Since leaving the forest, the Batwa have adopted more than just farming into their lives. Their new circumstance involves a much higher interaction with local economies than when they lived under the trees. Now, to supplement what they can grow from the earth, men and women find ways to participate in the hustle and bustle of work. Labor doesn't always mean a wage, sometimes lunch is the only reward for a day spent working someone else's field. Tourism in the area has also created a demand for local crafts, something that many Batwa work on during spare time, hoping to catch a lucky sale. With money comes opportunities, the promise of luxuries, security, and a better life for future generations. Often people work on their farm one day, then a larger farm the next, owned by a wealthier Bakiga who can afford to hire extra hands. Labor is often sporadic in nature, rarely a consistent form of income for the Batwa. In this balance most families exist, working and farming interchangeably to meet the specific need of that day.
Weaving
In Batwa communities, work is gendered. Lines are often crossed, but certain jobs remain in the domain of women or men. Weaving is a craft taken up by women, some who must teach themselves in order to participate in the market. From the harvesting of materials to the final stitch, women make baskets, dolls, and mats for themselves, but increasingly for sale to tourists. Communities located nearest to larger towns participate in this market the most.
Brick Making
If weaving is women's work, then making bricks has become the labor of choice for many Batwa men, young and old. With few tools required, earth is mixed, shaped, then baked. The resulting bricks sell for a meager price individually, but are produced in vast numbers considering that they are all hand made. Income from selling bricks is inconsistent and often poorly invested. Making matters worse, increasingly unpredictable rains are interrupting the drying process, sometimes resulting in whole yields ruined in a single night.
Charcoal Making
While there are many ways Batwa fight to earn money, few are as epic as charcoal making. Climbing to the top of a mountain, a couple chops trees and slow cooks them for three days straight in a large pile, then lugs down the resulting bags of charcoal. They don't own the land they work on and so must give half of what they make to the landowner. Charcoal sells well, so none is kept for personal use. Both man and woman participate in this tough, sporadic work.
Jobs come in many forms and some choose to not participate, instead preferring the more direct line of self providing that comes from farming. They have weaved their way into Batwa life as the evicted find niches in the world they've been thrust into. In many senses, working is a form of adaptation to their changing environment. As droughts and floods threaten the stability that farming provides, jobs offer opportunity to meet the ends.
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Working doesn't come without costs. Many people need to spend a day recovering for each day spent working. Such strenuous labor as digging bricks results in serious deficits of energy when considering the amount of calories most Batwa consume daily. Alternatively, some people are chosen by development groups to perform their cultural dances and customs for well paying tourists. While this work is coveted for its relatively high pay, the emotional toll of selling ones culture shouldn't be dismissed. Jobs help patch certain holes created by climate change and displacement, but come with their own set of issues. As people adapt to one problem, others arise from the new circumstance.