Livelihood studies gained immense popularity during the late 1990s when the sustainable livelihood framework came into picture. For anthropologist Sandra Wallman, livelihood is an umbrella term that includes the entire gamut of people and resources and what people do with them. Various factors are associated with livelihood practices. Various determinants of livelihood includes the birth of the individual (the caste, gender), social, economic and ecological environment in which they find themselves. The natural environment and its restriction , the restrictions related to social organisations and institutions also affect the modes of livelihood. Livelihood involves entering onto social relationship with other people- relatives, friends, strangers and this social relationship are based on kinship, ethnicity, religion, class. Maurice Godelier in his book , The Mental and the Material explores the relation between thought, economy and society , and the respective weight of mental (cultural) and material (natural) aspects in production of social relations.
Objectives of the study
- To understand the role of environment in choosing livelihood.
- To analyse the change in the practices and various factors related to the change.
- How globalisation affects traditional mode of livelihood
- Alternate livelihood practices available to them.
Relevance of the Study
The study will help in understanding the age old practice of hand made pottery and the socio economic conditions of the Hira Community. It will take into consideration the affect of education, new livelihood opportunities and the changing social and physical environment around them. The paper will also address the role of caste that still determines the socio economic conditions and how society plays a major role in taking up modes of earning livelihood.
