Study Location - Meghalaya

STAGE 1

Diagnosis (obtaining and analysing baseline information)

Step 1:   Details of the study locations/village livelihood profile

Mawphlang Block in East Khasi Hills district lies 25 km away from the state capital, Shillong. Though well connected by the approach road, this block is rural. Agriculture is the main occupation of the khasis, who inhabit this region (The khasis are the dominant tribe of Meghalaya). The hilly terrain and the land conditions of the sample area do not offer much scope in bringing additional area under wet condition. However, the state has a vast potential for developing horticulture. The agro-climatic variations offer much scope for cultivation of the temperate and tropical fruits and vegetables. Rice, maize, potato, cotton, orange, ginger, tezpata, areca nut, jute, mesta, banana and pineapple are the principal agricultural produce. Dependence on the forestlands is primarily for fuel-wood. Forestland belongs mostly to clans. Other households sometimes get usufruct rights. Timber, bamboo, reed, cane, ipecac medicinal herbs and plants, cinnamon, lemon grass and thatch grass are the principal forest produce.

All the villages surveyed are engaged in agriculture on their own or lease land. Agriculture is essentially for subsistence. Paddy and potato are the crops that are grown by majority of the respondents. Few are able to sell the produce (if any). Cultivation is mostly rain fed, except in a few low lying villages where local water bodies are also used. There is a high dependence on labour. Though many of the people are not willing to migrate for labour work, families in distress have to resort to labour work outside the village/block. Few industries can employ people for the whole year.

Not many people are aware of the government programmes/schemes. There is a need for proper dissemination of relevant information to the people regarding their rights and opportunities available under different government programmes. In Mawphlang block in Meghalaya, people seem to have no long-term plans. The reason could be attributed to their limited resources and lack of information. Hence, a general feeling of hopelessness has crept in where the only alternative seems to be the government grants/beneficiary schemes.

Being a hilly area (still backward in trade, commerce and industry), with four-fifths of its population in the rural areas, the necessity of proper road network is of utmost importance in the study location. The state is not served by railways and the river transportation is not feasible. Hence, roads are the only means of bulk transportation here.

Table 1. Land use pattern in Mawphlang block:

Mawphlang is dependent on rain fed agriculture. Land holdings are small (1.05 ha). Mawphlang is constrained by its topography; making it difficult for people to make livelihoods out of the lands that they have. 
Table 2. Main features of village livelihood in Mawphlang block

Too many people depend on limited and declining natural resource base. There is high dependence on unskilled labour for generating an income and poultry and goatery are significant livestock activities here. 

Step 2: Details of household livelihood profiles

Agriculture being seasonal as well as only for consumption, the households depend on other sources of income to tide them over for rest of the year as well to meet their monetary demands. People who are engaged in the agriculture on leased land have the additional burden of repaying the lease amount despite crop failures. The landlords are usually people who get better opportunities, as they shift to urban or semi-urban areas and retain their lands in the villages to lease them to other people. The other sources of income are mainly unskilled labour work, petty businesses, business as contractors, small tailoring shops, pig rearing, and teashops. Very few are employed in the government sector. Food shortage is occasionally seen among households.

Table 3. Food security status

The main source of income comes from agriculture. The very high extent of dependence on agriculture reveals lack of other opportunities.

Table 4. Main source of income

Step 3: Details of women’s livelihood profiles

Most of the individual’s demands are for the supply of credit. Mostly the women wish to avail benefit under government schemes, though some are reluctant to take loans as they have little or no capacity to repay. This is also an indicator of the level of poverty in this block. Many of the individuals do not know about the different support services. Many women aspire to set up non-farm business, which already exists in the same village without knowing the demand.

Table 5. Women’s livelihood profile in Mawphlang

* Note:
1. Women engage in multiple activities, So, the same women engaged in two activities would be counted against each activity.
2. Percentage figures indicate the percentages to the total women engaged in different occupations and not the actual number of women or economically active women.
Most of the women are engaged as labourers followed by poultry and piggery livestock keeping. There is a clear lack of other initiatives and enterprises in this block. 

Step 4: Details of women’s aspirations

Women have multiple aspirations. The study revealed that all of them want to improve their standard of living and have a good quality of life. Those who could articulate their aspirations, talked about constructing a better house and providing better education to their children. Except a few women who are constrained by caste, occupation and religion, all of them want to improve their income by engaging in some of the activities/occupations, which they currently see as relevant.

Table 6. Aspirations identified by women to increase income

• Business non-farm includes grocery shops, small petty shops, cashew and NTFP business, tiffin centres, teashops, goat business, tailoring shops, cloth shops, small contractors etc
• Livestock includes dairy, piggery, poultry and goatery
• Artisanal, traditional and minor skills are barbers, carpenters, palm leaf weaving, drivers, mechanics etc
• Agriculture/horticulture owned/leased activity includes purchase of additional lands, improvement of the existing practices, fencing, irrigation facilities etc
• Aquaculture is promoting fish, prawn and shrimp culture either in own/leased lands
• Employment refers those who aspire to be employed in public and private sectors
• Fisheries in owned/shared crafts refer going for fish catching in owned /shared crafts
• Labour in agriculture implies assured labour availability throughout the year within the village
• NREGS refers to the rural employment guarantee programme implemented by the Government
• Others include education, better housing, pension, health services,  toilets etc
• Post harvest activity includes value addition to the farm/fish/forest produce
• Rent on Assets include lending out vehicles on hire, rent on building ,

Though many women are keen on starting some non-farm business activity, none of them was able to suggest the kind of support and services they require for doing the same, except credit. All of them believe that if they could get credit, they could engage successfully in these activities. This clearly reveals their lack of experience of setting up new activities and the lack of awareness and knowledge about other kinds of services and support (technical training, entrepreneurial skills, market links etc) required to establish a business opportunity.  

Step 5: Details of support and service networks

The final step of stage 1 was to collate information and details of the support and service networks available in Mawphlang Block. This information is presented in Tables 7, 8 and 9. 

Table 7. Support and service network