bela Gram in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district, still remembers the concerns women would bring to her, often speaking about problems that had silently become part of daily life. Their kitchens filled with smoke from chulhas (traditional wood-fired stove) that refused to burn clean. On the other hand, even after watering the fields, the crops no longer responded as they once did. Many spoke of frequent headaches, which they had begun to accept as routine. As she listened, these concerns began to connect, and what first seemed like separate issues...