Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

4.2 Income Generating Activities
Thirteen IGAs were listed at the initial community meeting. These included:
• primary production, such as growing and selling crops and rearing and selling animals;
• trading activities, such as in trade in agricultural produce, or fish;
• processing of agricultural or forest products, such as the manufacture and sale of local
beers, barkcloth, and charcoal;
• small-scale manufacturing enterprises/crafts, such as carpentry, brickmaking, building,
construction of cement water tanks, and handicrafts, such as pottery, basket and mat
weaving, crochet and knitting, and making brooms; and
• services, such as mechanics/repairmen.
Other IGAs not listed at the meeting, but recorded at other times during the fieldwork
include:
• raising and selling forestry products, including both eucalyptus seedlings and mature trees
for construction and/or fuelwood;
• services through the retail trade in household goods and commodities, second-hand
clothes, and petrol;
• small-scale manufacturing enterprises/crafts, such as baking, and tailoring;
• provision of services such as the production and sale of cooked snack foods, running a
bar, running a private clinic, or carrying water; and
• waged or salaried work, either as a daily paid farm labourer, or as a salaried employee,
either in the village, e.g., as a teacher or a government or NGO extension officer, or at the
district headquarters in Rakai.
The IGAs listed at the community meeting were ranked for importance by men and women.
By far the most important for both was the growing and selling of crops, and for both this
was closely followed by the rearing and selling of animals. However, men also ranked
trading in agricultural produce as an equal second, while women gave a very slightly higher
percentage of their vote to the production and sale of handicrafts. These were followed much
more distantly by construction of cement water tanks and production and sale of local beer by
women, and brickmaking and production and sale of local beer by men 68 . This pattern of the
predominance of crop production, followed by livestock production was supported by
findings from household interviews and other discussions.
68 See Appendix 5 for details.
34