Republic of India Livelihoods in intermediate towns

5. Mapping the Non-farm Economy

5.1: Listing the Activities: We began the fieldwork with a comprehensive listing of the non-farm activities in the two settlements. We were able to identify a total 1,680 individual activities, of which 1,384 were in Satghara and another 296 in Bhagwatipur (see Box 1. Also see Appendix 1).

Box 1: Village-wise List of non-farm activities

Satghara Beauty Parlour Bamboo Basket Making Bangles (Churi) Shop Blacksmith Butchers (Meat Shop) Dhobi Furniture / Carpentry Goldsmith (Artisans) Jewelry shop Bags stitching and Leather work / Raw leather collection Saloon (Hair Cutting / Barber) Tailors Tent House, DJ, Sound Service Computer Training Centre Photocopy/ travel agents, Photography, Printing and Internet, Hardware and Construction Material Shops. Bidi making Cycle and Motorcycle Stand Drivery and transportation Books and Stationery Coaching Centre Private School / Residential School Biscuits and Bakery Making, Puffed rice seller Chura (Flattened Rice) Mill Dairy shop Food / Restaurant / Tea Stall / Sweet Shops Pan and Guthka Cloth Shop Electrical appliances (TV, Fridge Shop) General Store / Kirana Shop Paan Leaves Seller Scrap Collection Shoes /Slippers Timber Saw mill Tin Box Maker / Seller Utensils Watches Shop Welding Tobacco seller Medicine and Health, Doctors, Pathology Labs, X-Ray Clinics Wine / Beer / Alcohol Shop Bicycle repair / Bicycle Store / Motorcycle repair / Garage Vehicle repair / Tyres repair, seller Electronics / Radio TV Repair Mobile Repairing Shop Fruit and Vegetables

Bhagwatipur Beauty Parlour Bangles (Churi) Shop Butchers (Meat Shop) Furniture / Carpentry Jewelry shop Saloon (Hair Cutting / Barber) Tailors Tent House, DJ, Sound Service Photocopy and Railway Reservation, Photography, videography, Printing and Litho / Internet, Travel Agent Brick Kiln Hardware and Construction Material Shops (Gravel, Sand, Asbestos, Cement etc.) Bidi making Books and Stationery Coaching Centre Private School / Residential School Biscuits and Bakery Making, Puffed rice seller Flour and Spices Grinding Mill Food / Restaurant / Tea Stall / Sweet Shops Pan and Guthka Cloth Shop Fertilizers and Seeds Shop Flower Decoration General Store / Kirana Shop Petrol Pump Scrap Collection Shoes /Slippers Tin Box Maker / Seller Utensils Bicycle repair / Bicycle Store / Motorcycle repair / Garage Vehicle repair / Tyres repair, seller Electronics / Radio TV Repair Mobile Repairing Shop Fruit and Vegetables Welding Wine / Beer / Alcohol Shop

We classified them into 45 broad categories in Satghara and 34 in Bhagwatipur (also see Appendix 1) and we have further aggregated them into 12 broad categories (see Table 4).

Table 4: Broad Classification of listed non-farm activities in the two settlements
Broad Categories of Non-farm activities	Satghara	Bhagwatipur	Total	Sample
Caste/Community based traditional Occupations	217	38	255 (15.18)	79 (26.3)
Food, food processing and eatable stalls / Catering	110	58	169 (10.05)	36 (12.0)
Communications, IT, computer	32	4	36 (2.14)	12 (4.0)
Grocery, General Stores, Garments and other Utilities	300	68	368 (21.90)	60 (20.0)
Medicine and health	90	10	100 (5.95)	12 (4.0)
Education related	25	15	40 (2.38)	09 (3.0)
Salaried and Skilled Service providers	191	30	221 (13.15)	37 (12.3)
Construction, Hardware and related services	25	11	36 (2.14)	10 (3.3)
Drivers and transportation	111	30	141 (8.39)	16 (5.3)
Vegetables and fruit sellers	27	9	36 (2.14)	11 (3.7)
Beauty parlours, ornaments and cosmetics	6	2	8 (0.48)	(06) 2.0
Daily wage labour	250	20	270 (16.07)	12.0 4.0
Total	1384	296	1680 (100)	300

We also collected information about the social identity of those engaged in the various non-farm activities and have listed it against the corresponding activity. As is evident from the two tables, the range of these activities is very wide - from traditional caste based occupations to mobile repair outlets; from being driver on a daily wage to owning a brick-kiln or a jewelry shop; from running a school or tuition-center to owning grocery shops or a medical store.

However, what we did not find in either of the two settlements was any kind of modern manufacturing establishment. Manufacturing and technology led establishments, where they exist (bhuja-puffed rice, jewelry, brick kiln, trunk making) are traditional and small-scale activities that mostly use manual labour and only occasionally mechanical and no electric power. They neither generate a significant volume of employment nor require a high volume of investment. By the way of their appearance and configuration too, the operation of these non-farm activities in rural Madhubani retain the semblance of the ‘rural’ i.e. a site for the reproduction and sustenance of cheap labour, largely catering to local requirements.