ABOUT KALPATTU VILLAGE
Kalpattu is a village that's close to the sea coast in Tamil Nadu. People here do many kinds of work. As in other villages, here too there is non-farm work such as making baskets, utensils, pots, bricks, bullock-carts, etc.
There are people who provide services such as blacksmiths, nurses, teachers, washermen, weavers, barbers, cycle repair mechanics, and so on. There are also some shopkeepers and traders. In the main street, which looks like a bazaar, you will find a variety of small shops such as tea shops, grocery shops, barbershops, a cloth shop, a tailor, and two fertilizer and seed shops. There are four teashops, which sell tiffins – such as idli, dosai, and upama in the morning and snacks like vadai, bonda, and mysorepak in the evening. Near the teashops in a corner lives a blacksmith family whose home serves as their workshop. Next to their home is a cycle hire and repair shop. Two families earn a living by washing clothes. There are some people who go to the nearby town to work as construction workers and lorry drivers.
The village is surrounded by low hills. Paddy is the main crop that is grown in irrigated lands. Most of the families earn a living through agriculture.
There are some coconut groves around. Cotton, sugar cane, and plantain are also grown, and there are mango orchards. Let us now meet some people who work in the fields in Kalpattu and see what we can learn about farming from them.
Activity:
1. Describe the work that you see people doing in the above pictures.
2. Identify the different types of work that are related to farming and those that are not. List these in a table.
3. In your notebook draw some pictures of work that you have seen people do in rural areas and write a few sentences that describe the work
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
THULASI
All of us here work on Ramalingam's land. He has twenty acres of paddy fields in Kalpattu. Even before I was married I used to work on paddy fields in my parental village. I work from 8.30 in the morning till 4.30 in the evening and Karuthamma, Ramalingam's wife, supervises us.
This is one of the few times in the year that I find regular work. Now I am transplanting the paddy, when the plants have grown a bit Ramalingam will call us again for weeding and then finally once again for the harvesting.
When I was young I could do this work with no difficulty. But now as I grow older I find bending for long hours with my feet in water very painful. Ramalingam pays Rs 40 per day. This is a little less than what labourers get in my home village, but I come here because I can depend on him to call me whenever there is work. Unlike others, he does not go looking for cheaper labour from other villages.
My husband, Raman is also a labourer. We don't own any land. During this time of the year, he sprays pesticides. When there is no work on the farm he finds work outside, either loading sand from the river or stone from the quarry nearby. This is sent by truck to be used in nearby towns to make houses.
Apart from working on the land, I do all the tasks at home. I cook food for my family, clean the house and wash clothes. I go with other women to the nearby forest to collect firewood. About one kilometre away we have a village bore well from where I fetch water. My husband helps in getting materials such as groceries for the house.
Our school-going daughters are the joy of our lives. Last year, one of them fell ill and had to be taken to the hospital in town. We had to sell our cow to pay back the money we borrowed from Ramalingam for her treatment.
As you saw in Thulasi's story poor families in rural areas often spend a lot of time every day collecting firewood, getting water, and grazing their cattle.
Even though they do not earn any money from these activities they have to do them for the household. The family needs to spend time doing this as they are not able to survive on the little money they earn.
Nearly two-fifth of all rural families are agricultural labourers in our country. There are some who have small plots of land while others like Thulasi are landless.
Not being able to earn money throughout the year forces people in many rural areas to travel long distances in search of work. This travel, or migration, takes place during particular seasons.
Activity:
1. Based on the above diagram would you say that Thulasi earns money throughout the year?
2. Describe the work that Thulasi does. How is it different from the work Raman does?
3. Thulasi gets paid very little money for the work she does. Why do you think agricultural labourers like her are forced to accept low wages?
4. In what ways would her way of earning a living have been different if Thulasi owned some farmland? Discuss.
5. What are the crops grown in your region or nearby rural area? What kinds of work do agricultural labourers do?
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
SEKAR
We have to carry this paddy to our house. My family has just finished harvesting our field. We don't own much land, only two acres. We manage to do all the work on our own. At times, especially during the harvest I take the help of other small farmers and in turn help them harvest their field.
The trader gave me seeds and fertilisers as a loan. To pay back this loan I have to sell my paddy to him at a somewhat lower price than what I would get in the market. He has sent his agent to remind farmers who have taken loans that they will sell the paddy only to him.
I will probably get 60 bags of paddy from my field. Some of this I will sell to settle the loan. The rest will be used in my home. But whatever I have will last only eight months. So I need to earn some money. I work in Ramalingam's rice mill. Here I help him collect paddy from other farmers in the neighbouring villages.
We also have a hybrid cow; whose milk we sell in the local milk cooperative. This way we get a little extra money for our everyday needs.
Activity:
1. What work does Sekar’s family do? Why do you think Sekar does not usually employ labourers for doing farming work?
2. Why does Sekar not go to the town market to get a better price for his paddy?
3. Sekar’s sister Mina had also taken a loan from the trader. She does not want to sell her paddy to him but she will pay back her loan. Write an imaginary conversation between Mina and the trader's agent and the arguments given by each person.
4. What are the similarities and differences between Sekar’s and Thulasi’s lives? Your answer could be based on the land that they have, their need to work on the land that belongs to others, or loans that they need, and their earnings.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
RAMALINGAM AND KARUTHAMMA
In addition to land, Ramalingam’s family owns a rice mill and a shop selling seeds, pesticides, etc. For the rice mill, they used some of their own money and also borrowed from the government bank. They buy paddy from within the village and from surrounding villages. The rice that is produced in the mill is sold to traders in nearby towns. This gives them a substantial income.
Transplanted paddy growing in a few of Ramalingam’s 20 acres. A result of hard labour performed by agricultural workers like Thulasi.
Activity:
Read again Sekar’s and Thulasi’s accounts. What do they say about Ramalingam, the large farmer? Together with what you have read fill in the details below:
1. How much land does he have?
2. What does Ramalingam do with the paddy grown on his land?
3. Apart from farming how else does he earn?
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
ON BEING IN DEBT
As you've read previous topics, very often farmers like Sekar need to borrow money to purchase basic things like seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides. Often they borrow this money from moneylenders. If the seeds are not of good quality or pests attack their crop there can be a major crop failure.
The crops can also be ruined if the monsoon does not bring enough rain. When this happens farmers sometimes are unable to pay back their loans. And, for the family to survive, they may even have to borrow more money. Soon the loan becomes so large that no matter what they earn, they are unable to repay.
This is when we can say they are caught in debt. In recent years this has become a major cause of distress among farmers. In some areas, this has also resulted in many farmers committing suicide.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK