Livelihoods

A livelihood is the work people do to earn a living and meet their needs. In this chapter you will see how people earn their living in villages and cities. In the village of Kalpattu in Tamil Nadu, most people depend on farming. Some, like Thulasi, are landless agricultural labourers who work on others' fields for low wages and have work only during some months. Small farmers like Sekar own a little land and often borrow money from traders at high interest, falling into debt, while large farmers like Ramalingam own much land, hire labourers and run other businesses such as a rice mill. People in coastal villages earn by fishing, depending on the weather and the season. In cities, people work in many ways. Street vendors like Bachchu Manjhi sell goods or pull cycle-rickshaws, earning little with no security. Shop owners need licences, while workers in factories and offices may have casual jobs with no benefits or permanent jobs with regular salary, provident fund, medical benefits and paid leave.

Detailed Worksheet: Livelihoods Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is a livelihood? Give two examples of rural and two of urban livelihoods. (2 marks) 2. Who is an agricultural labourer? Why is their income uncertain? (2 marks) 3. What is meant by debt? Why do small farmers often fall into debt? (2 marks) 4. Distinguish between casual work and permanent work. (2 marks) 5. What are street vendors? Name two problems they face. (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. Thulasi earns Rs 300 a day as an agricultural labourer. She finds work for 150 days a year. (i) Find her yearly income. (ii) Find her average monthly income. (iii) Why does she not get work all year round? (3 marks) 7. Sekar borrowed Rs 10,000 from a trader at an interest of 3 percent per month. (i) How much interest does he pay in one month? (ii) How much in 12 months, if he does not repay any of the loan? (iii) Why is borrowing from traders risky for small farmers? (3 marks) 8. In a village of 500 families, 60 percent are landless labourers, 30 percent are small farmers and the rest are large farmers. (i) Find the number of families in each group. (ii) Which group is the largest? (iii) What does this tell you about land ownership in villages? (3 marks) 9. A street vendor buys vegetables for Rs 1,200 every morning and sells them for Rs 1,650. He pays Rs 50 a day for transport. (i) Find his daily profit. (ii) Find his profit in 26 working days. (iii) Name two risks that can reduce his income. (3 marks) 10. Sudha works in a permanent job with a monthly salary of Rs 40,000. 12 percent of her salary goes to her provident fund. (i) How much goes to the provident fund each month? (ii) How much in a year? (iii) Name two other benefits she gets. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing the different livelihoods in a farming village: large farmers, small farmers, agricultural labourers, traders, and people in non-farm work, with one example of each. (4 marks) 12. Draw a bar graph showing the number of days of work per year for these workers: agricultural labourer 150 days, small farmer 200 days, factory casual worker 180 days, permanent office worker 290 days. (3 marks) 13. Draw a labelled sketch of a coastal fishing village showing boats, nets, a fish market and houses. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Fishing families in coastal villages cannot fish during the monsoon months. (i) Why is fishing stopped during this period? (ii) How do these families manage? (iii) Why do they often take loans? (iv) Suggest one way the government can help them. (5 marks) 15. Compare the lives of Thulasi (a landless labourer) and Ramalingam (a large farmer) under these headings: land owned, income, other work and security. What changes could reduce this inequality? (5 marks) 16. Casual workers in factories are hired when there is extra work and asked to leave when work is less. (i) What problems does this create for them? (ii) Why do employers prefer casual workers? (iii) How is a permanent worker better protected? (iv) Suggest one way to improve the condition of casual workers. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Show all working for calculations and draw diagrams neatly.