Out of the 100 families at Ainshet village in Palghar's Vada taluka, around 25-30 have owned farming land for generations. "We are surrounded by the Vaitarna River on three sides and the Vada city on the other. Until 20 ago, we grew vegetables and fruits like chikoo, mango, coconut and bananas," said Rohan Thakare.

Twenty years ago, with liberalisation, each home saw the rise of government servants and contractors, and farming took a back seat. Thakare, too, moved to Thane in 2007 to study management and now he runs a security company with technology partners in Israel.