How the Poor Live  

 
Work

Click on photos for more images

Two of the major types of work done by a large number of our families are fishing and coir work. Since such a large number do this kind of work, they are dealt with in some detail here.

Fishing
Many of the villages lie along the Arabian Sea where fishing is a major industry. Many men work on 6 to 12 man boats fishing all night. The receive 1/6 to 1/12 of the profits from each days venture. Since the tsunami of 2004, the fishing has been very poor. A twelfth of a poor catch is very poor indeed.

After the boats come in, the fish must be dried and sold, nets repaired, new boats built, etc. Many of the fisherfolk will also have a job during the day to help their families. If the fishing has been very poor, there may be no profit, in which case the men get nothing and the family does not eat that day.

Coir Work
Coir is the fibrous layer on the outside of the coconut. They are plentiful in this region of India and are used to weave mats and small rugs. It is a long and tedious process that many of our families undertake.

The coconut husks are soaked in pools dug for the purpose. It can take months for the husks to soften enough to be workable. then the fibers are laid out in the sun to dry. They are then spun into ropes. Some of the women in the villages spin the coir by hand. Some are able to afford Rads (see the Seeds of Love gifts), which is similar to a spinning wheel.

The ropes are then taken to a weaver to be woven on large, outdoor looms into mats. One of the Seeds of Love gifts is a loom. As skilled weaver can at least in part support his family selling these mats to local factories and outlets.