Members of the transgender community move towards self-sustenance

Members of the transgender community engaged in farming in Chikkamagaluru.

Six members (top) of the transgender community engaged in farming in Chikkamagaluru. 

Across Karnataka, members of the trans community, who earlier used to earn a living on the streets either through begging or sex work, have taken up alternative livelihoods to sustain themselves during the pandemic.

One such person is Vinod, from Kalaburagi, who took up dairy farming to earn an income. Vinod bought three buffaloes in all this year, with some financial assistance from friends and earns Rs 15,000 every month from selling the buffalo milk, and incurs Rs 8,000 as expenses. “Going forward, I don’t want to go around begging for money but want to start my own enterprise,” says Vinod.

In Chamarajanagar district, Deepu, a trans person and social worker says there are several community members who have returned home and are now looking for work. There are at least five people in the district’s Yanagahalli village, who want to take up agricultural work in their land and are waiting for adequate support from the government and local authorities.

However, such a shift is not new to the members of this community. There are instances of them successfully having taken up alternative livelihoods prior to the lockdown.

Agricultural work

In Chikkamagaluru, some six members of the transgender community have taken up agricultural work in six acres of land and are growing vegetables.

Megha, one of the six people who took up agriculture, said things were tough in the beginning. Even the neighbours around them were sceptical of their success, but once they saw the group’s persistence, they came around.

One year, they made a profit of Rs 1.5 lakh from cultivating potatoes.

“Things will not remain the same in the future. We have to adapt our lifestyles to the changing times. We have to lead our lives like those around us. We have to become self-dependent, start small enterprises and participate in society,” Megha says.

In Kolar’s Kogilahalli, a few members of the transgender community came together in 2018 and took up dairy farming with some help from the government.

Nine members of this group came together to form the ‘Sankalp Trust’, which they say is the first livelihood trust for transgenders in the country. Ashwini, who is associated with Sankalp, says starting a dairy farming unit requires at least an investment of Rs 7 - 8 lakh, to purchase two cows and buffaloes as well as other equipment. “People from the neighbouring villages also came forward to support us once we took up dairy farming,” Ashwini says.

Going forward, Sankalp is planning to start an agricultural and horticultural unit, with the help of the government, which will significantly expand their business.

Several other trans people are looking for work or setting up their own enterprises — whether it is a small store, poultry farming or even animal husbandry. However, they are facing a shortage of funds, or access to resources and opportunities.