In Kalay, people are facing an acute problem in earning a livelihood. Spiraling market prices and rare job opportunities have only compounded financial problems. Between 30 and 40 households have had to sell their land and property to resolve their daily hardships.

Market prices of essential commodities have been going up and it is very difficult to earn money. Jobs are rare. Local people therefore fall back on their property, a local said.

This phenomenon is generally noticeable in Tahan, San Myo and Satawm in Kalay town,. To make things worse the market price of land and houses are going down for sellers outnumber buyers. For instance property worth Kyat 400 lakhs has come down to around Kyat 350 lakhs.

The reason for the falling prices is that most people cannot make purchases of even a lakh. Soaring inflation has led to the value of the Kyat (Myanmar currency) going down. Western sanctions have made matters worse.

People are selling their homes and renting out cheaper houses and living a simple life. Those who sell their land also have to take up daily jobs and they use the money from selling land for trade like selling vegetables and other goods to make both ends meet. Some are planning to go to Malaysia and Thailand to find jobs.

In 2006 too people faced problems in eking out a livelihood in Chin state. They resorted to selling their lands and homes to survive. The market price of land, houses and farms dropped to half the value of the property. – KNG.