Women seated in a circle for a group discussion at the field's edge

The Journal

Field notes from the harvest

In-depth reporting, news and reflections from our work with the migrant sugarcane families of Marathwada. What is changing, what is not, and why it matters.

A roadside migrant labour camp of tarpaulin tents in dry open country

Featured

Climate & Livelihoods

A changed monsoon: why Marathwada still empties for the cane

Marathwada's 2025 monsoon delivered more than its normal rain — but in violent bursts that damaged crops rather than saving them. Drought or deluge, the outcome is the same: families migrate to cut cane. We examine the climate whiplash driving migration and the new welfare ID drive meant to protect the workers it sends.

Sudhir Sabhadinde

8 July 20268 min read

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A health worker attending to a woman during a mobile health visit

Women's Health

The womb and the wage: why 2025 was a turning point in Beed

In Beed, thousands of women have had their wombs removed so they could keep cutting cane without a day's pause. In 2025 the state finally began screening women before migration and monitoring the operations. Here is what changed, what didn't, and what it means for the families we walk with.

12 June 20268 min read

Children studying with their books at a roadside camp

Education

Children of the cane: what it costs to miss half a year of school

Every harvest, children of migrant cane cutters lose roughly six months of school — and many never recover the year. In 2025 Maharashtra cleared hostels to let them stay and study. We look at the dropout trap, the promise of the new scheme, and the bridge classes that travel with the families.

20 May 20268 min read

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