IDENTIFICATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING CULTURAL POVERTY TRAP IN THE ‘VILLAGE OF BEGGARS’ (Pragaan Daya Village, Sumenep Regency, Indonesia)

Poverty trap persists in many resource-poor regions due to various specific causes. A unique poverty trap occurs in the so-called ‘Beggars’ Village’ in Sumenep Regency, Indonesia. Unlike beggars Pragaan Daya village. The main occupation of the villagers is begging. In the view of most cultures in Indonesia, begging is bad and unrespectful, but the community in Pragaan Daya village was the exception. Begging had been their intergenerational profession. This research aimed to determine root causes of the begging culture in Pragaan Daya Village. This paper was based on qualitative research using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approach to reveal these socio-economic problems. The research found that internal variables which affected cultural poverty trap in the village were: daily income obtained from begging; existance of village market; land topography; awareness in education; teaching and learning environment; fertility of farmland;water resources and; irrigation system, while the external variables were:government’s attention; farmland extensivication and education cost. Based on the finding we reccommended that local development must be equitable which means economic development that respond social development and vise versa.
Key Words: cultural poverty trap, PRA approach, beggar, local development.