Investigation on the Development of Hani Livelihood Strategies: A Case Study of Mengsong Community in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, the People’s Republic of China

บทคัดย่อ

The livelihood of ethnic minority in China is still heavy depended on natural resource rather than migration, which is the choice of the majority. This research studied the livelihood of Hani ethnic minority in Mengsong community of Xishuangbanna (XSBN) who joyed Pu’er tea booming to earn their main income from tea. Through random sampling and household survey by a quality tested questionnaire of 222 households, in-depth interview with 15 key informants, focus group discussion as well as participatory observation.

 The researcher found that the livelihoods of Hani ethinc minority have been transformed by the intensification of tea production. Households have expanded all swidden lands and hired dense labors for their tea production. They also invested in kinds of tea equipment and built their social access to tea market. Except the tea income Hani households also gained non-farming and other farming incomes, which indicates a diversification strategy was also actively adopted by Hani households as the supplement. The Hani livelihoods showed an upward trend in tea intensification and active diversification. However, a new trend of passive diversification with the tea market fluctuation under the negative impact of COVID-19 has emerged. Hani households had to withdraw their labor input from tea and shift to other farming for risk release. To deal with this downward crisis, the researcher suggests government policy should put efforts on the improvement of tea value, promote cash crops, and attract labors to the tea area for further development. The researcher also highlights market entitlement in livelihood asset access, which has the high potential for future livelihood study in upland minorities of China.