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ich further increase their vulnerability and limit their livelihood opportunities. Employment is currently found through informal networks and migration to urban centers, or seasonal migration by agricultural labour. But because they are not connected, both physically and in terms of information with potential employers, they are forced to look for employment within a limited space, with correspondingly limited success.

 

The action research is proposed to be carried out in Yatiyanthota, in the Kegalle District of Sri Lanka, where the implementing partner Berendina Development Services has more than 15 years of experience, including in addressing issues of youth unemployment. The area has relatively poor road connectivity due to its mountainous terrain and extreme weather conditions. Compared to other parts of the country, Kegalle has both a high incidence of poverty (head count index of 21 compared to the Sri Lankan average of 15) and a substantial proportion of households engaged in agriculture (estimated at close to 40%). Much of the livelihood activities focus around plantation and small holder farming of crops such as tea and rubber, and basic processing.

 

Because the project is based on the hypothesis of an information and communication bottleneck, the ICT intervention will involve using (mobile) telephony services to obtain information about available labour as well as available demand. Sri Lanka has very good telecom penetration rates and most poor households have access to a mobile, wireless or fixed line telephone either within their household, or within their immediate neighborhood. The country’s population of under 20 million have more than 3 million fixed line telephones and close to 9 million mobile phones. However, specialists in the field feel that there is substantial under utilization of the facilities for household livelihood activities.

 

Objectives of the study

 

The action research will therefore test a model of a communication method – specifically a job agency for casual wage work in rural areas - focusing on matching demand and supply for agricultural as well as non-agricultural wage work. The project will seek to increase the quality (ie the nature of the work) as well as quantity (ie days employed) of households reliant on wage labour. The use of ICT is expected to help reduce the costs of accessing the service, both in terms of time and money, for the users as well as impact on effectiveness of the intervention.

 

The specific objective of the action research therefore is to test the applicability of an ICT intervention to increase the livelihood options available to rural poor households. The project will test whether the ICT intervention helps to increase the livelihood options available to rural wage employees, thereby resulting in an increase in the net income they are able to derive from their livelihood activities. The project is also expected to increase the social networks linking the rural poor w本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。