Rural Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship Development in Nadia and Burdwan District of West Bengal: A Sociological Study

Abstract

Livelihoods in rural areas are deeply intertwined with traditional occupations such as crafts and craftsmen, artisans etc. that have evolved over centuries with knowledge and skills, and economic activities around them. In many regions, crafts and artisanal industries such as handloom weaving, pottery, metalwork, food processing (traditional sweet making industry) and folk art (clay doll making) continue to serve as vital sources of employment, income and social identity for rural communities. These occupations are not merely economic activities but are embedded in inheritance legacy over knowledge and skills local social structures, caste-based divisions of labour and knowledge, kinship networks and systems of intergenerational skill transmission. Traditional livelihoods thus contribute simultaneously to economic survival, cultural continuity and community cohesion in rural society.