knowledge generation

The inception of Aajeevika Bureau was a direct outcome of the results of a study aimed at understanding rural livelihoods across Rajasthan.The major finding of the study was that short-term migration is rapidly replacing agriculture as the major source of income for many families, particularly those in poor, predominately tribal areas. The study confirmed that migration is no longer primarily a response in times of drought and distress, but a regular strategy for the rural poor.

Aajeevika Bureau continues to build this understanding through a dedicated and ongoing research and knowledge generation programme. The results of the research undertaken have helped determine, expand and modify its operations. Through these studies, Aajeevika Bureau has also tried to inform and influence mainstream views on migration and reach out to a broader audience.

The staff and various field workers of Aajeevika Bureau have almost wholly been responsible for conceptualising and undertaking the research and dissemination so far. The Aajeevika teams are encouraged to participate in research efforts to enhance their own understanding as well as to ensure that the research remains relevant to the work of the organisation. Aajeevika Bureau has been fortunate to have the support and assistance of experienced research partners that have helped bring rigour to its research.

Aajeevika Bureau’s research work falls in the following broad categories

1. Migration and Labour Profiles – Each study aims to provide a socio-economic profile of a block with a focus on the magnitude and nature of migration. Profiles are the result of a periodic survey at the household level that is aggregated across panchayats.
2. Destination Studies – These studies map the presence and problems of migrants in their destinations. Reports are available on the status of migrants in Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Udaipur city.
3. Occupational Studies – These studies aim to understand and describe occupational streams of migrants. Aspects such as pattern of mobility, recruitment system, work and living conditions and remuneration are covered for various occupations. Occupational groups that have been studied include textile workers, ice-cream vendors, cooks and helpers in restaurants, head loaders, diamond cutters and brick kiln workers.
4. Impact and Behaviour – Studies that pertain to impact and outcomes of migration have been conducted by the Bureau. Some examples are impacts of male migration on women, behaviour of long distance migrants and elements of success among migrant workers.
5. Services Provision – These are studies that have a direct relevance to the interventions and services of Aajeevika Bureau. They help determine the criticality of a new service, how to operationalise it or to study the impact of an existing service. Inter-state transportation, access to food and health services are examples of this research area.

research rack
(for study report please mail us at - research@aajeevika.org)

	Feeki Chamak : A Situational Analysis of Migrant Domestic Workers from Aaspur Domestic workers form a major segment of the unorganized workforce in the country. A vast majority of them are migrants and hail from communities that have been traditionally vulnerable and deprived of basic entitlements. In spite of being present in such huge numbers in all urban locations in the country, they still remain invisible in the broad canvas of city life. This study looks at one such community of domestic workers who hail from Aaspur tehsil of Dungarpur District and migrate with their families to Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad to work as domestic helps in urban homes. The study attempts to do an occupational profiling of this community through analyzing various factors like seasonality, working conditions and wages. The study also aims to examine the financial behavior of these migrants, with a focus on their extent of indebtedness. The findings of the study highlight their appalling work conditions and the state of their access to public services like shelter, health and education for their children.
	Takrar Se Karar Tak : Share-crop Contract between Migrant Workers & Farmers: Aajeevika - KAS’s experience in Idar-Kotda In the Indian context, the concept of written contracts between farmers and sharecroppers is unheard of. Sharecropping has been a practice run on trust, patronage and kinship relations, almost always based on verbal agreements. Devoid of any legislation spelling the rights and duties of contracting parties, it has been cause for misery for farm laborers for an equally long time. In a first of its kind initiative Aajeevika Bureau and Kotda Aadivasi Sansthan (KAS) helped draft a written contract incorporating the interests of migrant sharecroppers and farmers both. This essay is an attempt to document the experience of the two organizations in formalizing the work relationship between share-croppers from Kotda, South Rajasthan and farmers from Idar, North Gujarat. Among the initial changes observed, there is a visible impact on the account-keeping habits of the sharecroppers. Extra work not mentioned in the contract is getting paid, an improvement over the past practice. Some of the contracts have also come to include insurance and health benefits for sharecroppers.
	Kya Kaam Aai Padhai : Does Formal Schooling Matter? Exploring the Disconnect between Education and Employment for Rural Youth Many a times we come across stories of graduates/masters degree holders laboring on the railways platform or vegetable markets. It’s rare that we stop and think why? Is it lack of alternate employment opportunity or does it have to do anything with our education system? This study makes an effort to probe this trend and raises this question – Kya Kaam Aayi Padhaai? (Could you put your education to use?). The assertion is that our education system, especially in villages and small towns, treats its students as passive recipients. The curriculum and the pedagogy both rarely make an effort to prepare its pupil for the job market, both in terms of aptitude and skills. The outcome is that even after having gained bachelor degrees the youth finds itself inept for a professional career and sometimes ends up in the same labor market as that of an unskilled/illiterate person i.e. of manual labor.
	Solah Vijeta : Profile of Successful Migrants There is considerable dissent in migration scholarship on the impact migration or migration income has on the migrating household. Some consider migration to be a distress response to poverty/scarcity of resource wherein the migrant is never able to come out of the poverty trap. There are others who speak of the transformative impact migration can have, at least on the economy of the migrant household. This documentation of 16 successful migrants from South Rajasthan takes the second line of argument and investigates the reasons behind success of migrants, who came from the same poor/deprived backgrounds but were able to break free and create a mark for themselves in the trade they chose. What were the factors responsible for their success, what made them different and are there any lessons we can draw from their experience which would be of value to prospective migrants/other migrant community. These were some of the questions which form the basis of this study.
	Yeh Swad Hai Zindagi Ka : Migrant Cooks and helpers from Gogunda, South Rajasthan High segmentation across caste lines is a well known characteristic of the labor market in India. People from certain castes have access to a certain kind of work; segmentation being more rigid in jobs such as food catering, a monopoly of the higher castes. This study of migrant cooks from Gogunda, South Rajasthan, however, finds that the divisions are increasingly getting blurred. Once dominated by Brahmins there is high incidence of tribal migrants serving as cooks in Gujarat. Their work conditions, however, continue to be deplorable with long working hours, poor accommodation, irregular employment and proneness to accidents. As part of an occupational profiling exercise of a target group to understand the pattern of migration– its seasonality, recruitment methods, payments methods and issues facing this community, the study aimed to look at possible solutions such as linkage to health services and searching avenues for alternate employment. The study covered 145 migrant cooks across 12 Panchayats.
	What's on the Menu? Understanding Food Habits and Challenges of Migrant Workers in Ahmedabad December 2008 Migrants from South Rajasthan are mostly single males whose lifestyles undergo a significant change when they move, including their food habits. This study is an attempt to systematically understand their eating patterns, food procurement arrangements, and the expenditure involved. These enquiries are important as rural unskilled migrants are mostly involved in labour intensive occupations which entail heavy physical work. A properly balanced diet has a strong correlation with physical well being, thereby directly influencing their productivity at work, remuneration, and retention of employment. The study also aims to frame an effective intervention strategy to address the food and nutrition requirements of the migrant communities. Cost efficient food options can go a long way in enabling people to save more and make migration more effective as a livelihood strategy.
	(Not) In the best of health: Status of Migrant Labour at Risk October 2008 Work conditions for most migrants at the destination are harsh, involving long hours of work, meagre earnings combined with little or no job security. The work is physically demanding and the chances of accidents and occupational health risks are high. The conditions in which they live in are equally fragile. What makes migrants more vulnerable is a limited access to basic amenities and services such as public distribution system and public health services at the destination. Set in the context of South Rajasthan, this study aims to unravel the variety of issues that have implications for the health of a migrant worker at large – work and living conditions, lack of awareness of rights at work, poor amenities, inability to access quality and lack of timely health care.
	Untold Stories : Profiles of Migrant Workers in Jaipur City September 2008   Jaipur, apart from being the capital of Rajasthan, India is also the largest employment destination for a range of workers. The increasing frequency of droughts and crop failures combined with reducing land holdings has forced people to turn to cities like Jaipur in search of seasonal wage labour opportunities. This document is an account of the status and problems of migrant labourers working in the unorganised sector; also comprising the poorest participants in the city’s economic and social life. The purpose of this study is to identify and map the seasonal, low end and vulnerable category among migrants in Jaipur under the heads of: geographical point of origin, sectors of employment and estimated numbers therein, living conditions and access to basic services. The study aims to determine the nature and content of services and interventions relevant to migrants in Jaipur.
	Brick-by-Brick: A Study on the Situation of Migrant Brick Kiln Workers from Kotra March 2008 Mandwa region of Kotra, Rajasthan has been the main source of migrant labour for brick kilns of Gujarat. In its 25 years long history of migration, however, there has been no improvement in working conditions. The brick-kilns in Gujarat continue to be highly accident prone, with poor or no safety measure, let alone health facilities. This study attempts to uncover the context and conditions of migrant brick kiln workers from Kotra in Gujarat. It looks at their socio-economic origin, nature of work, and their living and working conditions at the destination. This exploration was made to identify opportunities for intervention to make the livelihoods of migrating brick kiln workers from Kotra less risky and more sustainable. Some areas identified include - registration services, training and placement, organising labour for better wages, insurance services, communication facilities and enabling outreach to public distribution services.
	Beyond the seas: perils and potentials of long-distance migration October 2007 It may mean the migrant is able to travel to far flung places, even beyond the seas, in search of work and good living. The present study focuses at this discerning factor of distance that distinguishes long distance migration from its shorter version; with all the perils and prospects associated with it. Post independent India’s various policy schools of thought have treated migration – movements of people in large volumes across space mostly in search of better living – as a dysfunctional and pain-inflicting socio-economic phenomenon. Unfortunately, all across the country, for generations, migration has gone unhindered, oblivious to what policy makers and others make of it. Different contexts may attribute migration to different reasons but in essence it underlines the undying spirit of human beings who do not want to be tied down to their roots and strive for mobility instead. This study comprises an analysis of long-distance migrants from southern and middle Rajasthan and looks at what constitutes migration and migrants including: their general profile, migration cycle, decisive factors that induce long distance migration, issues that dominate the home front, and factors that beckon. The migrants interviewed represent a cross-section of trades/occupations.
	It’s Not a ‘Cool’ Job!: A Situational Analysis of Ice-Cream Vendors from Relmagra August 2007 Mewar, Mahaveer and Saanwariya are familiar names of ice-creams sold on carts in many towns and cities of India. What is not known is that most of the vendors hail from the Relmagra region, from Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. Within Rajsamand, it is popularly said that when a Mewar ice-cream cart is shown in the background of a Bollywood movie, people from Relmagra see the film several times. This study aims to understand the socio-economic background and living conditions of these ice-cream vendors from Relmagra. Covering 100 vendors and 30 cart owners, the study traces their association with the ice-cream trade, tries to understand their working conditions, and finally identifies areas for intervention for a better migration experience.
	Worrisome Folds: A Situation Analysis of Migrant Textile Labourers from Southern Rajasthan June 2007 The textile market in Surat, Gujarat depends heavily on wage labourers sourced and recruited by contractors from Gogunda and Kumbhalgarh blocks of Rajasthan. A large number of labourers are children working for long hours with poor wages under inhospitable conditions. The market is also highly segmented with poor opportunities for growth for tribal youth. This study profiles textile workers originating from Gogunda and Kumbhalgarh blocks and examines their living and working conditions in Surat. It draws from interviews and discussions with 170 migrant textile labourers. In addition to getting a first-hand understanding of their living and working conditions, the study aims to identify the possibilities for intervention to improve the livelihoods of these migrant workers.
	Lost in Transition: A Study of Rajasthani Migrant Labour in Ahmedabad March 2007 The bustling economy of Ahmedabad in Western India serves as a magnet for hundreds and thousands of rural migrants, particularly from the not-too-distant districts of South Rajasthan. A number of communities of Rajasthan origin have settled in and served Ahmedabad for more than three generations, nevertheless, the largest number are those who come to work on a seasonal basis and return to their villages with some hard earned (and barely saved) wages. This report is a narration of the status and problems of labour from Rajasthan in Ahmedabad and forms the basis of the beginning of Aajeevika Bureau’s work in the city. Ahmedabad operation is of strategic importance to Aajeevika as the city is amongst the biggest destinations for migrants registered with the Bureau at source. The document explores questions of identity, origin, occupation, income, living conditions, among others.
	Getting Set to Go: Upgrading Migration through an Innovative Educational Programme 2007 In the context of areas that have little prospect in the medium term of providing even minimal livelihoods locally for their overwhelming poor and increasingly migration-dependent rural populations, what does education for sustainable development (ESD) mean? Do efforts to qualitatively improve migration offer a viable strategy for reducing poverty and fostering sustainable development in the source areas? What skills and knowledge enhancement can concurrently improve the livelihoods of migration-dependent households? This paper examines these questions and argues that schooling does not adequately prepare rural students for a future of meaningful economic participation, especially in urban, high growth sectors. There is little linkage of education to livelihood. Formal schooling does not include any inputs on building broader life skills that help in future employability, for example inputs in language, cultural exposure and mobility. This study published in "Circular Migration and Multilocational Livelihood Strategies in Rural India" which was published by Oxford University in 2009.
	Impact of Male Migration on Women in South Rajasthan October 2006 A large number of families in tribal-dominated, South Rajasthan have to cope with long term and frequent absence of adult male members. This often leads to a significant re-organisation of their lives, especially of the women left behind. Prolonged absence of men puts unique and increased demands on women, compelling them to engage more actively with the public domain. To support these women in their new role with dual responsibilities, Aajeevika took up this study for a better understanding of how migration affects women - at both personal and the work front - and their coping strategies. The underlying rationale is that if families of migrants are provided with relevant services, the circumstances under which migration happens will improve as will the outcomes from this otherwise difficult act of seeking a livelihood.