RBSE Class 6 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 8 Rural Livelihoods

These comprehensive RBSE Class 6 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 8 Rural Livelihoods will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 6 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 8 Rural Livelihoods

→ Kalpattu Village: Kalpattu is a village that’s close to the sea coast in Tamil Nadu. People here do many non-farm work such as making baskets, utensils, pots, bricks, bullock-carts etc. There are people who provide services such as blockmiths, nurses, teachers, washermen, weaners, barbers, cycle repair mechanics and so on. There are also some shopkeepers and traders. Such as teashops, grocery shops, barber shops, a cloth shop, a tailor and two fertiliser and seed shops. There soihe people who go to the nearby town to work as construction workers and lorry drivers. 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.

→ Thulasi: Thulasi work on Ramalingam’s land. She gets regular wages only at the time of planting, weeding and harvesting. Apart from working in the field, she does all the household work, goes to the forest, brings, wood and brings water from a distance of one kilometre.

Her husband, Raman is a labourer and don’t own any land. He sprays pesticides. When there is no work on the farm he finds work outside and helps Thulasi in getting materials such as groceries for the house.
It is clear that 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. Nearly 40% of all rural families are agricultural labourers in our country. Not being able to earn money throughout the year forces people in many rural areas to travel long distances in search of work.

→ Seker: My family has only two acres of land and manage to do all the work on
his own. The trader gave seeds and fertilisers as a loan. To pay back this loan I have to sell my paddy to him at a somewhat lower price. But whatever he has will last only eight months. So he work in Ramalingam’s rice mill. He has a hybrid cow, whose milk he sell in the local milk cooperative.

→ On being in Debt: Often farmers like Sekar need to borrow money to purchase basic things like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides and for household. When the crops ruined, the farmers sometimes are unable to pay back their loans resulted in many farmers committing suicide.

→ Ramalingam and Karuthamma: In addition to land, Ramalingam’s family owns a rice mill and a shop selling seeds, pesticides etc. This gives them a substantial income.

→ Agricultural Labourers and Farmers in India: In Kalpattu village there are agricultural labourers like Thulasi, and many small farmers like Sekar, and a few big farmers like Ramalingam. In Indian nearly two out of every five rural families are agricultural labourer families. Many of them are landless and others may own very small plots of land. In India 80 per cent of farmers belong to this group. Only 20 per cent of India’s farmers are big farmers. These large farmers cultivate most of the land in the villages. A large part of their produce is sold in the market. M any of them have started other businesses such as shops, moneylending, trading, small factories etc. Apart from farming, many people in rural areas depend upon collection from the forest, animal husbandry, dairy produce, fishing etc. Selling milk may be the main source of livelihood for some families.

→ Arana and Paarivelan: Aruna and Paarivelan's family live in a village named Pudupet near Kalpattu. Their houses are close to the sea. People here earn their living by fishing. For at least about four months during the monsoon, they cannot go to the sea because this is when the fish breed. During these months they survive by borrowing from the trader. As a result, they are forced to sell the fish to that trader.

→ Rural Livelihoods: Rural Livelihoods are :

• Agriculture. Most farmers grow crops both for their own requirements and also to sell in the market,
• Business and other activities,
• Fishing,
• Agricultural labourers
• Animal Husbandry,
• Handicrafts.

However, most small farmers, agricultural labourers, fishing families, crafts persons in the villages do not find enough work to keep them employed throughout the year.