ABSTRACT
YITS’UN is located in the interior in mountainous country—a village limited in land and overpopulated. These factors give rise to a surplus of agricultural labor. On these reddish, sandy slopes grow few green trees and little grass; in the valley the lands are very poor. In order to cultivate this soil much energy must be spent, and little profit is gained. The margin of cultivation is easily reached. Owing to the diminishing returns on land, on this marginal land no profit can be gained. If the people wish to invest further in land, they must spread out. Their lands extend far beyond the village, but this extension is also limited by present farming techniques and by bad transportation. Since the land cannot absorb the increase in capital, surplus capital, wherever it exists, will go outside agriculture. This encourages the development of handicrafts in village life.
