K. T. Rammohan's project on Coir yarn commodity chain in village Kerala - the questions concerning technological change looked into a typically traditional industry into which some technological improvements were introduced in recent years, in order to find out their implications for labour, productivity, and quality of the product. The implications extend further into the whole gamut of activities through forward and backward linkages. The study was done in the framework of commodity chain analysis. The commodity chain represents the network of labour and material processes involved in production beginning from the stage of raw materials to the final marketing of the product. Technological interventions disrupt and restructure the commodity chains thereby altering the relative shares of economic values accruing to the different stages and different agents of production. In the specific case of technological improvements in coir spinning, the study, which was conducted in three coir-spinning centres in Kollam district, has shown that the results of the effort were positive and that it improved the physical conditions of work, raised the quantity of output per worker, improved the employment and income levels of the workers, and reduced adverse ecological impact of the production process.
Padmakumar is implementing a project under the title A Framework for restructuring and rejuvenating traditional industries in Kerala in which the focus is on technological improvements, product upgradation, demand generation, improvement in enterprise level management practices and systems, and augmenting the efficacy of support systems in government. This is done in the context of the local level development initiated in Kerala under the People's Planning Programme.
The major objectives of the study are the following: (i) an enquiry into the composition of handicrafts industries in the State; (ii) an assessment of the number of enterprises, levels of employment, skill composition of the workers, production levels, turnover, material availability, arrangements for product offtake, and profitability of the enterprises; (iii) a study of the handicrafts clusters in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to evaluate the role of government agencies in the development of handicrafts in these States; (iv) an examination of the scope of intervention through the decentralised Plan implementation set-up; and (v) formulation of action plans to rejuvenate handicrafts enterprises and promote new enterprises creation on a sustainable basis. The study is done in the northern, central, and southern regions of Kerala, on a sample basis, selecting two enterprises from two districts each from the three regions. The study is expected to be completed by the end of February 2001.
The study on Wood-carving artisans being conducted by P. N. Sankaran compares the beneficiaries of the Corporation with the non-beneficiaries in order to find out the extent to which the intervention has been effective. The specific objectives of the study are the following: (i) to assess market shares of input supply agencies such as traders, Kerala State Handicrafts Corporation, and middlemen; (ii) to find out the share that artisans get from the market value of the output; (iii) to make an assessment of the level of technology used by artisans; and (iv) to explore the scope of women's participation in the wood-carving craft. All these questions are being pursued on a comparative basis, as between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of Kerala State Handicrafts Corporation.
The study is conducted in a few selected areas in Thiruvananthapuram City in which there is concentration of wood-carving activities. This project which is fast nearing completion is expected to highlight the problems being faced by the artisans, the performance of the intervention programmes, the policy alternatives for amelioration of the working and living conditions of the artisans, and the progress of the wood-carving industry.
The pattern of production and marketing in the bamboo reed basket, and mat-weaving industry is the major concern of research in the project entitled Problem and prospects of bamboo-based industry: a study of unorganised bamboo-processing household sector in Adimali, Kerala by B. Jayasankar. He has looked into the different aspects of the industry such as availability and accessibility of raw materials to the workers, the technology in use, the scope of technological improvements, and the impact of institutional interventions on the industry.
The major institution which is formed for the purpose by the State Government is the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation (KSBC). Its activities include price support for the products of the bamboo workers through direct purchase, supply of raw materials at subsidised rates and grant of rights to workers to collect them directly from the forests. The study has also looked into the levels of living of the workers' households in terms of income and employment. The living conditions of the workers' families are found to be deplorable, their work opportunities low and the exploitation of the middlemen which have remained the major problem for marketing of their products, rampant. Institutional interventions have not significantly contributed to the solution of the problems of the industry and its workers.
Another study that examines the conditions of employment and levels of living of poor women is Socio-economic conditions of women bamboo mat weavers in Kalady grama panchayat by K. K. Sindhu. The study area has the largest concentration of bamboo reed mat weavers in the Ernakulam district that is the home of this traditional household industry. A specific objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of the intervention by Kerala State Bamboo Corporation on the industry and the income levels of the workers, 80 per cent of whom is women.
The research is focused on organisation of the industry at the household/or work site, working conditions, income and expenditure levels, the living conditions of the households of women workers including health and education of their members and housing conditions. The burden of double work that has befallen on women (home duties plus bamboo mat making) would also be evaluated. The field investigation is over and the report is awaited.
Industrial clusters are an emerging phenomenon in Kerala. One instance of such a cluster is the rubber footwear-making industrial cluster in Kottayam. P. Mohanan Pillai, in his study of Clustering and regional development, made a comparative analysis of two clusters, one in Coimbatore of Tamil Nadu and the other in the rubber foot-wear making cluster of Kottayam in Kerala. The Coimbatore cluster has a longer history and has been formed around water pump manufacturing. The specific question that Pillai has examined is the inter-relationships among the different segments of the cluster, and the factors that have led to its emergence and growth.
In this exercise, he looks into the roles played by entrepreneurs, local institutions and governments, and the vicissitudes that the cluster underwent at different stages of its evolution due to shifts in government policy and changing conditions of the market. His study has highlighted the collaborative and competitive relations prevailing among the units and examined aspects relating to social embeddedness and networking. The study has found that in all these aspects and in the strategies of development, clusters could be different from one another. For instance, in the Coimbatore cluster, the emphasis is found to have been on economising on costs, technological improvements, and efficient customer services.
In Kottayam, on the other hand, more attention is being given to good customer relations (sought to be gained through economical pricing, quality products, prompt delivery, and efficiency of delivery agencies). Between the two, the Coimbatore cluster has been the more venturesome and innovative, while the Kottayam cluster has been only a camp follower. The two clusters are, however, facing crisis, but for different reasons. While in Coimbatore, the problem is one of government's withdrawal of subsidies and opening up of the economy for international competition, the problem that the Kottayam cluster faces is one of lack of adequate production innovation and diversification efforts, as well as inertia in introducing new technologies and developing linkages. While the failure of the Coimbatore cluster might not affect significantly the pace of industrial progress in that already developed region, a similar experience in Kottayam may damage its nascent industrial entrepreneurship.
Another study that has taken up an enquiry into the question of industrial clusters is the one by M. K. Sukumaran Nair. In his project entitled Small firm clusters: collective efficiency and local development in Kerala, Nair assumes that in the context of decentralisation and local level development planning, local governments would profit by promoting micro-enterprises by adopting a strategy of industrialisation through flexibility-specialised small firm clusters. Such a strategy, according to the researcher, is appropriate to the present day situation in Kerala in which the emphasis is on local level development. The study is still on.
Kalady (in Ernakulam district) has become home to an industrial cluster of rice-processing units. This development in an otherwise typically rural environment has generated hectic economic activity in the area, processing a few thousand tonnes of rice daily. A trading centre, which attracts supplies of unhusked rice from several parts of Kerala and from the neighbouring south Indian States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka and which sends neatly packaged and labelled rice under different brand names to various parts of the country, has emerged in Kalady.
The study under the title Clustering of rice-processing units in and around Kalady undertaken by B. Ramesh endeavours to examine the factors and processes underlying the emergence and growth of this industrial cluster and its implications for further growth and diversification of the area.
The objectives of the study include the following: (i) to probe into the historical, socio-cultural, and economic factors behind the clustering of rice-processing units in the area; (ii) to prepare case histories of selected rice mills which have registered rapid growth and demonstrated efficient performance; (iii) to analyse the backward and the forward linkages of this industry; (iv) to estimate the extent of capacity utilisation of the units in the cluster; (v) to make assessment of the degree of co-operation and competition which exist among the units; and (vi) to draw conclusions about the sustainability of the cluster and the industrial growth prospects of the locality.
The study is making good progress. Some of the factors behind the growth of the cluster have already been identified through local enquiries using PRA techniques and the survey method. The process of growth is being traced through its different stages. It is hoped that the study would come out with useful insights into the potentials and constraints of autonomous industrialisation in the socio-cultural and economic milieu of Kerala. The study is expected to be completed by the end of 2000.
The study undertaken by R. V. Jose is entitled Socio-economic impact of industrialisation of a rural area. For an in-depth analysis of the factors and processes of industrial development and the impact of such development on the structure and dynamics of the local economy, the study is confined to one panchayat - the Nattakom panchayat of Kottayam district. The hypothesis advanced is that industrialisation has led to rise in employment and wage levels, increased labour mobility, and diversification of economic activities in and around the study area. Significant improvements seem to have taken place in transportation and communication facilities, socio-economic overheads such as educational, health care, and financial institutions. After making an extensive review of the literature on the topic, the research has entered the phase of collection and analysis of field-level data. The study does not look, however, into the environmental impact of industrial development, for the examination of which KRPLLD has commissioned another project in the same locality under environmental studies.
Though Kerala is an industrially backward State, its potential for industrial development is quite large given the inflow of large amount of money by way of foreign remittances, availability of educated and skilled manpower, well-developed economic infrastructure and affable climatic conditions and extreme scenic beauty. With the introduction of the people's participatory planning regime in the State, a new opportunity has dawned for planning and implementing industrialisation from the grassroots-level upwards with due emphasis on a multilevel integrated approach. Under the new regime, wide scope exists for industrialisation since 8 per cent of the Plan allocation to panchayats is specifically for industries and a sizeable proportion of the 10 per cent of the Plan funds allocated for women's development is also available for industrialisation purposes.
The problem, however, is that the panchayats do not have the perspective, the expertise, and the technical infrastructure for formulating and implementing industrial plans. The specific objective of the study is therefore to identify the problems involved in the Preparation of industrial plans at the grama (village) panchayat level and prescribe solutions. Thrippunithura panchayat in Ernakulam district has been selected for project implementation. The project undertaken by K. K. Krishnakumar has just begun and is expected to complete by December 2000.
C. Padmini in her status paper on Industrial co-operatives has pointed out that the performance of industrial co-operatives in Kerala adjudged in terms of their financial performance is continuously on the decline, though the intensity of the decline is less in the case of women's industrial co-operatives. She has suggested that research is required in the areas of diversification of production, trends in productivity and profitability and impact of the New Economic Policy, wage-employment relations in women-managed enterprises, linkages among industrial co-operatives, financing and institutional credit, and capacity utilisation.
Bell-metal industry was once a flourishing cottage industry in Kerala. Temple domes, idols, lamps, vessels, and even mirrors with exquisite artistic quality used to be made by local artisans by using bell-metal, the preparation of which is still held a traditional secret by master craftsmen. Preliminary enquiries made by Jacob Thomas, who has undertaken a study on Bell-metal industry at Mannar in Alappuzha district, have shown that the ancestry of the artisans may be traced to some localities in the adjacent State of Tamil Nadu. The purpose of the study is to find out the possibilities of the development of the Mannar region by encouraging the bell-metal industry. The researcher has held discussion with artisans, dealers of bell-metal ware, panchayat functionaries, and non-governmental organisations.
Preliminary enquiries have indicated that with suitable modifications in technology and diversification of the product mix to suit modern requirements in foreign countries, the industry would be able to command a world market. In order to achieve such a goal, agencies that could improve transport and communication facilities, financial institutions and marketing infrastructure, should be put in place. The field investigations have been completed and the report is awaited.
M. Jayaprakash has noted that Kerala is witnessing not only stagnation in its productive sectors, particularly industry, but also the dismal scenario of industries closing down and industrial towns declining. He refers to the Paper Mills and the Plywoods industries of Punalur and the disappearance of Punalur town from the industrial map of Kerala. The researcher has therefore taken up a study entitled Rise and fall of industrial towns: a case study of Punalur. He is of the view that current efforts at industrial rejuvenation in Kerala would be futile if lessons are not learnt from the decline of industrial undertakings being experienced in the State.
The study aims at identifying and analysing the factors that promoted industrial undertakings and the rise of an industrial town in Punalur and that led later to the decline and the subsequent disappearance of these industries and the industrial town. His presumption is that the factors would include not only the purely economic, but the socio-cultural and political factors as well.
The historical method is used to trace the origins and growth of the industry; for collecting data on more recent development, interviews are conducted with the persons concerned with the industrial undertakings such as managers and workers (employed as well as retrenched), agencies of supply of raw materials, financial institutions which had provided credit to these undertakings; knowledgeable persons in the locality such as trade union leaders, social activists, political leaders, and government officials. The study, essentially of a multi-disciplinary character, is progressing according to schedule.
The enquiry on Tourism and regional development: a case study of Kumarakom panchayat has looked at the potential of tourism development in a panchayat reputed for its scenic beauty with backwaters, criss-crossing canals, mangroves, and a bird sanctuary. Preliminary enquiries have shown that the tourist infrastructure in the area is grossly inadequate in terms of residential and hotel accommodation, drinking water, and transportation facilities. Tourism development has not bestowed significant benefits on the local population; however, its negative impacts have begun to show up. The full report is awaited.