The rural non-farm sector (RNFS) is highly heteregenous and has a number of activities under its ambit. Certain non-farm activities like handicrafts, beekeeping, fisheries and tourism have been identified to provide sustainable livelihoods. The paper has explored the nature of each of the activities in detail, with a focus on community-based tourism. In beekeeping, a case study has been presented wherein a bank provided a structured and innovative rural financing to over 2000 honey bee farmers and thereby helped in getting a higher selling price for their honey stocks. The paper has also described a cooperative tourism development model with a focus on capacity building and promoting individual and community entrepreneurship in rural India. The paper has concluded that these alternative sources of employment have become the key drivers of poverty alleviation, women empowerment, socio-economic development, preservation of local art and culture and social equity in rural India.
Rural non-farm sector, beekeeping, cooperative tourism, rural handicrafts, women empowerment, poverty alleviation
