Seasonal labour migration from a rural Nepalese village

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and extent of seasonal labour migration among a sample of villagers in Janakpur province of Nepal. Personal interviewing was combined with ethnographic observation with content analysis of the database of findings subsequently conducted. The system of migration is persistent rather than stable; work is available in natural resource extraction or processing facilities and urban environments. The former is easier to plan for than the latter, which can be risky and some migrants are unable to support themselves. The research is limited in both space and time and, owing to the lack of knowledge about the working practices of people in this area, can be considered to be exploratory in nature. It is shown that, under current circumstances, few benefits are yet flowing to the Nepalese village studied.