Ethnic elder poverty: Miao household livelihoods and elderly self-sufficiency practices in Midwest China

Abstract

Within the existing literature on livelihoods, there is a paucity of research examining the livelihood of the elderly from ethnic communities, and of the few studies on elderly livelihoods, scholars tend to focus on their agricultural labor engagement and ignore other forms of activity. In this study, we investigate the elderly livelihood choices and the multiple survival practices in a Miao town in China's Midwest, which was chosen as the first case for the Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) program. Using the dual lenses of age and ethnicity, we describe the history of household livelihoods in the region, and how agricultural participation, the production of ethnic artisan goods and ritual practices are uniquely employed by Miao elders (compared to their Han peers) to achieve self-sufficiency. We consider how being Miao has certain advantages in tackling elder poverty. Alongside agricultural labor, Miao elders can engage in recognized handicrafts for sale; they can also engage in customary ritual practices as a recognized ethnic minority which would otherwise be prohibited and contribute to social cohesion. This is the first anthropological study conducted in Midwest China that centers on the livelihood and practices of age-advanced group with an ethnic identity in a globally aging context.