Tips for Field Worker s Vol 2 - Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana

Tips for Field Workers
Reduction in Drudgery
The Swa-Shakti Project defines drudgery as any activity
that is repetitive, involves intensive labour or takes an
excessive amount of time to complete. Women perform
most of the daily tasks that fall within this definition.
These include fetching water, collecting fuel wood and
fodder, grinding grain, cooking, weeding, sowing or
transplanting in the fields, etc. Women often have to walk
long distances to fetch water or collect fuel; they generally
work in kitchens which are full of smoke; they are also
forced to work bent over, or on their knees, for long
hours while working in the fields or in the house. All these
tasks carry drudgery hazards that are detrimental to their
health.
Activities aimed at drudgery reduction can be categorised
as support activities, practice-related activities or gender
interventions.
Support Activities
This would involve mapping activities throughout the
woman’s day that involve drudgery and making
interventions to reduce the amount of time or labour
involved in doing these activities. For example, building a
small water storage tank, introducing drudgery reducing
equipments for grinding grains, weeding, de-shelling corn,
etc., installing a pulley at the village well to reduce the
amount of labour required to pull water out of the well,
introducing improved knife, sickle or axe that require less
force etc. can help reduce health hazards related to
drudgery inducing activities.
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Practice – related activities
Though not directly related to reducing drudgery,
introduction of certain practices like wearing of footwear,
introducing smokeless chulahs, having regular bath (also
ensuring availability of water nearby), suggesting changes
in posture during certain activities, making use of toilets
(also ensuring water saving, hygienic toilets) etc.