Rural Livelihood Strategies and the Five Capitals: A Comparative Study in the Selected Villages of Sri Lanka (original) (raw)

Regional imbalances in socio-economic development exist in Sri Lanka and these imbalances are caused by the availability of livelihood assets, level of government development intervention and the variation in physical environment. The concept of sustainable livelihoods is increasingly important in research about regional development, poverty alleviation, rural agriculture development and rural resource management. As poverty is multidimensional, it can be reduced by increasing people's livelihood assets (such as social, physical, human, financial and natural). The study is based on primary data collected from four villages with special emphasis on capital assets and strategies. Participatory techniques are used to characterize, rank and score capital assets of rural livelihood. This paper tries to understand the situation of rural livelihood strategies, which depends on the availability of livelihood assets. The livelihood status of villages is summarized in terms of a pentagon depicting the five assets and marked differences were observed within and between villages. Villages those were close proximity to Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) had highest status of livelihoods assets except natural and social. Contrast situation apparent in the villages those distant from CMR of Sri Lanka. The study also highlights the implications for policy for sustainable livelihoods.