Managing+family+labor


 * Your must allocate your family's labor to productive tasks, including farming, fishing, fuelwood collection, water collection, and small business.
 * Your family's total available labor is based on the sum of each individual family member's daily labor. For example, at the start of the game, there are 2 adults, each of whom can work for up to 12 hours each day. Therefore, you have 24 hours of available daily labor.
 * You can adjust values by typing numbers into the boxes or using the +/- buttons.
 * You will not be able to end your turn if you have allocated more hours of labor than your family has available.

Farming

 * If you choose to spend some of your family's labor hours farming, then you must decide what to plant in your fields.
 * You have 4 plots of 1/4 hectare, and you can plant maize or cotton on each plot.
 * Spending more hours farming will increase your harvest up to a point, but note that there are diminishing returns to labor.
 * Your yields are also affected by seasonal variation in precipitation, the productivity of your family members, soil health, whether you have purchased family improvements such as fertilizer and high yield seeds, and whether the village has irrigation.
 * If you grow more maize than your family needs for subsistence, the surplus will automatically be sold at the village market. The income will go into your family fund.
 * If you choose to grow cotton, the transport costs associated with bringing your cotton to the village market, will be deducted from your family fund. Transport costs are lower if there is a paved road. Income you obtain from cotton sales will be deposited into your family fund.

Fishing

 * The number of hours you spend fishing, the productivity of your family members, and whether you have purchased a boat and/or  dragnet affect your fishing yield.
 * To convert your fish harvest into food, you must obtain enough cooking fuel.
 * If you harvest more fish than your family needs for subsistence, the surplus will automatically be sold at the village market. The income will go into your family fund.
 * The rate at which you, and the village, harvest fish affects the stock of fish.
 * You can choose to set a collection limit on the number of fish each family can harvest each season.
 * If you set a fishing limit, you should adjust the hours you spend fishing accordingly.

Fuelwood collection

 * All maize and fish that you harvest, as well as food that you purchase, must be cooked.
 * You must spend some of your family's labor hours collecting fuelwood unless your family owns a propane stove and propane tank.
 * If you do not collect enough fuelwood, some your family's food will go to waste.
 * If you collect more fuelwood than your family needs for subsistence, the surplus will automatically be sold at the village market. The income will go into the family fund.
 * The rate at which you, and the village, harvest fuelwood affects the stock of wood.
 * An improved wood stove burns fuelwood more efficiently, decreasing the amount of wood needed to meet subsistence.
 * You can choose to set a collection limit on the amount of wood each family can harvest each season.
 * If you set a wood collection limit, you should adjust the hours you spend on fuelwood collection accordingly.

Water collection

 * Unless your village has a water pump, you must spend some of your family's labor hours collecting water.
 * It is important to allocate sufficient hours to water collection because there is no way to make up for a shortfall.
 * If you do not collect enough water, your family's health will be affected.

Small Business

 * You may choose to allocate some of your family's labor hours to a small business.
 * To earn income from your small business, you must first invest in capital for the business.
 * You can use money in your family fund for business capital, or you can borrow from the microfinance bank.
 * Village improvements can increase the return on your investment in a small business.

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