Monday Again
Mondays seem to be coming around faster and faster!
Today we went out with Mani for the final parts of our cultural exposure program and seeing more local economic activities. Main had carefully planned the day, and she was very disappointed when some rare heavy rainfall interfered with her hard work! I joked that at least the farmers would be happy, but Mani pouted and said that it wasn't even a good time for rain right now - rain is good when it comes and fills the water tanks, but now this much rain might just spoil any crops that have been growing. It really made me think about what a difficult and precarious life rural people here have to live.
Mani made a few more phone calls, and with her excellent planning skills she was soon able to reorganise the day. First of all, we met with Radha in Somandepalli, and went to a factory where incense sticks are packaged for distribution. The packing is all done by hand by local women, just working on the floor of an otherwise empty room in a godown.
The women earn a few rupees per pack for their packaging work. This hand work versus mechanised might seem inefficient when viewed from a capitalist and production-and-profit driven perspective, but the women work so quickly that they are capable of achieving plenty to sustain the supply. Their work is likely far more environmentally friendly than producing and running machinery, and even though they are working on branded products that you would assume are coming from large factories, in fact the company is providing employment, and therefore a living, to these rural women. Personally, I am not an ultra-capitalist, my values align more with elements of socialism and distributivism, plus environmentalism, so I personally feel that sharing some of the profits of a business with a local workforce in poor areas, rather than mechanising everything, and causing less environmental damage in the process, is a much better way of operating. At the same time though, it is important to understand that this kind of work, with poor ergonomic support, may have a heavy cost for the health of these women. Another negative factor is that the wages paid to these women will be extremely poor. So while it will be better than nothing and will allow them to achieve a greater income for their families than if they had no work, they are being financially exploited in comparison to men, who would be given a higher wage for work of equal skill.
While we were there, a small lorry came with more incense sticks for packing into the branded packaging ready for retail, and the ladies showed us the different fragrances come marked with coloured dye at the tips of the bamboo inner sticks.
Our next stop was at a 'handicapped group' (the term 'handicapped' is still widely used in India in the way that 'disabled' is used in Australia and the UK). The group was mainly comprised of people with intellectual disabilities, although there was also an adolescent in this group who had lost his arm in a farming accident when he was younger. The group's main function seems to be as a microcredit group, so that the handicapped people can acquire government loans, which can then be invested to give them some financial independence. In this group, people have used their money for things like buying milk animals so that they can produce and sell dairy products, starting up a small shop, and so on. The fact that they meet as a group also means that they gain social interactions and some better status in their communities through challenging stigma. There are many such groups in the region, and the leadership roles within each are also rotated around the members to give everybody a chance to gain experience.
Groups like these, as well as government financial support in the form of welfare payments - like the disability pension in Australia - help to prevent people with disabilities from being seen as financial burdens. This in turn has led fewer people in India, who were born with congenital disabilities or who acquired disabilities at a young age, from being placed in institutions such as orphanages. instead they are able to remain with their families and retain a much greater quality of life, particularly in relation to their emotional attachments and sense of identity.
We had tea with the group, and then as we broke up one of the members, who is non-verbal, signed enthusiastically to his father - who is also involved with the group, and whose house we were at - that he wanted to show us his shop. He took the keys and opened up, and proudly gestured to us to show us all of his stock. He took some bottles of pop from the fridge to give to us and took some sweets from a jar for us also. I asked for enough for all of us, and insisted on paying for them. Mani helped me by saying, in a very friendly way, that we had enjoyed tea with them in friendship but that this was business so I should pay. I didn't want to offend anyone by rejecting their hospitality, but I also didn't want to leave anyone out of pocket, so I was very grateful for Mani's help as with her we sorted it out in a very good-natured way and everyone was happy.
After we finished this visit, we headed back to Penukonda, where we met with Govindamma to see some beedi rolling.
Beedis are thin, rough cigarettes made from tobacco flake and wrapped in a leaf - similar to how cigars are made. This work is different to the incense stick packing, in that it is individual work that women complete in their own houses, rather than going to work in a 'factory'. The beedis are also made for a brand though, and the materials and hand tools are all provided to the women, who are then paid per package of beedis rolled. The finished beedis are collected and given their branded packaging before distribution for retail.
As we chatted (minimally because of language barriers, again thank goodness for almost-universally friendly body language!) the women offered us some food, giving us sweet rotis from the Muslim festival the previous day, biscuits, and dosa with a groundnut (peanut) chutney.
The women of the house liked that I was so interested in Indian culture and that I was wearing Indian clothes and jewellery, so Naseema, the mother in the house, went out and got me some glass bangles and put them on me - I was really touched and didn't even know how to respond appropriately to show how much I appreciated this gesture!
Another younger girl form the house fetched some family photos to show us, and also showed us the garlands that she makes for some extra income after school. I wanted to buy some of her garlands, but she had to provide these to a seller so I couldn't buy direct. Instead, we went to the shop in Penukonda afterwards, and although I couldn't find any quite the same, I did get a couple of small doorway garlands to take home.
Before leaving Penukonda we bought some fruit and greens, then said goodbye to Govindamma and headed on to meet some local hunters.
It was a very hot day and I was feeling a bit weary by this point, so I wasn't really sure how I felt about the hunting. I understand it as a fact of life and I think it could be better for the animals involved, as at least they are living freely before they are hunted, rather than being farmed. However, I wasn't necessarily interested in viewing the process as a spectator... I was lucky though, and the hunters set up their nets to drive rabbits into, but the heat of the afternoon meant that there were no rabbits around, and so I was able to see the process of the hunting without seeing any animals getting hurt.
Alex joined in with a second go at driving rabbits to the nets, and for once I was grateful to be excluded as I was so hot by then. I sat with Mani in the shade until she got fed up of waiting for the guys to finish, and then she called them back so that we could finish up for the day.
It has been so fascinating to get these glimpses into the local economic activities that allow people to provide for their families. The nature of the work is so different to the jobs I have done myself, and although I have lived in poverty in the UK, that is nothing compared to poverty in India. It is quite incredible to wonder at how many intelligent and capable people are forced to work all hours in drudge labour simply to survive, just because they happened to be born somewhere with fewer education opportunities and a different welfare system.
Today we went out with Mani for the final parts of our cultural exposure program and seeing more local economic activities. Main had carefully planned the day, and she was very disappointed when some rare heavy rainfall interfered with her hard work! I joked that at least the farmers would be happy, but Mani pouted and said that it wasn't even a good time for rain right now - rain is good when it comes and fills the water tanks, but now this much rain might just spoil any crops that have been growing. It really made me think about what a difficult and precarious life rural people here have to live.
Mani made a few more phone calls, and with her excellent planning skills she was soon able to reorganise the day. First of all, we met with Radha in Somandepalli, and went to a factory where incense sticks are packaged for distribution. The packing is all done by hand by local women, just working on the floor of an otherwise empty room in a godown.
The women earn a few rupees per pack for their packaging work. This hand work versus mechanised might seem inefficient when viewed from a capitalist and production-and-profit driven perspective, but the women work so quickly that they are capable of achieving plenty to sustain the supply. Their work is likely far more environmentally friendly than producing and running machinery, and even though they are working on branded products that you would assume are coming from large factories, in fact the company is providing employment, and therefore a living, to these rural women. Personally, I am not an ultra-capitalist, my values align more with elements of socialism and distributivism, plus environmentalism, so I personally feel that sharing some of the profits of a business with a local workforce in poor areas, rather than mechanising everything, and causing less environmental damage in the process, is a much better way of operating. At the same time though, it is important to understand that this kind of work, with poor ergonomic support, may have a heavy cost for the health of these women. Another negative factor is that the wages paid to these women will be extremely poor. So while it will be better than nothing and will allow them to achieve a greater income for their families than if they had no work, they are being financially exploited in comparison to men, who would be given a higher wage for work of equal skill.
While we were there, a small lorry came with more incense sticks for packing into the branded packaging ready for retail, and the ladies showed us the different fragrances come marked with coloured dye at the tips of the bamboo inner sticks.
Our next stop was at a 'handicapped group' (the term 'handicapped' is still widely used in India in the way that 'disabled' is used in Australia and the UK). The group was mainly comprised of people with intellectual disabilities, although there was also an adolescent in this group who had lost his arm in a farming accident when he was younger. The group's main function seems to be as a microcredit group, so that the handicapped people can acquire government loans, which can then be invested to give them some financial independence. In this group, people have used their money for things like buying milk animals so that they can produce and sell dairy products, starting up a small shop, and so on. The fact that they meet as a group also means that they gain social interactions and some better status in their communities through challenging stigma. There are many such groups in the region, and the leadership roles within each are also rotated around the members to give everybody a chance to gain experience.
Groups like these, as well as government financial support in the form of welfare payments - like the disability pension in Australia - help to prevent people with disabilities from being seen as financial burdens. This in turn has led fewer people in India, who were born with congenital disabilities or who acquired disabilities at a young age, from being placed in institutions such as orphanages. instead they are able to remain with their families and retain a much greater quality of life, particularly in relation to their emotional attachments and sense of identity.
We had tea with the group, and then as we broke up one of the members, who is non-verbal, signed enthusiastically to his father - who is also involved with the group, and whose house we were at - that he wanted to show us his shop. He took the keys and opened up, and proudly gestured to us to show us all of his stock. He took some bottles of pop from the fridge to give to us and took some sweets from a jar for us also. I asked for enough for all of us, and insisted on paying for them. Mani helped me by saying, in a very friendly way, that we had enjoyed tea with them in friendship but that this was business so I should pay. I didn't want to offend anyone by rejecting their hospitality, but I also didn't want to leave anyone out of pocket, so I was very grateful for Mani's help as with her we sorted it out in a very good-natured way and everyone was happy.
After we finished this visit, we headed back to Penukonda, where we met with Govindamma to see some beedi rolling.
Beedis are thin, rough cigarettes made from tobacco flake and wrapped in a leaf - similar to how cigars are made. This work is different to the incense stick packing, in that it is individual work that women complete in their own houses, rather than going to work in a 'factory'. The beedis are also made for a brand though, and the materials and hand tools are all provided to the women, who are then paid per package of beedis rolled. The finished beedis are collected and given their branded packaging before distribution for retail.
 |
| The leaves which create the skin of the beedis |
 |
| A package of rolled beedis - these are collected and the branding added before distribution for sale |
As we chatted (minimally because of language barriers, again thank goodness for almost-universally friendly body language!) the women offered us some food, giving us sweet rotis from the Muslim festival the previous day, biscuits, and dosa with a groundnut (peanut) chutney.
The women of the house liked that I was so interested in Indian culture and that I was wearing Indian clothes and jewellery, so Naseema, the mother in the house, went out and got me some glass bangles and put them on me - I was really touched and didn't even know how to respond appropriately to show how much I appreciated this gesture!
 |
| Putting the glass bangles on me |
Another younger girl form the house fetched some family photos to show us, and also showed us the garlands that she makes for some extra income after school. I wanted to buy some of her garlands, but she had to provide these to a seller so I couldn't buy direct. Instead, we went to the shop in Penukonda afterwards, and although I couldn't find any quite the same, I did get a couple of small doorway garlands to take home.
Before leaving Penukonda we bought some fruit and greens, then said goodbye to Govindamma and headed on to meet some local hunters.
It was a very hot day and I was feeling a bit weary by this point, so I wasn't really sure how I felt about the hunting. I understand it as a fact of life and I think it could be better for the animals involved, as at least they are living freely before they are hunted, rather than being farmed. However, I wasn't necessarily interested in viewing the process as a spectator... I was lucky though, and the hunters set up their nets to drive rabbits into, but the heat of the afternoon meant that there were no rabbits around, and so I was able to see the process of the hunting without seeing any animals getting hurt.
Alex joined in with a second go at driving rabbits to the nets, and for once I was grateful to be excluded as I was so hot by then. I sat with Mani in the shade until she got fed up of waiting for the guys to finish, and then she called them back so that we could finish up for the day.
It has been so fascinating to get these glimpses into the local economic activities that allow people to provide for their families. The nature of the work is so different to the jobs I have done myself, and although I have lived in poverty in the UK, that is nothing compared to poverty in India. It is quite incredible to wonder at how many intelligent and capable people are forced to work all hours in drudge labour simply to survive, just because they happened to be born somewhere with fewer education opportunities and a different welfare system.
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