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

In some of the sericulture families, however, there is a tendency
for children to absent themselves from school. This is more during the
last days of rearing worms when the worms start spinning the cocoons.
This is especially true among the marginal and small farmers who have
been new to sericulture. The children are very useful in keeping watch
on the worms from any possible attack from hostile creatures.
Chinnathambi in Seripura is a small farmer, with less than three acres ofland. He is
primary educated. He has been in sericulture as main senculturist, since the mid
seventies, when sericulture was started in his parental family. The family was
broken in 1983, and he started his own sericulture. He used to make use of the
services of his elder son, who was in his fourteen, in 1993, to take watch of the
spinning worms, starting from his childhood. However, in the late eighties, when
there was a severe labour problem., he had to make use of his services fully, for
sericulture. Lately, he has been using the services of not only his eldest son but also
of his second son and of the daughter, all of whom are between ten and fourteen
years. His daughter helps her mother in the household chores, while the boys show
an active involvement in sericulture. In the last days of rearing, if need be, they
even absent themselves from school However, he has not stopped any of them from
studies. For one reason., they learn the technique of rearing, which comes handy in a
few years tlIne when they have to say good bye to theIr education. Furthermore,
their involvement becomes an effective substitute in the context of labour scarcity.
However, this tendency soon disappears as the sericulturists gain
experience, expand their social networks and interact with more and
more officials. It takes a positive turn, as they improve their standard of
living in the process of successful sericulture crops over the years. It
also disappears as sericulture passes on to the second generation.
In all the study villages, the impact of 'convent education' IS
widely discerned. The economically well off families in the village
prefer to send their children to English-medium schools. Interestingly,
most children going to the English-medium schools in these villages are
from sericulture families, who have improved their living status with the
help of sericulture.
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