Socio-economic Status of Basods in Bamhani Block of Mandla, Madhya Pradesh - a Case Study

Basods' socio-economic status was studied in Bamhani block constituting of five villages namely Bamhani, Kamta, Kapotbahra, Tilai and Chhapri lying in Mandla District of Madhya Pradesh. There are 31 Basod families in this tract consisting of 72 males and 71 females with total persons of 143 where male: female ratio varies from 792 to 1500. Literacy is very low of the order of 36.36%. Demand of green bamboos (about 78%) is mostly met through adjoining bamboo forests by illegal means and the collection goes all the year around. Per capita income of Basod varies from Rs. 1765 to Rs. 3474. Basods make several articles depending upon seasonal requirement. 73% articles are mostly disposed of through individual efforts and 27% articles are sold through middlemen. 28% of the articles are consumed in villages. 28% are sold in local markets. Town markets are important in Bamhani area where 38% of articles are consumed. The remaining 6% articles are shifted to city market. Basods in this region have developed expertise to manufacture decorative items which fetch good price. Each article fetches a different price depending upon total bamboo consumed and mandays put up for manufacture of articles. Net profit per manday varies from Rs. 8.32 to Rs. 35.53 on general commodities. On decorative articles net profit per manday is from Rs. 40.82 to Rs. 48.89. On goods to be used in marriages, net profit per manday is from Rs. 3.32 to Rs. 21.65. Assuming that Basods work for 200 days in a year making certain articles, per day earning turns out to be Rs. 19.18. This is however improved if decorative items are sold. Articles used in marriages do not yield substantially. Bamboo requirement in Bamhani area is of the order of 29000 bamboo culms for 200 days if 2 bamboos are used by a male Basod and one bamboo by a female Basod daily. Main problems of Basod community in this region are (1) non availability of green bamboos; (2) improper marketing and selling of articles and (3) non-availability of finances. In addition to many other suggestions, initiation of Basod Co-operative Society will be a step further in improvement of socio-economic status of Basods.