Presentation short abstract

This paper highlights how management of two sluice gates shapes the wider economy of the village, in turn shaping the need to go outside for work. Arguing that these conflicts over localised saline infrastructure shape both the need for outside work and visions of possible agrarian futures.

Presentation long abstract

Building on recent political ecologies of coastal Bangladesh this paper highlights the connection between out migration and shrimp aquaculture through the stories of two sluice gates in neighbouring villages. One sluice gate was shut by a powerful local police officer, stopping the flow of salt water and stopping the cultivation of shrimp, while the other remains open and managed through a lease system. These sluice gates shape the economy of the two villages, and in turn whether people need to leave the village in search of work. Changes in the viability, legality, and management of the sluice gate in turn open new possibilities for the communities living around them, including whether there will be jobs available in the local area or if they will need to travel ‘outside’ for work. By drawing attention to the relationship between the sluice gate, economic relations of the village and labour this paper applies political ecological approaches to understanding why a culture of ‘outside work’ (Baire Kaj) has emerged in these villages, and how people imagine outside work changing in the future. Using these insights gained from 13-months of ethnographic fieldwork this paper critically appraises the utility of outside workers as 'classes of labour' and the theoretical construction of futures and possibilities of agrarian labour.