Adar Zehavi undertook her  internship with the Institution  for Rural and Cultural  Development (I-CARD) in  Northeast India where she  worked in research and analysis, assessing the state of youth in the Mising community on issues related to youth  livelihood, employment, and urban migration.

Kalbari village: 'Tea garden' "I don't have the tools necessary to gather the tea leaves." 'My own Tea garden' "…I want to be an owner of a Tea-garden… I need money… if I'll work hard and save money I will have my own Tea garden."

Borgarah village: 'Well-educated children' "We don't have money for books or pencils, we don't have chairs or tables and teachers in our village are not committed to their work but, we can spend time with small children and teach them what we know, so that they will have better chances than ours".

Borgoyan village: 'Flood resistant paddy fields' "Good crops of rice are our tribe's symbol of success: A Cow grazing in rotten paddy field will show our challenge on the way to success."

Vjani village: 'Company job'  "Knowing computers is a must for finding good job in the city. When you have good job in the city you can save money and become successful man."

The state of Assam in Northeast India is home to the Mising tribe. Having been located along the Brahmaputra River since the year 1200, the Mising are a peaceful community of approximately 1,300,000 people, with unique cultural and social characteristics which have evolved from their independent and isolated way of life. At present, the Mising, like other tribal communities around the world, struggle to adjust to the effects of diverse global phenomena, including climate change, social inequality and food insecurity. The Mising youth, at the crossroad into adulthood, are highly affected by those global challenges; no longer able to thrive by using traditional agricultural methods, they also lack sufficient skills for employment and role models (i.e. adults) who have successfully integrated into the market economy in their immediate vicinity. This situation poses a tremendous obstacle to their identity formation, and challenges their perceptions of self, inhibiting them from becoming successful members who contribute to society.

The pictures presented here are part of the research that I conducted with youth from the Mising tribe. The research focuses on the rural to urban migration of these youth and its effects on their personal development, as well as on rural development overall. In this photography project, the research participants were asked to take a picture that reflects an obstacle to their personal success. The pictures were taken in the villages of the Mising tribe, highlighting the perceived gaps between the notion of success and the present situation in the village, all as seen through the eyes of the participants. These pictures also reflect the possible means for change, and the participants' vision regarding the effective and available ways for bridging those gaps.

The emphasis on images of success in these photos is designed to draw attention to the struggle, representing a process of change within itself. The tension between the image showing the current situation and the title that describes a desired future situation is intended to highlight what is missing in the development process of rural areas. Moreover, these photos also allow the viewer to get a glimpse of the courage and creativity displayed by the Mising youth, thus enabling us to observe our global village from their unique point of views.

Adar Zehavi