Remitance and rural development in Chin State : case study of Aibur village

Abstract

The paper examines the impact of Chin migrant’s remittances on development of rural Chin community. A case study was done in Aibur community in Aibur village and Hakha. A questionnaire, interview, and observation were used to collect data about livelihood, flow and patterns of expenditures of remittance, and social security of the community. The preliminary results of the research show that remittance is an important and stable source of income for Chin people in rural community. From the survey done in the Aibur, 80 percent of the villagers receive remittances from families living abroad. Six of households totally rely on remittance for their income and 23 percents of households receive up to 50 percents of their income from remittance. The rest 50 percents of households receive remittance but cannot cover all their expenses and have to work on cultivation for their survival. The majority of remittance is mainly used by families for daily basic needs, followed by expenditure on housing, education, and health. Through distributing within the community, remittance is also used for social welfare and infrastructures such as construction of road, mini-hydro eclectic power, and school. This research paper argues that remittance has an important role on human capital development, better livelihood and some infrastructural development. However, there is no immediate economic development because there was insufficient money and limited opportunities for productive investment due to weak infrastructure and widespread poverty within the community.