RURAL LIVELIHOOD NOTES

 

Notes

People in rural areas take up different types of activities to earn their livelihood. Some people work in the fields while some are involved in non-farming activities.

In a year, people mostly spend time and money on sowing, weeding, and harvesting during particular months. Their lives, thus, revolve around certain seasons as the production of crops depends on nature.

Those who have small lands depend on it for cultivation. Those who do not own land depend on others’ land to work there as labourers.

Small farmers sell their crops to the traders and store some for themselves.

Sometimes they take loans which lead them to debts. So, they also involve in other jobs.

The main problem they face is the repayment of their loans. If they have taken loans, they have to sell their crops to the moneylenders at a rate much cheaper than market price.

Agricultural labourers, fishing families, and craftspeople do not find employment throughout the year. They struggle hard to make ends meet.

Big farmers live better lifestyles with the money they earn from lands, factories, and other business activities.

Kalpattu village

• Kalpattu is a small village located near the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu.
• This village is surrounded by low hills.
• Agriculture is the main profession of the villagers.
• They mostly grow paddy as rice is the major crop in this region.
• Apart from paddy fields, there are coconut groves and mango orchards. Cotton, sugarcane, and plantain are also grown here.
• People in this village are engaged in a variety of professions.
• Some of them make utensils, pots, bricks, baskets, etc.
• Some people serve as blacksmiths, washermen, weavers, barbers, cycle repair mechanics, and so on.
• Traders are also there. They own small shops for clothes, groceries, tea, seeds, fertilisers, etc.
• Small stalls selling snacks can also be found there. They mainly sell local foods like idli, dosa, upama, bonda, mysore pak, and vadai.
• These people carry out economic activities within the village but there are some who go to the nearby town to earn a living and work there at construction sites, drive lorries, repair vehicles, etc.

Thulasi

• Thulasi is a poor woman who works on Ramalingam’s land from 8:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the evening.
• She gets work in particular seasons only. From June to November she finds regular work. She and other workers are called in to help with crops transplanting, weeding, and harvesting.
• Though she does all the laborious work of agriculture throughout the day, she gets only forty paisa per day as her daily wage. This is much less than what other labourers get in their home villages.
• Her husband, Raman, is a labourer. He spreads pesticides in the fields during this season.
• Thulasi also does all the domestic chores at home. She looks after the family, washes clothes, and cleans the house. She collects firewood from the nearby forest and fetches water from the village borewell that is about one kilometre away from her home. Her husband helps her carry groceries to the house.
• Amidst all the struggles of life, their daughters are the source of joy in their lives. They go to school.
• The little money they earn is not enough to run a family. When the daughters fall ill, Thulasi borrows money from Ramalingam for their treatment.

 

 Sekar

• Sekar is a small farmer whose family owns the land of two acres area
• They do all the agricultural work on their own. During the harvesting season, Sekar takes help from other farmers. In turn, he offers to work in their fields. After harvesting, Sekar’s family carry the paddy from the field to their home.
• Sekar buys seeds and fertilisers by selling his grains to the traders at a cheaper rateHe stores the remaining paddy for his family.
• To earn extra money, Sekar works in Ramalingam’s rice mill. There, his responsibility is to collect paddy from neighbouring villages.

·        His family also owns hybrid cows whose milk they sell to the cooperatives to meet the basic requirements of everyday life.

 

RAMALINGAM

• He owns agricultural land, a rice mill, and a shop selling pesticides and seeds for farmers.
• To run the mill, he invests his own money as well as takes loans from government banks.
• He collects paddy from his own village and the surrounding villages.
• He sells the rice to the traders in nearby towns. This acts as the major source of his income.

 

Aruna and Perarivalan

• Aruna lives in Pudupet, a village close to Kalpattu.
• Her family earns a livelihood by fishing.
• Her husband Perarivelan, her brother, and brother-in-law go to the sea to catch fish.
• Aruna’s responsibility is to sell the fish.
• The money they get from selling the fish is divided into four parts. One for each of them who go fishing and the fourth share is kept for buying fishing equipment. Aruna and her husband are the owners of the equipment. So, they get the fourth share as well.
• Fishermen are not allowed to catch fish during the breeding season. Therefore, they do not get income for about four months in a year.
• So, they borrow money from traders; in turn they have to sell the catch to them to repay the loan.