On World Food Day, this slideshow highlights how pigeon pea, a drought-resistant pulse, has brought a new source of food, fuel and income to poor women in the Indian village of Padasoli, near Jaipur.
“We all grow it now as it gives us good harvests and enriches the soil for the next crop,” says farmer Munni Devi. “I keep what I need and sell the rest."
The women of Padasoli make dal with pigeon pea, known as the "poor people's meat" for its high protein content. They also use the stalks as firewood, weave them into baskets, build houses and fences with them, and feed the leftovers to their animals.
Alina Paul, a communications consultant working with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), captured this "pulse revolution" on camera.
