Development Immersion with Community

1 TRANSECT WALK
Name of Village Uthukuli
Panchayat: Thenkarai (Consists of 8 villages)
Block: Vadipatti
Community: SC and Kallar Community
450 Households with more than 1600 voters.
Educational Facilities:

The village has the primary school with 32 students and 2 teaching staff.

Aanganbadi center with 20 students

2 Higher Secondary school within a distance of 2 km. One school in Solavandanam and
the other one in Mallipuram.

Around 40% of the women in village have studied but hardly 8-9 women work.

Health and Sanitation Facilities:

No health center in the village but the government health facilities available in nearby
village solavandanam.

90% of the household have toilet facilities but hardly 60% of them use it as they prefer
open defecation.

Drinking water and Irrigation Facilities:

24 hours drinking water supply through the tank and communal tap.

2 drinking water tank, one built by the panchayat and the other one by block in 2012.

For Irrigation, they have river channel connected to Vaigai river but it is seasonal.

Farmers with more than 5 Acres of land have their own irrigation pump sets.

Other farmers are mostly based on rain fed agriculture system.

Electricity and Cooking Gas Facilities:

Village has nice electrical connectivity with occasional power cuts on average of 2 hours
per day.

70% of the villagers have cooking gas facilities and most of them was provided for free
from the state government. Some of them use it partially along with fire chulha and 1015% of them dont use it.

Major Occupation

The major occupation of the village is Farming with major cultivation of Banana, Coconut
and Paddy.

All the farmers are using chemical farming. They are not happy with the results now but
still following it as they think that this is the only thing they now.

Most of the farmers are subsistence farmers.

Around 700 members are doing 100 days jobs under MNREGA scheme and many people have
improved their income status through this scheme.

1.1 CASH FLOW OF THE FAMILY

1.1.1

First Family

Head of the Family- Pothum Ponnu

Married in 1991 and native to village near Madurai.
Husband- Wage Labor
Type of Family- BPL
Category- S2
Childrens:
1 Son- Studied MSC and working for some mechanical work in Madurai and earning 6000 Rs. Per
month.
1 Daughter- Studied B.Ed. and married 2 years back.
Assets
Old tiled house which looks in ok condition with 2 rooms in it.
10 cents of Agriculture Land with 20 trees of coconut in it.
Table Fan, Cooking gas, 2 Sleeping Cot, Mixer Grinder, Few Chairs
Income Sources:
Husband working as a daily laborer and earning Rs. 300-400 per day but difficult to find job every
day. So average working of 15 days in a month with average monthly income of Rs 5000 per
month.
Son working in Madurai with monthly income of Rs. 6000 and a family contribution of around Rs.
2500 per month.
Income from coconut plantation from 10 cents of land but given in lease for 3 years in order to
gain advance cash of Rs. 25,000 for daughter marriage.
Expenses:

Electricity: Subsidy from government for upto 100 units of electricity so the electricity cost is now
really low. They have a bill of around Rs. 70 per 2 months.
They have traditional wood burning chulha and try to use it most of the times with the waste
wood and coconut byproducts.
Gas: Free Gas connection from state government so they were using 1 Gas Cylinder every 3
months and with expenses up to Rs 400 after government Subsidies.
Groceries: The family was buying some vegetables and other necessary groceries from nearby
village Solavandam and were spending Rs. 700-800 per month.
35 kg of free rice from the PDS shop under BPL scheme and other subsidized food from the store.
Clothes and other accessories with an expense of 1500-2000 per year.
Social and Religious Contribution: The family was active in various activities and getting involved
in various religious and social events. The expense were around 3000-4000 Rs per year.
Health Facilities:
No health facility in the village but available in nearby village Solavandam which is 1.5 kms away.
They avail the free health facilities from the government but prefer to go the private ones as they
have to wait for long time in government ones.
They use boiled water when someone is ill otherwise normal tap water.
Poor Sanitation facility and the family still uses open sanitation despite of having toilet which was
made by the government support of Rs. 12,000. They feel comfortable in open dedication and
use the constructed toilet as store room.
Association with Dhan Foundation:
Member of Kalanjiam since last 10 years and have taken loans several times of children education
and other purposes.
70,000 loan from kalanjiam for daughters marriage 2 years ago.

Saving account in Kalanjiam Community banking with the monthly saving of Rs. 110 and the total
savings of Rs. 14452. Interest of 9% on the amount.
Major Issues:
Big loans taken by the family in order to support their Daughter marriage. Around 6 lakh rupees
were spended in marriage along with big dowry.
More than half of the money was taken in loan with private money lender and some from
Kalanjiam Community Banking. The outstanding loan amount is still 2.5 lakh and the family is
struggling with even paying the interest to the private money lender.
Dowry of 25 grams gold and other gifts for around 1 lakh was given. State support of Rs. 25000
and 4 Grams of gold for the marriage.
Cash Flow Analysis: The family income and expenditure are almost the same for now and
sometimes during festival the expenditure goes higher than income. The family have lost the
balance since the high amount of loan taken during their daughters marriage but now after their
sons employment the condition is getting better.
Conclusion and Remarks
The family happiness and satisfaction level was ok. They were deeply shattered by the huge
expenses and loans for daughters marriage but slowly trying to recover from it.
Need more awareness about the health and sanitation importance and the family seems to be
ignorant about various issues.
The condition of the family slightly improved after their son started working and they hope to
get more income once they get the land back form the leaser.
1.1.2

Second Family

Head of the Family- Murgan

Age 46 years and married for 26 years.

Occupation: Farmer (The only source of income in the family)

No of Family Members: 3 members including his wife and son. He has 3 daughters who are
married in nearby locations to Madurai.
His son is studying in 12th class in nearby village of Malllipuram.
Category- S2
Assets
Ancestral pacca house of 2 room with sanitation facility.
3 Acres of ancestral Agriculture Land with mostly paddy cultivation in it.
Table Fan, Ceiling Fan, Fridge, Cooking gas, 2 Sleeping Cot, Mixer Grinder, Few Chairs
Income Sources:
Murgan is normally a farmer since many years and use to grow paddy in his 3 acres of land and
use to have an income of around Rs. 75,000 per annum. He has given his land in lease for period
of 3 years in order to get the instant loan of 2.5 lakh for his daughter marriage.
He has two milch cows and manages to sell 12 litres of milk per day at Rs. 25 per liter in nearby
village. He just manages to cover his family expenses through that and he is not able to recover
any of his loan amount.
He also works for 100 days in a year under MNREGA scheme from Government of India to get
extra income. He has some family support from his son and wife for livestock rearing.

Expenses:
Electricity: Subsidy from government for upto 100 units of electricity so the electricity cost is now
really low. They have a bill of around Rs. 80 per 2 months.
Gas: Free Gas connection from state government so they were using 1 Gas Cylinder every 4-5
months and with expenses up to Rs 400 after government Subsidies.

They use firewood in chulha in order to save their expenses.

Groceries: The family was buying some vegetables and other necessary groceries from nearby
village Mallipuram and spend Rs. 800 per month.
20 kg of free rice from the PDS shop and other subsidized food from the store.
Clothes and other accessories with an expense of 1500-2000 per year.
Social and Religious Contribution: The family was active in various activities and getting involved
in various social events. The expense was around 5,000 Rs per year and this is quite high for them
but unavoidable due to higher social involvement after their daughters marriage.
Health Facilities: They avail the government health benefits from the nearby village of
Mallipuram and are quite satisfied with the facilities. They have no serious health issues so pretty
ok with it.
Association with Dhan Foundation:
Member of Kalanjiam since last 8 years and have taken loans few times for daughters marriage
and other purposes.
40,000 loan from kalanjiam for daughters marriage 2 years ago. Rs 10,000 paid back from the
loan amount but majority amount still remaining.
Saving account in Kalanjiam Community banking with the monthly saving of Rs. 110 and the total
savings of Rs. 12000.

Major Issues:
The major asset or the income source of the family is paddy land but the land is given for lease
since last 2 years. The family is out of farming but after 1 year the family expects to get the land
back and continue farming in it.

Murgan had no option other than getting into a bad deal with the money lender and had to give
his livelihood source farming for it. He still needs to pay 2.5 lakhs and thats his major setback.
Cash Flow Analysis: The family manages with the small income from the livestock and situation
has improved a bit since Murgan started 100 days job under MNREGA scheme. The family
manages to save around 1500 per month in order to cover the loan amount.
Conclusion and Remarks
The family happiness and satisfaction level was ok. They were deeply shattered by the huge
expenses and loans for daughters marriage but slowly trying to recover from it.
Need more awareness related to loan facilities and finance opportunities.

2 EXPOSURE TO TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES IN UNDERSTANDING POVERTY

2.1 TRANSECT WALK
Name of Village- Ramasamipatti
Panchayat- Alladipatti

District: Virudhunayak

Transect walk started from the south end of the village. The south end had Primary School,
PDS shop and Aangadbadi center.

There were around 120 households in the village and most of the house were thatched
or tiled houses. The village had no sanitation facility.

Three household constructed the pacca house under government benefit of 2 lakh each.

Few small shops in the village selling some basic items.

Around 7 temples in the village, some were quite big and a new one was under
construction with heavy investment from the villagers.

Many households had livestock mostly chickens, goats and occasionally cows.

Health Facilities:
There was no health center in the village but was available in the nearby village
Mobile hospital in the nearby village since 2014
Poor sanitation facilities as most of the houses didnt had toilets.
Major Occupation:
The majority of the villagers were farmers and were growing cotton and paddy as a major crop.
There was proper livestock integration in almost all of the farms.
The land holding per family was around 2 acres which was quite high as compared to other area.
Most of the farmers were also working on the cotton mill nearby.
Many people were also working for 100 days job under MNREGA scheme.
Transport Facilities:
Occasional bus connectivity from the nearby village and city. The road facility was quite OK.

Due to cotton mills in the vicinity, most of the roads were built by the mill owners.

2.2 TIMELINE STUDY OF THE VILLAGE

The timeline study gives us and idea of developments and how the condition of village has been
changing with time. The various interventions and developments in the village are listed below:
1956: Drinking water through open well
1966: Electricity facility in the village
1966: Private transportation from the textile industry that was located nearby.
1971: Hand pump in village
1972: Overhead tank in village
1972: Primary school in the village
1985: Thatched House
1994: First bore well in the village
1996: Tile House
2001: Concrete House
2007: Aanganwadi center in village
2009: Cooperative bank in the nearby village
2009: Construction of new primary school in south end of village
2014: Mobile Hospital in nearby village

2.3 SOCIAL MAPPING

It is the most important technique for understanding the village dimensions and other various
important matter of the village. Though its a lengthy process of understanding village and
poverty, but it gives insight of various issues and its linkages.

Along with the information and knowledge about the village, social mapping also helps us in:

Understanding the participation of the people, we can easily identify the person with high
knowledge and involvement.

Categorization of the families with the participatory method and the villagers themselves
decide about it.

Various conflicts regarding categorization are resolved by all members participation.

Its a nice way to immerse into the community by participatory immersion and a chance
to meet every villager and getting accepted by them.

3 LIVELIHOOD ASSESSMENT
3.1.1

Family Details

Head of the Family- Mr. Panda

Occupation: Farmer

Huge involvement from the family in the agriculture activities including 4 sons and his wife.
Category- S3
Assets
Semi Pakka house with 3 rooms and sanitation facility.
5 Acres of Agriculture Land with 3 Acres of Paddy cultivation and remaining 2 Acres for Banana
Cultivation.
Pump set for irrigation.
2 milch cows
Other basic household items.
Income Sources:
1. Banana Cultivation- Panda grows 2 Acres of Banana Cultivation and considers it as a

major source of income.

2. Paddy Cultivation: 3 Acres of Paddy in traditional style farming.
3. Livestock- The family has 2 milk cows mainly for subsistence but some extra milk is sold

in neighborhood.
4. Banana Leaf- The family sells around 40-50 bundles of banana leaf per month and

generates additional income through it.

3.2 DETAILED INCOME ANALYSIS

3.2.1

Paddy Cultivation:

Rice is the major cultivation and has been done in that area since centuries. Last year there was
a heavy loss in rice cultivation and according to Panda it was because of severe weather condition
which led to pest attack.

He tried various techniques and pesticides but couldnt save his crop. According to him he has
very good knowledge of the plant and how to take care of it and he was wandering that despite
of his knowledge he faced losses and how would the conditions of another farmer be.
Financial analysis for Paddy:
Investment: Rs 80,000
Outcome: Rs 62,000
Loss: Rs 18,000
Input costs breakdown: Fertilizer cost- 10,000
Rs. 6,000 for organic fertilizer and chemical pesticide
Extra labor of 250 labor days along with 4-member involvement from the family at labor cost of
150-250 per day.
Harvester rented at Rs 160 per hour.
Normally the profit per acre use to be 25,000 Rs for paddy but the family suffered from a loss
due to severe weather conditions.
Market channel assessment
There are three ways to sell the product:
1. If agent comes to the village: Agents pay less money but the transportation cost of the
farmers is saved as they come to the village. They take atleast a month to pay the money
to the farmers so very few farmers are interested in it.
2. Through Government Channels: This is the most preferred one and pays a nice price but
it only available in the summers. The government channels dont have proper
infrastructure to store and are afraid that it will be damaged by rain.

3. Directly to Market: By rented tractor, the farmers along with Panda collectively transport
the rice bags to the market. They pay Rs 60 per bag as transportation cost, they get less
price but the payment is instant so they go with this option.
Mr. Panda didnt knew about the crop insurance from the government but now after the crop
failure and being aware of the opportunity, they want to avail it.
3.2.2

Financial Analysis for Banana Cultivation:

There is investment of 80,000-100,000 rupees per 1000 plants of banana. According to Panda
the banana cultivation has following characteristics:

High risk involved

Output varies a lot and heavy wind can be really disastrous

Highly profitable as banana leaves can also be sold

High profit during festivals by selling banana

A whole bunch of banana from a single plant can fetch between Rs. 100-600. So there is
high variation in the income.

The growing season is for 16 months so yearly calculation is difficult

Investment and Outcome

Banana plantation needs manual labor so there is cost of around 6,000 per month in order to
remove weeds and shoots from the field.
The outcome is really high if it goes for above Rs 400 for each bunch. He was managing to have
monthly profit of around 20,000-25,000 from selling bananas.
Additional monthly profit of 4,000- 5,000 was generated by selling the banana leaves.

Evaluation of Vulnerability Context

1. Trends: The population trend is positive for the family as the whole family is involved in

agriculture and from last 1 year his sons are also actively taking part in it.
Resource trends are higher due to availability of huge land, irrigation system and
availability of seeds and inputs for farming.
National and international economic trends for the family are neutral due to stable
government.
Demand for banana leaf is higher than the supply so the family is getting a nice income
by selling the leaves.
Technological trends are improving and is positive in this case. Panda knows about the
machinery available and uses mechanical harvester for quick and economical harvesting
of his paddy cultivation.
2. Shocks: Human health shock is quite high as the whole family is dependent on the physical

labor. The family is young now but in later stage the risk will be higher.
Nature shock is very high and the family had a huge loss in their paddy harvest due to the
pest attack. This attack was majorly due to vulnerable condition of plant due to cloudy
days. Drought is also a major concern and their pump is not sufficient to fetch water from
deep ground level in this case.
There is neutral economic shock and the Crop and Livestock health shocks are very high.
3. Seasonality: This is very unfavorable in the case of prices, production and health. The

seasonality of employment opportunity is also high and plays major role in availability of
labor.

3.3 THE ASSET PENTAGON

3.3.1

Human Capital: Very High

3.3.2

The skills and knowledge of the family regarding agriculture, irrigation, machinery, loan facilities,
inputs and potential was quite high. The family continues with their ancestral knowledge on crops.

3.3.3

Social Capital: Moderate

3.3.4

The social network and connectedness of the family was high. The family was not associated with
any cooperative except for some group in irrigation facilities. They had good contacts in the market
and in the village but lack the bargaining power due to unavailability of groups with collective
actions.

3.3.5

Natural Capital: Poor or low

The natural capital is very vulnerable in case of agriculture as they are heavily dependent
on natural resources. There is heavier risk because of bad monsoons, wind storms,
erosion, soil life etc. This is difficult to manage and the farmer family consider it to be a
high risk.
3.3.6

Physical Capital: High

The basic infrastructure is available for the family to avail the benefits and to improve
their livelihoods. The transport facilities are good and there is good access to information.
There is availability of equipment and machinery for renting but sometimes its difficult
for farmers to use it because of high rent and monopoly of the owners.
3.3.7

Financial Capital: Moderate

There is moderate inflow of money and the family has some basic savings in cooperative
bank.

3.4 CONCLUSION AND REMARKS

The family is categorized in S3 category as the family is able to give employment to many local
laborers. Human capital and physical capital of the family is quite strong but there have been
some losses in agriculture due to very weak natural capital.
Moreover, the family is now facing the problem with rising labor charges after the introduction
of 100 labor days under MNREGA scheme. There is less availability of labor for faming and hard
jobs as everyone is preferring comparatively easy job under MNREGA and the supply of labor is
short which is effecting the agriculture production.
The family had most of the knowledge and skills for production, market, harvesting and other
stuff but they were unaware of crop insurance scheme but they are willing to do it next season.