FADING RURAL ENTERPRISES OF KODAGU- Special Reference to the Grinding Stones of Paloor Village

Abstract

Kodagu is the smallest district of Karnataka. It is considered as the Switzerland of the East and Kashmir of India. The district is basically an Agro-based economy. It is the second largest producer of coffee of the country and now added with eco-tourism because of its scenic beauty. Kodagu doesnot have any large scale industries but only agro based and MSME sector. It is because of its topography and climatic conditions. One such micro sector was the “Grinding stone production of the Paloor Village of Madikeri Taluka of the district. The grinding stones of this village was very famous not only in the district but also in the nearby districts like Mangaluru, Mysuru and also Bengaluru. The production was gradually decreasing and since two years it has come to a standstill due to lack of demand. Not only the stone grinders but also some of other rural enterprises are in the verge of fading away. This paper makes an attempt to focus on the realities and to find some remedies to the problem. KEY WORDS: Rural Enterprise, MSME, Stone Grinders