Dhakal (2007) revealed different types of labor arrangement practices of Nepali
society. These are Parma (reciprocal exchange), gwahar (voluntary help), jhyala
nemek (paid labor), attached labor (haliya system, residents’ farm servants, non- residence farm servants, and yearly contact tenant labor), patron client arrangement
(jajamani system, bista system, bali system). These labor arrangement systems are
specific to the particular communities but the parma system is practiced thorough out
the country.
Shifting cultivators form groups to work together in labor sharing and working in a
group makes the work enjoyable and productive (Aryal, Kerchoff, Maskey and
Sherchan, 2010). Shrestha (2010) brings out the labor arrangement system in
Rajbanshi community in Dhimal community of Jhapa district. Ishii (1982) also
discusses about the agricultural labor recruitment system practiced in Gandaki area of
Nepal. Fortier (1993) highlights the patterns of labor relations such as plowing, hiring
hands, wage labor, hiring wage laborers and migrating for labor prevailing in Western
Nepal. Seddon et al. (2002) discuss different labor types existing in our country from
Marxist point of view. He highlights porters, agricultural labors, highway construction
labor, and urban labor force prevailing in west central Nepal.
Despite the some studies on various aspect of shifting cultivation they studies hardly
consider the practice of shifting cultivation as integrated and equilibrated farming
practice to the local people way of life. Using anthropological tools and techniques
researches on labor organization aspect of Khoriya kheti are not carried out in the
context of Nepal.
2.2 Approaches on Shifting Cultivation
“From an anthropological perspective, two general points of view can be made about
shifting cultivation. First, the normative view which focuses on the negative aspects
of shifting cultivation: low productivity, extensive land requirement, and unwanted
environmental effects. And second, the view of shifting cultivation as a rational
response to the prevailing ecological and cultural conditions...” (Sandsurkt: n.d. cited
0 comments:
Post a Comment