SURREAL LANDSCAPE: An abundant harvest of organic cotton at the gin near Mahima, in Madhya Pradesh. Ginning separates the fibers from the seedpods.

yields dropped, and suicides rose, the region earned the title of “dying fields.” Desperate farmers sold their cattle, their wives’ jewelry, and even their land.

Farmers like Jalit, who had a debt of $2,000, and his neighbor Ramesh Santoshrao Shinde, who had a $1,500 loan, sensed hope when Arun Chandra Ambatipudi stepped in with Chetna Organic Farmers Association. Ambatipudi, a sustainable farming expert who has worked with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), partnered with the Dutch NGO Solidaridad to set up Chetna.

Under Chetna, now a collective of some 6,000 or so, farmers reject costly chemical sprays and fertilizers, reducing the need to borrow from local money lenders at high interest rates.

Making herbal pesticide sprays, tending to the organic manure compost pits, and weeding by hand are all hard work. But “our workers are not giddy or nauseous from handling toxic chemicals,” says Shinde. Yields have steadied, and the premium for organic, fair-trade cotton is making farmers hopeful for the future. Chetna supports them by providing access to markets, bringing them together to negotiate prices,

and connecting them to retailers, says Ambatipudi.

The cotton from Kirjawla and other villages goes from storage to the local ginning mills and then on to the city of Kolkata in eastern India. In that crowded urban sprawl formerly known by its anglicized name Calcutta, Rajat Jaipuria’s Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, a garment- and bed linen-maker, is the link between the farmers and labels like Coyuchi.

Jaipuria proudly says his products are not just organic but also fair trade— certified after ensuring that small producers are paid fair prices and no child labor is used in the factories.

“The higher price for organic cotton and the premium for fair trade certifications can make organic farming sustainable,” says Christine Nielson, founder of Coyuchi, whose entire product range comes from Chetna’s produce.

Between them, Chetna, Rajlakshmi, and retailers like Coyuchi are giving small farmers a chance to break free from poverty and debt. Because of this thriving chain, employees in the mill have good working conditions, and farmers are getting better prices for their organic and fair-trade certified produce. 0