Consumer Behaviour of a Forest Dwelling Tribe of Kerala: A Business Anthropological Study

Abstract

The forest dwelling tribes are deprived of many facilities available in the non-forest areas.  They were living with limited technological advancements. The tribal communities living in the Reserve Forests were following a traditional way of life by engaging in wage labour and other works. They were living in their traditional houses without electricity. Recently, when their houses have electrified 10 years ago, the people started to buy modern amenities for their household activities, travel and conveyance, communication, television sets for entertainment, etc.  They had very limited household amenities just 10 years ago. At present, their consumer behaviour is growing and it is reflected in their life and culture. In this context, the present paper tries to provide an analysis on the consumer behaviour of a forest dwelling tribe of the Kannavam Reserve Forest of Kannur District in Kerala. It is analysed from the theoretical framework of business anthropology.