India's village Tulsi turns paradise for YouTubers

India's village Tulsi turns paradise for YouTubers

(Web Desk) -A third of the people living in the small town of Tulsi in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh make videos for a living, earning the village the moniker "YouTube Village." Online video content is more popular than ever, and it’s no surprise that millions of people all over the world are working hard to make a living as video creators. But nowhere is the concentration of would-be YouTubers greater than in Tulsi Village, a small rural settlement in Chhattisgarh, where over a third of the 3,000-strong local population is actively making videos and posting them on YouTube for profit. Many of these creators used to be farmers, but after hearing that some of their peers had doubled, even tripled their income making YouTube videos, they decided that it was time for a career change. The story of India’s YouTube Village began with two friends, Gyanendra Shukla and Jai Verma, who left their jobs as network engineers and teachers, respectively, to make video content. Before long, they started earning a pretty penny from their new endeavor, and word of their success spread throughout the village, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. Around 40 percent of the village population is now engaged in making video content for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, with the youngest being 15 and the oldest being an 85-year-old grandmother.