ABSTRACT
The purpose of including samples along the Yogyakarta-Samas Beach road was to make comparisons possible with the corresponding hinterland samples in terms of the communities’ socioeconomic characteristics and structure of employment. In the studied communities of the Plain of Bantul, the most common cultivation pattern is three crops a year including two rice crops and one intermediary crop or palawija: usually soybeans, or maize for lower quality soils or irrigation. The economic activities of all household members in selected communities were recorded, being divided among primary, secondary, and tertiary activities that were ranked on the basis of their respective annual levels of return. Diversification of income and of primary employment, and the level of average household income are higher in communities which are closer to Yogyakarta and to transit corridors bordering regional or national roads. The most common destination for ‘rural-urban’ commuters from all communities remains Yogyakarta though the town of Bantul actually lies closer to all the studied communities.
