The resident field investigators of the VDSA project couldn’t have asked for a better change from their daily routine of data gathering. At ICRISAT-Patancheru during 3-7 January 2011 for a Write-shop on VDSA Village Profiles, it gave them an opportunity to hone their skills in becoming proficient writers of the profiles of their villages.

The Write-shop was conducted with the objective: (a) to complete the drafts of village profiles, (b) to have a deeper understanding of the story of each village (development pathways and drivers of change), and (c) to write a one-page abstract on village development pathways and drivers of change in each village. It reviewed the progress made in their writing and provided the investigators with a suitable orientation to produce high quality write-ups.

During the course of discussions, feedback from the resident field investigators was sought on several issues including burning issues in the development of the village, general features of the village, labor market dynamics, water scarcity, poverty dynamics, factors driving development and major constraints, technology adoption, diversification, government programs and village institutions, social networks and reduction in gender-based disparity and individual success/failure case studies, among others.