Steps

Following introductions, facilitators introduce the exercise and use idea cards to create a matrix:

Building in the matrix, the research team facilitates a discussion on how each class depends on the other. Discussions should be held with poor women and poor men separately in order to gain both genders' perspectives on dependency.

To begin the discussion, the facilitator asks how the poor or very poor classes depend on the rich classes. One example to trigger the conversation may be: with whom do you (the poor and very poor) depend upon for financial support or loans?

In the discussion, the lead facilitator should also probe into underlying causes of dependency, in terms of economic, social and cultural factors.

Some questions that helped deepen discussions are:

• What are the provisions of services and facilities provided instead of depending upon certain pieces of work?
• Are these provisions fixed unilaterally or bilaterally? (If the very rich families are dependent on labor for the agricultural work, how consensus is reached between two parties for agricultural labor? What are the conditions for services and facilities? Who fixes the terms and conditions? Are the laborers free to take the wages either in cash or kind?)
• Are provisions and conditions the same or different for men and women? How are they different and why?

This discussion also probes into how justifiable specific relationships of dependency are, and the dynamics of relationships between rich and poor.

However, the research team must be sensitive to the power dynamics underlying these conversations and the appropriateness of such topics for the exercise.

Key Ethical Principles