Date:03/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/03/stories/2008050355320400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Livelihood problems in traditional sectors

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The spiralling price of essential commodities has worsened the plight of craftsmen in the traditional sectors that are already reeling under a crisis engendered by high input costs and shortage of skilled labour.

It is a daily battle for existence for the skilled artisans in the few remaining pockets at Murukkumpuzha where coir and cane manufacturing units are concentrated.

Says S. Sunilkumar, a traditional craftsman who also runs a small-scale unit manufacturing cane furniture, “The rate at which prices of raw materials are shooting up, we are not sure how long we will be able to hold out. Last month, the price of cane went up by Rs.35 per stalk while iron nails are dearer by Rs.40 per kg. Other input materials like varnish have also witnessed a significant price hike. What can we do? Many of the units here are on the verge of closure. It is an unprecedented crisis.”

A skilled artisan earns a daily wage of around Rs.350 for 12 to 16 hours of work. “With prices of essential goods like rice and vegetables going through the roof, it is increasingly difficult to make ends meet. We have to depend on loans to keep going,” says Santhappan, who has been making cane furniture for the last 40 years. Workers know that higher wages would only push the industry to certain doom and those like him who depend on it for their livelihood are in deep misery. “The demand for cane products is looking up but increasing the price of furniture at this stage may be counterproductive. Customers would shift to cheaper materials leaving us in the lurch,” laments Sunilkumar.

“To supplement the family income, the womenfolk work in the coir sector where the condition is no better. The slump in the market for coir has meant less work and lesser earnings. Most families are facing a heavy debt burden,” says Santhappan who, like others, belong to the Hindu Paravar community, a Scheduled Caste.

The Technocity project slated to come up near Murukkumpuzha is of greater concern to the workers. “Our families will be displaced by land acquisition for the second phase of the project. Land prices in the area have already shot up beyond our reach. It is only a matter of time before our livelihood is extinguished,” muses Sunilkumar.