FrivYeti/RanavirEconomy
Back to Ranavir
The city of Ranavir has all of the standard professions of a city of its size - a guardforce, blacksmiths and tavern-keepers, dancers and thieves and so on. However, it remains primarily an agricultural community, with a decent minority of the population involved in the quarries, or in entering the dangerous Southern desert in search of a variety of resources. These three economies provide the driving force for the city; unfortunately, the lack of extensive resources and the general remoteness of the nation (combined, until recently, with the Fair Folk controlling it), means that caravans are not so common as they might be in other regions.
The bulk of Ranavir's wealth lies in the hands of its titular nobility; however, a decent portion of it makes its way to the poor and disenfranchised. Peasants work the land for the nobility, but they are not bound to it; they must be paid and treated at least fairly well, or else they will refuse to work on a given noble's lands. The large number of nobles prevents one from holding a monopoly, especially with the peasantry in close proximity.
Farming
Farming remains the primary industry in Ranavir. Most of the city's farms lie to the north of the city, although a few are also clustered around Kyube Lake. These farms are owned exclusively by the nobility, and are worked on by a large portion of the city's population; all told, between farm workers and their families, the farms account for the livelihood of over 6,000 people. The farms are roughly divided into three groups, although individual farms may contain more than one of the areas of food production.
The first major farming initiative are cactus farms. These farms grow a variety of catcus fruits, as well as a small amount of peyote which is traded to the Guild when their caravans come to town. The catcus farms also sell cactus meat and milk for use in a number of local dishes, and make up a sizeable portion of the city's general food supplies. Cactus farms have the added advantage of required relatively little water for most of the year, allowing them to stretch farther from the lake than any other crop. And as a side benefit (which King Bastion intends to exploit), it is difficult to bringing regimented armies through the cactus farms, due to the unpleasantness of trying to march through cactus needles.
The second common farms are the gissle farms. Gissles are a local animal, native to the region, which proved domesticable and useful in arid environments. In appearance, they resemble a cross between a small camel and a portly cow, are coloured a sandy brown, and have fairly ugly features. Gissles are generally placid, and survive mainly by living off the meats of certain types of cacti; they also require relatively little water, making them useful to domesticate. They are too small for labour, however, so extras are made into meat. Unfortunately, gissle meat is tough, dry, and generally among the least pleasant meats out there; apply a -1 internal penalty to anyone cooking using primarily gissle meat. Gissle milk has no such flaw, and gissle milks and cheeses, while somewhat bitter, are one of the exports of Ranavir. In fact, Kallis Round, a soft cheese made exclusively by workers at the Kallis farms, is renowned enough that Guild caravans are always sure to pick some up for discerning eaters in the Lap. Gissle meat is, however, inexpensive and fairly nutritious; the poor often use it as their primary source of protein, despite its taste.
Finally, there are the date, fig, and nuts farms that surround Kyube Lake. These farms are generally smaller than their neighbours, their fruits are reserved for slightly richer locals, and not enough is produced for any serious exports to take place. Despite this, the farms are popular, especially given that they have far more shade around them than the much less pleasant cactus farms to the north.
