SERICUL TURE AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE - Institute for ...

addition. the prc'ffilseJ ,redlt IS too meagre and rea,hes to\.) late to the
beneficiaries The beneficiaries. hanng already lost a few crops, were
just waiting tor the whole amount of credit only to give up senculture
itself.
One "i:he maJ0r [Olemal handl,aps as perceived by some of the
non-SC seri-:u.:rurim IS related to the work ethics of the SCs. They
opine that the SC s are D01 able to cope up ..... ith the heavy labour
intensl\e narure 0f sen culture work-ethics, which requires strong
moQva:JJ:l. :ow .:ommionent and risk-aosorbing ability. Such a \iew
could be based on sele-:tiw perception and preconceived notion. It could
even be true of some of the non-SC sericulturists too. It has been noted
that some SC sericulrurists. at times. take up wage labour even at the
cost of their OV.Tl reanng. Because, they consider that the money they
earn through daily wage is more handy than whatever comes after a
month or so. As Keesing (1990:59) opines, in the context of a prejudiced
view of the administrators, 'what presents itself as tradition-boundness
and superstition in the eyes of the development administrator is likely to
be a grun realism, given the economic situation of the less advantaged
villagers' .
Generallv the few SC sericulturists who sustain for long in
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sericulture realise that they have achieved a better status today than
earlier. \1oreover, they enjoy a better social identity than their nonsericulturist
kin. There IS a greater social interaction and exposure and
they feel a greater confidence in themselves and in their ability.
~evertheless,
barring a few exceptions, they are not at their best in
garnishing the maximum utilisation of the enterprise. This is because
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