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harvesting. These farmers use modern methods of agriculture and implements such
as tractor, harvester, thresher, etc. They live a good life.

community DeveloPment Projects

• Our government launched the Community Development Programme in 1952 with the
aim of developing villages and improving agricultural production.
• Branches of many banks have been opened in villages to provide loans on easy terms
to the farmers and other residents.
• The farmers were provided with the latest technology.
• In certain backward areas, our government gave land to landless labourers to make
them self-reliant.

animal husbanDry

In mountainous regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand. etc, many people live on
the slopes of mountains. For a major part of the year, these places are too cold for growing
crops. The people who live here, rear sheep and goats and earn their living by selling the
wool that they get from these animals. The Gujjars and Bokarwals of Kashmir for examples,

are nomadic herders. In summer, they take their herds to graze on the grassy slopes of the
mountains and in winter, they come down to the valleys with their herds.
In rural areas all over India, cows, buffaloes and goats are commonly reared. These animals
are reared mainly for their milk. The milk is sold in villages as well as in cities. In many

places, the villagers have formed milk cooperatives. These cooperatives collect milk from
the villagers and make sure that it reaches the market. They also see that the villagers get
a fair price for it. Besides they provide loans to the villagers and help them to produce and
sell butter, ghee and other dairy products. You must be fond of Amul chocolates. Do you
know that these and all the other delicious things that are sold under the name Amul are
marketed by a cooperative in Gujarat?

Many villagers keep bulls for ploughing fields and pulling carts. Bullock-carts are an
important form of transport in our villages.
Poultry farming is an another source of livelihood in villages. Some villagers have formed
cooperatives to sell eggs.

• Amul is the biggest supplier of dairy products in India.
• In pasteurisation, milk is heated up to 70°C to 80°C and suddenly chilled and stored at 4°C. This
milk is free from harmful bacteria.

other occuPations

People in the village are also engaged in crafts. They are engaged in making baskets, pots,
carpets, bricks, etc. Besides, some villagers work as barbers (nai), cobblers (mochi), tailors
(darzi), goldsmiths (sonar), blacksmiths (lohar), carpenters (barahi), sellers of betel leaves
or paan (panwadis). Most families have followed these occupations over centuries. Some

92 Social Studies-6