Socio-economic assessment of Sidi tribes in Veraval, Gujarat, India and scope for intervention for livelihood diversification

Abstract

'Sidis’ or ‘Habshis’ are a unique tribal group with African ancestry, who had been brought to the state of Gujarat in western India through slave trading, like in other parts of the world. Most of the Sidis still live below the poverty line and have poor socio-economic backgrounds. Farm-based activities constituted the main source of livelihood for the Sidi population. As the single source of livelihood, traditional farm incomes were not enough to meet even subsistence needs and the families were forced to combine traditional cultivation with the collection of minor forest produce, maintaining small livestock and migration to urban areas for wage labour. This study was conducted among the 60 families of Sidi community residing in Veraval, Gujarat as a baseline to assess their socio-economic status for further interventions with respect to fisheries technologies through a Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India funded project being implemented by ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) at Veraval. The average family size was observed to be five. While male literacy rate was 71 per cent, it was only 52 per cent for female. About 60 per cent women had access only to primary education. About 75 per cent of Sidi women had some form of employment, which is higher than many other communities in Veraval. Currently, more than 50 per cent of the Sidi women settled in Veraval are either involved in fish selling or work in fish processing units with monthly incomes between Rs.4000 to Rs.7000. Since women were already involved in the fish business, improving livelihoods through suitable interventions can be undertaken.