Child labour in India has long been the focus of research, policy concern and intervention. This article presents an analysis of children's involvement in agricultural work, particularly cottonseed production, drawing on evidence gathered for Young Lives in 2007 and 2008. In parts of Andhra Pradesh, children work in cotton fields for two or three…

During the interwar period, California's labor-intensive agriculture transitioned from reliance on diverse immigrants to preference for Mexicans. Political movements to restrict immigration, the Great Depression, and labor unrest compelled farm employers to search for labor that could be used flexibly and deported easily. To achieve this…

Set during the Cold War and space race, this historical role-play focuses on Wernher von Braun's involvement in and culpability for the use of slave laborers to produce V-2 rockets for Nazi Germany. Students will grapple with two central questions. Should von Braun have been allowed to emigrate to the United States given his affiliation with the…

From 1909 to 1910, the public performance of soap-box oratory began to effect dramatic changes in the composition of migrant workers throughout the Pacific Northwest. Municipal authorities in Spokane attempted to curb the formation of a union of hobo orators by outlawing public speech-making within the city fire limits. The ensuing confrontation…

Calvin Lunsford Beale was born in Washington, DC, on June 6, 1923, and passed away at age 85 on September 2, 2008. He was a city boy born and bred, and while he "never wanted to live in a rural area" he became one of the most astute observers of rural America in the latter half of the twentieth century. Calvin spent the majority of his…

Conducting evaluations that are both valid and ethical is imperative for the support and sustainability of programs that address underserved and vulnerable populations. A key component is to have evaluators who are knowledgeable about relevant cultural issues and sensitive to population needs. Hispanics in rural settings are vulnerable for many…

Energy is relevant to all areas of human life; energy sustains us through food, drives our transportation, warms and cools our buildings, and powers our electrical gadgets. In nature, ecosystems function by capturing and transforming energy. Agroecosystems are formed when humans manipulate the capture and flow of energy for food, fiber, and fuel…

The cowboy is viewed as an American icon: rider of the open range, rugged individual, and champion of good. Cowboys are still very much a part of American culture today. Why is it important to study cowboys? The introduction of cattle and horses by the Spanish "conquistadors" transformed the local culture, influenced the economics of the…

This is a story about industrial art. It is certainly not a story about smart studios and fashionable galleries, subtle techniques and aesthetic beauty. This is a story of sheet rock, nails, and low-grade lumber in the hands of unskilled teenage laborers. While this story boasts of no future museum pieces, it tells a heartwarming story of rare…

Founded in 1968, Program Funding, Inc. (PFI) is a statewide comprehensive agency delivering programs to farmworkers wherever they work and reside in New York. PFI has encouraged State, Federal, and private agencies to make new commitments to farmworkers and has been able to maintain the support of those agency personnel who set the precedents of…

Describes provisions of Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) allowing for Special Agricultural Workers (SAWs) and Replenishment Agricultural Workers (RAWs), to replace SAWs who leave the workforce. Describes government policy for implementing RAW program, determining need and supply, immigrant reporting requirements, eligibility…

Seasonal migration for work by poor rural families is a phenomenon that is escalating as the agrarian crisis mounts. Millions of families that migrate are compelled to take their children along, leaving school and a normal childhood behind. They spend several months every year at work sites such as brick kilns, salt pans, plantations and stone…

In 1970, the Farm Workers Health Service, which was begun in 1961, included 33 decentralized medical clinics which served 24,000 seasonal farm workers and their families in 17 counties during the peak harvest months. Seventeen clinics offered year-round general medical services, and in 12 counties free medical and dental care was available to farm…

Involving students in community-based participatory research is a useful mechanism for engaging the community and helping it build future capacity. This article describes student involvement in a series of community-based environmental health research projects with migrant and seasonal farmworkers in North Carolina. High school, undergraduate,…

With increasing national and regional emphasis on serving the needs of rural people, especially migrants and farmworkers, increased effort was expended to provide services as effectively as possible. Problems remain, however, in clearly identifying and tallying these services so that efforts to provide equal access can reach all of the rural…