Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This study examines how gendered labour relations and structural inequalities shape women’s participation in rubber plantation and influence household food security in the Kalutara district of Sri Lanka. The research process focused on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and field observations to understand women’s lived experiences, labour processes, and coping strategies, through Feminist Political Ecology (FPE). The findings show that women are at the central role in sustaining household food security, and managing a “triple burden” of productive, reproductive, and community responsibilities. Although women primarily contribute to household income, still their influence on household decision-making remains limited, which is highly shaped by deeply rooted patriarchal norms and labour inequalities in the rubber plantation systems. Structural inequalities including, low and unstable wages, limited access to land, and restricted livelihood opportunities, further increase their vulnerabilities. The findings emphasize that food insecurity in plantation households is primarily affected due to challenges in access, utilization, and stability of food. Along with these constraints, women in rubber plantations practicing multiple coping strategies such as, informal borrowing, seeking alternative income sources, and adjusting with alternative food consumption patterns. These practices offer short-term resilience rather than long-term transformation, limit women’s agency. Thereby, this study suggests policy recommendations that move beyond short-term welfare support to addressing these key issues, through improved wage schemes, expanded resource access, and promote gender-responsive support systems. Addressing these challenges will enhance women’s agency and support more sustainable food security outcomes among rubber plantations communities.