Gender and Livelihoods: A Case Study of the Mah Meri and the Oil Palm Plantations of Carey Island

Abstract

This study seeks to understand livelihood changes over time among an indigenous group called the Mah Meri of Bumbun village in Carey Island in Peninsular Malaysia. Fieldwork was conducted from mid-October to mid-December 2007, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. My research shows how the critical livelihood strategies of villagers during transition periods shifted from their being dependent on forest resources to work as wage laborers in the nearby large-scale oil palm holdings. Then they were displaced by Indonesian migrant workers; and, presently are confined to their own small-scale oil palm holdings. This shift to oil palm cultivation has been highly gender discriminatory. Its emphasis on physical strength in performing crucial tasks in the harvesting process marginalizes the value of women's contribution and greatly favors men's participation. This has also led to the changing of land inheritance practices, which increasingly favor sons over daughters. At the same time, women have been gradually disempowered as they have lost their roles in decision-making in the management of small-scale farms. Moreover, there have been changes in the relationships among the villagers and all these factors have further strengthened the gender division of labor in the local economy and society.

Keywords:

• Oil palm
• small-scale holdings
• livelihoods
• division of labor
• gender relations
• state
• market