In India a huge population is under severe poverty, they are relaying on several livelihoods. If each one who read this question contribute about any livelihood to redefine it for poor I will be greatful.
Redefining the livelihoods of poor people in such a large country as India is a tall order. To its credit, India has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty; that said, the World Bank estimates that 270 millions (or 1 in 5 Indians) remain poor and that 80% of them live in the rural areas. But, before livelihoods can be "redefined", assuredly in partnership and not top–down, it might be helpful to better understand the factors that constrain or enhance livelihood opportunities and see how they relate. Toward this, the livelihoods approach can help plan development activities and assess the contribution that existing activities have made to sustaining livelihoods. To note also, providing more infrastructure (and other facilities) in rural areas and so creating economic (and other opportunities) outside of cities would help stem rural–urban migration and consequent aggravation of living conditions in cities. Cultivating Rural Amenities: An Economic Development Perspective, a 1999 publication of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, is well worth reading and acting upon.
Article The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach
@Oliver Serrat thanks for the reply. I will definitely follow your inputs. And the bottom up approach only I am going to follow to understand the livelihoods. I am in field now and living with the poor communities in their house. I will stay here with them and deal a life like them for another 60days for a holistic understanding. Then the findings will be presented in front of the experts and community members. Later with the help of all through a participatory method we will try to redefine the livelihoods. If still I am missing something please correct me. Yours inputs will be very useful for us for India.
Technical Report Future Solutions Now - The Tonle Sap Initiative
may be of interest: the piece illustrates how the livelihoods approach was used in Cambodia, and enriched by appreciative inquiry, to identify entry points to sustainable livelihoods and potential livelihood outcomes. (The exercise led to a real-life grant by the Asian Development Bank, in the amount of $20 millions; details are at https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/68899/39603-cam-rrp.pdf.)
@Emmanuel Vijayanand please give some guidance on the research design.
It is good you have an immersive experience to complement your study. After doing international development work, I can say like Olivier above, appreciative inquiry approach does help to reframe. You may want to check the local language for livelihood, and its roots (is it just related to food? to overall market transactions? or beyond market transactions) and get your basic statement from there. You can draw with them maps of different businesses in community and how communities relate to them. Make them draw scaled circles as to how they relate to certain places or businesses and for what as they move farther out. What resources flow in and out? Barriers to and costs of 'good' flows. Where do they visualize themselves 5-10 years from now? What do you wish to see 2-5-10 years happening in your village. What can you do to bring it about? Don't know if this helps. Never mention the word 'needs'. I also ask, what are you most proud about your village? (are they aware of their natural resources or maybe mostly public goods or one they mostly built themselves?). visioning helps identify gaps.
Maria Cristina Bautista Thanks you for the reply. It is really a very good input for me to refine my study design. Yes I forget the word need, this is the most important thing you tell me. If possible can you give me a clear picture of " appreciative inquiry approach "?
a question whose answers from experts interest me greatly.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Geoscience
- Asia
- India