Street vegetable vending as a means of earning a living in Manipur

Street vending is an occupation of the informal sector which is common in every part of the world.  The profession is usually taken up by poor people as a means of earning their living. This study aims to find out the living conditions of the street vendors which drive them into vending and the difficulties they faced in relation to this occupation. The study focuses on the Hmar community who also practiced street vending as a means of earning. This study is important because no studies on street vendors have been done in this area and will also serve as a document for the community and to whoever might need it. The research approaches adopted are qualitative and quantitative and the methods used are personal individual interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussion, audio recording and visual techniques (photographs). A number of 25 street vendors participated in this process. The findings from the study shows that the good soil conditions of the area make it necessary for them to vend in order to sell their surplus produce of cultivations. Also, due to economic constraints, they needed money linking soil fertility and economic constraints. Some of the vendors have taken up vending to earn for their daily basic requirements while others earn for other purposes. The earnings from street vending make a huge contribution in making their living. Out of 25 households of the street vendors, 20 of them have other sources of income besides the income from street vending. They also faced hardships and difficulties such as having to leave their homes from early morning, less time to give care to children and contribution to household activities, embarrassments, hunger and harsh weather conditions. The main conclusions drawn from this study is that the living conditions of the street vendors vary a lot and the purpose of vending also differ. The study recommends further research of this area so that they are recognized by the government and help in elevating their living conditions by providing more employment opportunities for these sections of people.