Determination and Resilience amid COVID-19 Uncertainty

The COVID-19 pandemic has made generating income and access to food far more difficult for many, particularly women in developing countries. To better understand how the pandemic and lockdowns to control its spread are affecting the livelihoods of female small-business owners and farmers in South Asia, IFPRI researchers, who otherwise would have worked on climate change adaptation strategies directly supporting women farmers, conducted surveys in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), an organization that aims to empower women workers to reach full-employment and self-reliance by providing the tools, support, and community for them to reach their economic potential. The researchers conducted a phone survey with 627 SEWA members and did in-depth case studies of five SEWA members across the Indian state of Gujarat. While each woman reported different experiences and perspectives on navigating COVID-19, a common theme emerged: making a living became tougher, yet these women were able to identify coping mechanisms to protect their livelihoods and their families. Click below to learn more about these five brave women’s stories – as they explain how COVID-19 is impacting their diverse sources of income and what SEWA is doing to help.

It seems that we are caught up from all sides by this disease. Wherever we go, the pain and suffering follow us.

Case Studies from India

Key theme 1?

Key theme 3?

Key theme 2?

Key theme 4?

Budhiben Motibhai Parmar

Age: 48 Occupation: Hand-pump repairer

Age: 50 Occupation: Rural homestay manager/entrepreneur

Age: 32 Occupation: Farmer

Ayeshaben Habibbhai

Age: 34 Occupation: Snack shop owner

Shantaben Parmar

Age: 51 Occupation: Street vendor

Ensuring Access to Water

Gauriben Ramabhai

Rekhaben Manubhai Rathod

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Losing Her Vending Space

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

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Key Theme 1

Suffered income loss

No income loss

Don't know

Income loss due to COVID-19 lockdown

Income loss due to COVID19

87.6%

12.0%

0.5%

How Self-Employed Women in India Coped with Lockdowns and Disruptions to Business

– Shantaben Parmar, 51

The vast majority of women interviewed indicated that they have lost income as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Survey conducted between May-June, 2020

This work received financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) commissioned and administered through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Fund for International Agricultural Research (FIA), grant number: 81235251, with additional support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets, and the CGIAR GENDER Platform

Interview 2 / December 2020

In December 2020, Ayeshaben felt that things were starting to get back to normal after the lockdown. Ayeshaben was able to restart her business in December, but she still does not have many customers due to the school closure. She explains, “The school closure has a direct impact on my small snack shop. The majority of my customers were schoolchildren.” The school closures have also had an impact on her own children, as Ayeshaben has four school-age children between the ages of 7 and 16. She finds their education to be a challenge in the pandemic: “A mobile phone and television are a source of education and entertainment for us. [Sharing] one mobile phone between three children is hard, but we do not have any other option.” The IFPRI phone surveys show that 50 percent of households reported that school closures affected their children’s education, as their children could not go to school during the pandemic. In more than one-quarter of these households (27 percent), children were not taking any online classes either. The long-term consequences of inequity in access to education will likely increase the wage-earning gap between those who had adequate access to online education and those who did not. Ayeshaben says she has been financially struggling for almost a year now, but she prays that her business will soon return to the way it was before the pandemic began. Ayeshaben has also continued to support SEWA’s work in her village, particularly Self Help Group-related work. However, her husband is still struggling to find work. She worries about her family’s income, saying, “My husband wants to wo rk again as a driver, but he is still not getting work.” To cope with the loss of income, Ayeshaben’s mother-in-law encouraged her to buy a buffalo during the lockdown period. She helped Ayeshaben learn how to care for the buffalo, which provides her family with about 2 liters of milk per day. Her husband also helps to care for the buffalo and sells the excess milk. After purchasing the buffalo on credit, Ayeshaben now pays an installment of INR 2,000 every 10 days. However, she worries about the financial strain of paying the installments, saying, “Currently it is difficult to manage the payment of installments, but somehow I’m managing. I’m hoping to repay it soon and start earning some money from the buffalo milk sales.” Ayeshaben is receiving food support twice a month from the government, including 14 kilograms (kg) of wheat, 1 kg of pulses, 6 kg of rice, and 1 kg of salt (through December 2020). Thanks to the ration support, Ayeshaben and her family have enough food to eat, although she is constantly working to keep her family’s food costs to a minimum. As a result of this stress, Ayeshaben and her family had to stop buying fruit and other more expensive items. In the surveys, while the proportion of women reporting an inability to purchase fruits and vegetables has declined, nearly 15 percent of households still report shortages and lack of affordability for fruits and vegetables. Ayeshaben’s daughter has fully recovered from her accident, although Ayeshaben’s own health remains a concern for the household: “I have not visited a doctor in several months. I generally manage the stock of one-month medicine for two months. I skip taking medicine to reduce my expenses.” As far as she is aware, COVID-19 has not yet reached Ayeshaben’s village, although there were reported cases in other nearby villages. Ultimately, Ayeshaben says that the priority for her is having sufficient business for her snack shop and work for her husband. She explains, “If I get sufficient work, then I know how to manage the remaining things.”

Share of HH that could not obtain fruits/vegetables for family

41.8%

14.5%

Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

May 2020 – June 202

Ability to obtain fruits/ vegetables for family

58.2%

41.8%

N=627.

Could not obtain them

Could obtain vegetables/fruits

Ayeshaben has three children and her husband works as a driver, although his income is very irregular. In addition to working as SEWA’s savings and credit coordinator, Ayeshaben also ran a small snack shop in the village. “My business was thriving, and I was able to manage the expenses of our household through my income,” remarked Ayeshaben. However, the COVID-19 lockdown had a devastating impact on Ayeshaben’s family finances. “All was going well, but suddenly this coronavirus came and ruined everything.” Due to COVID-19, Ayeshaben had to shut down her snack shop. Ayeshaben used to earn about Rs 200 ($2.70) daily from her shop – which she used to buy household groceries. As a result of the lockdown, her husband also could not work. His income had previously helped them pay the rent and children’s school fees. Survey results show two-thirds of SEWA women reporting that their husbands worked less than normal during the pandemic. “So now we don’t have anything to buy the ration or pay the rent. Due to lockdown, work has come to a halt … but household expenses don’t come to a halt. So, how do we manage that?” remarked Ayeshaben. The lockdown also had an adverse impact on the psyche of Ayeshaben and her family members. All of them worried about how they will pay their expenses, and it broke Ayeshaben’s heart when her children asked for food that she could not provide. Many women interviewed expressed similar concerns with food affordability: 53% percent of phone survey participants noted that they were unable to afford healthy food and 40% responded that they ate less food than required because of a lack of money. To add to her woes, Ayeshaben’s eldest daughter had an accident just before the lockdown, and her wounds had to be bandaged properly. The doctor had advised her to change the bandage after 15 days so that the wound would heal quickly. “But ever since the lockdown, we don’t have enough to eat, so how can we afford to travel to the hospital and get a new bandage?” asked Ayeshaben. Ayeshaben praised the courage and resilience of her daughter, who refused to go to the doctor because it would lead to additional expenditure. Instead, she applied homemade antiseptic remedies to her wound to save money. But these feelings of pride in her children’s resilience were quickly replaced by well-founded fears for their safety and well-being in this pandemic and lockdown. “I am continuously praying to god to keep everyone safe from this coronavirus and bring things back to normal soon,” said Ayeshaben.

More than 40% of women interviewed reported not being able to afford buying fruits and vegetables for their families

Interview 1 / June 2020

Shantaben’s struggles to find a secure place at the market have persisted: “During lockdown, I have faced pressure to change my place, but I have not changed it. I am only working at Jamalpur market.” She goes on to ask, “How can I change my place? They are issuing orders only. Are they ensuring the security of my place where I have sold vegetables for decades? No, not at all.” In addition, the safety of women and girls is a concern at the proposed new location down at the riverfront: “The authorities are forcing sellers to move to the riverfront which has many issues, including the safety of young girls.” According to Shantaben, she supports more than 2,000 members in the vendor business, fighting for better conditions and outcomes for her business and the businesses of other vendors. Shantaben helps other vendors weather the difficult economic times, working with them to get extensions on their loans and trying to provide vendors with work despite the restrictions. In her SEWA activities, Shantaben works with others to improve awareness around COVID-19 safety measures. She says she encourages others to “keep socially distancing and take precautions for safety in the pandemic situation.” While she is not aware of the current number of cases in her community, Shantaben has heard of COVID-19 cases in her neighborhood and the surrounding areas. She says sadly, “More than five people I know from the surrounding areas have died in the public hospital so far.” Shantaben’s financial struggles have continued despite some recovery compared to the severe early lockdown. To cope with the loss of income, Shantaben took loans from both private moneylenders and from SEWA: “Unfortunately, I can only obtain a loan of 10,000 INR from SEWA, but my need is 100,000 INR...I should not have taken a loan from the private moneylender, but I do not have another option. The business is still not normal, and the number of work hours has reduced,” she explains. But the private loans have caused a vicious cycle of loan repayment. Shantaben continues, “These moneylenders are not going to change their interest rate or repayment terms. The government requires a series of documents to support the loan application that we do not have. My 35 years of work in the informal business sector as a vendor is not enough for them.” The phone surveys showed that even in November–December 2020 (Round 3), 80 percent of food insecure vendors resorted to borrowing money, compared with 18 and 11 percent of agriculture-sector workers and laborers, respectively, who faced food insecurity. These levels are only slightly lower than those from May 2020, when 89 percent of vendors resorted to borrowing money during the original economic shock. Although Shantaben has heard about relief measures from the government, most relief measures are for those working in the formal economy. As a member of the informal economy, her ration relief has been limited to receiving 5 kilograms (kg) of wheat and 5 kg of rice only three times since April 2020, which was insufficient to meet her needs. Therefore, Shantaben adjusted her food consumption by eating cheaper foods like roti and daal or onions and potatoes: “We don’t have any variety of food. We are using whatever is available to us and we avoid purchasing things from outside.” All the members of her family have seen their earnings decline. However, she knows her situation is not unique: “In fact, it is the same situation for the majority of the vegetable vendors. Out of my 11 family members, 8 members are in the vegetable vending business.” Our survey confirms that even by the end of the year (Round 3), 95 percent of vendors reported food insecurity issues, compared to 60 percent of those engaged in agriculture. Shantaben offers a grim outlook of her community, “I have seen people in a very poor situation. I have even seen suicide cases in the Danilimda area due to the economic situation.”

Interview 2 / January 2021

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Street vending

Casual labor

Home-based work

Wage/salary job

Unemployed

Agriculture

Livestock

Services

Faced food insecurity due to lockdown

98.3%

86.8%

76.5%

72.4%

70.8%

67.5%

57.9%

50.0%

62.5%

57.1%

62.5%

60.4%

83.3%

84.0%

66.7%

87.9%

94.7%

Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

Street vendor

Casual laborer

Home-based worker

Wage/salary job

Does not work

Agriculture

Animal husbandry

Service provider

Faced food insecurity due to lockdown

98.3%

86.8%

76.5%

72.4%

70.8%

67.5%

57.9%

50.0%

The survey found street vendors were some of the worst hit financially due to the pandemic, with 98% of vendors interviewed facing food insecurity under lockdown

Shantaben Parmar is a 51-year-old street vendor who sells onions and potatoes in the Jamalpur locality of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to support her 11-member family. She has been a member of SEWA for the past 35 years and has organized street vendors’ collectives, but the present lockdown in Ahmedabad has severely affected her income and livelihood. “Every aspect of managing my vending business has become more and more difficult for me,” said Shantaben. Before the lockdown, Shantaben went to the Vasna Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) market every morning to purchase her stock of potatoes and onions to sell for the day. Normally, there would be a group of women vendors who would accompany Shantaben on her morning journey to the APMC market. They would hire a rickshaw together and split the cost. However, when the lockdown started, group pooling a rickshaw was no longer possible. Shantaben had to travel alone to the APMC market and paid for an expensive solo ride. She had problems with accessing markets and customers as well. According to Shantaben, the police did not allow them to sit at their allocated space for vending. She even alleged that the police broke the platforms made especially for the vendors under the Jamalpur over-bridge. The police only allowed vendors to vend on their lorries, and they did not allow static lorries – the vendors had to keep moving. “Now, how am I supposed to push a lorry and move so much at this age?” questioned Shantaben. As an alternative, the police and APMC allowed the vendors to sit near the riverfront but did not allocate specified vending places. Seating is available only on a first-come, first-serve basis, meaning one member of Shantaben’s family had to wake up every day, as early as 3 a.m., to secure a place for her to vend. Even then, her sales were very low. This crisis ate up much of the Shantaben’s savings, leaving her with the difficult choice of either spending her meager savings on household expenses, or buying the stock of vegetables for her struggling vending business. “We are not even able to break even these days,” said Shantaben. Survey results indicate street vendors were some of those worst hit financially due to the pandemic, with 98% of vendors interviewed reporting facing food insecurity under lockdown. “Corona a toh amne kora kari didha” (this Covid crisis has completely dried-up all our resources) is all she can say.

Interview 1 / June 2020

Interview 2 / December 2020

In an interview in December 2020, Rekhaben says that despite having a good harvest this year, she did not get an adequate price for her crops, which included turmeric, garlic, fenugreek, and green peas. She attributes the low prices to the pandemic and its related impacts. She laments, “This is a very unfortunate time. On the one side, the crop is ready for harvesting, but due to the low prices we receive, we are not sure whether to sell the crop or not. On the other side, the labor cost keeps increasing. The cost of agricultural production this season has increased but not incomes or prices received.” This situation is not unique to Rekhaben; 10 months into the pandemic, nearly one-third of survey respondents engaged in agriculture and 60 percent in animal husbandry reported facing income losses in the month preceding the survey. In addition, Rekhaben has been struggling to pay installments on a loan of 50,000 INR that she took in 2019 to purchase a solar pump. She expresses her concerns about repayment, saying, “I have missed several installments in this difficult economic time. I am still not able to pay the regular installment. Our family income has declined but not our expenses.” In response to the pandemic-induced financial struggles, Rekhaben has been trying to reduce her expenses and has therefore adjusted the food she buys. “Now I am more careful in using food items. When I go out, I carefully plan regarding purchasing anything,” she explains. During the lockdown period, Rekhaben received support from the government for a few weeks in the form of food. She received 10 kilograms (kg) of rice, 10 kg of wheat, 1 kg of sugar, and 1 kg of pulses in ration relief. But there has been no additional support since the lockdown was lifted. Rekhaben luckily has other sources of income besides agriculture, which help her pay for domestic expenses. She has three buffaloes, which give her enough milk to sell every 10 days and provide additional income for her and her family. Rekhaben also continues to be connected with SEWA, particularly in agriculture-related activities. The economic struggles from the lockdown and the pandemic are not her only concern, as she also worries about the health and well-being of her family members. Rekhaben lives with 12 family members in a multigenerational household: “In the family, we have three children—two daughters aged 14 and 15, and one son, aged 10. They are using a mobile device to attend online school, but they are not active and not satisfied with this online learning style. Most of the time, I am busy with my agricultural work. Thus, the children are mostly on their own in their little group and play with each other.” Rekhaben knows that there have been more than four cases of COVID-19 in her village and nearby villages, but she says she is not up to date on the case numbers. Within her own family, she says, “We are now more conscious about visiting relatives and attending social events.” Surveys show that even though mobility restrictions have largely been lifted, many households continue to go out less than they did before the pandemic.

Income loss by occupation

99%

97%

87%

83%

78%

67%

92%

56%

55%

39%

44%

33%

61%

38%

Street vending

Home-based work

Casual labor

Wage/salary job

Unemployed

Agriculture

Livestock

Services

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Mobility now compared to pre-COVID*

*This figure does not depict the proportion of respondents who answered with “cannot say/unsure.”

94.4%

70.4%

15.3%

14.3%

2.9%

1.9%

The same as before

Less than before

More than before

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Interview 1 / June 2020

Rekhaben Manubhai Rathod is a farmer from rural Gujarat. The 32-year-old hails from the Boriyavi village in Anand district, where her entire family earns a living from agriculture and animal husbandry on their half-acre farm. As an enterprising woman, Rekhaben decided three years ago to expand her farm’s output by purchasing a solar-powered pump for irrigation. She had to take out a loan to make the purchase, but the pump allows her family to harvest profitable crops like garlic and turmeric. According to Rekhaben, the police enforced the initial phase of lockdowns very strictly in her local village. Men were prohibited from venturing out of their homes – let alone going to fields or the market – and only women were allowed to go outside for a short duration of one to two hours. The larger survey indicated many women struggled with similar mobility restrictions – with nearly 95% of interviewed women indicating their mobility decreased under lockdowns. With everything under lockdown, it was virtually impossible for Rekhaben to accomplish her tasks in the allotted two hours outside the home. Her daily roster of activities included travelling to the fields to harvest her crops, buying cereals and vegetables for household use, fetching fodder for the cattle, and then traveling to either Ahmedabad (90 km away) or Baroda (40 km away) to sell her harvest. “How am I supposed to accomplish all these tasks and return back home in two hours only, especially when all modes of transportation are closed?” worried Rekhaben. Even when she did manage to get her produce to the markets of Ahmedabad or Baroda, Rekhaben said that the traders favored the large farmers and offered only throw-away prices for small farmers like herself. “All is lost now, as we stare into an uncertain future with mounting losses. The main question before me is how will I pay the EMIs (equated monthly installments) for the solar pump?” asked Rekhaben. Acknowledging the government’s temporary debt relief measures, Rekhaben said, “SEWA sisters informed me that the government has declared a three-month loan moratorium so I can defer my EMIs for three months but I will still accrue interest.” Asserting the importance of providing small-scale farmers like her with a favorable environment to sell their produce, Rekhaben emphasized: “We do not want charity, we just need support so that we can stand up on our feet again. We need innovative financing solutions to face this economic crisis.”

The survey found many women struggled with mobility restrictions – with nearly 95% of interviewed women reporting having less mobility under lockdown

Mobility now compared to normal times

94.4%

2.9%

1.9%

N=627.

The same as before

Less than before

More than before

Gauriben’s family has faced multiple hardships since the last interview: “My son had a road accident in October 2020. To manage the expenses, I borrowed money on credit without interest from my sister. I did not have any other option as the family’s income sources were highly affected in the past months. However, now I am planning to repay the credit amount by taking a loan.” One of her other sons, who worked in the factory in Mumbai, came back home to her village because he lost his job, along with 200 other workers from nearby villages in Radhanpur, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To manage the financial challenges, Gauriben’s family has changed their household consumption behavior: “We have made many adjustments like not purchasing fruit and not shopping for Diwali.” Surveys also show that while women are now going out for household and work activities, going out to meet friends and families remains limited, even several months after the original lockdown was lifted. Gauriben heard of two cases of COVID-19 in her village: “Both of them recovered. Thank God. However, in and around my village, there are cases from time to time and a few people died due to the COVID-19 infection.” When asked about how people and organizations should protect themselves against COVID-19, Gauriben explains, “In my view, people have started and should start all economic activities with good healthcare and hygiene. The government and other institutions should actively support small businesses and agriculture activities to help reduce people’s fear. Currently, people are living with fear not only due to COVID-19 health risks but—more than that—due to economic losses and damages that have been going on for several months.” Although she received initial food assistance from the government in April 2020, Gauriben says that neither she nor anyone else in her village has had any relief beyond the initial three rounds of food relief. Gauriben also expresses fears about the security of her agricultural income: “Presently, in winter, we farmers are fearful. We are hearing constantly about a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are facing increasing prices for daily essentials, such as onions, tomatoes, and potatoes. Businesspeople are selling their products at a higher price, claiming inflation, but are purchasing crops from farmers at a very low price. We farmers do not have options amid this uncertainty, so we sell our crop at a low price. A couple of months ago, we were fearful of health issues, and now we are worried about both our health and income.” When asked about positive changes, Gauriben reports that farmers have started to grow multiple crops together and have moved away from the one-crop formula based on their experience in the last season. She explains, “We have divided our farm into four parts and are growing cotton, castor, cumin, and wheat. Farmers are doing this to deal with uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on markets and supply chains as well as climate change. I see this as one positive change.” She also notes that people are now using money more carefully. And while farmers adjusted cropping patterns, the phone survey also showed that 7 percent of women respondents changed their jobs, as did 11 percent of their husbands. Gauriben says her work with SEWA continues, but that the speed of work is affected: “My embroidery work has started again slowly, the same with agriculture. Regarding my homestay [under Hum Sab Ek Hai, a rural homestay initiative of SEWA that translates to “we are all one”], a month ago, we expected bookings, but they were not confirmed. Now, again, I do not have a single booking in my homestay. This is a hard time as the winter season is the main season for my homestay business.”

Percentage of respondents who went outside, by activity

Buy food

For employment

Sell food

To collect water

Medical care

To meet friends

Attend Meetings

54.4%

76.7%

66.1%

33.5%

35.0%

38.5%

18.2%

9.4%

23.9%

15.6%

14.5%

13.2%

2.4%

2.2%

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Interview 2 / Nov. 2020 & Jan. 2021

Gauriben Ramabhai is a 50-year-old enterprising woman from Bankutra village in the Patan district of Gujarat. Bankutra is a small village of 700 households, bordering the Little Rann of Kutch. According to Gauriben, women in her community were very poor until SEWA started working with them to expand their economic potential. “SEWA identified and promoted our embroidery skills, helped us make it marketable – thereby creating an alternative livelihood source for us which led to national and international recognition,” reminisced Gauriben. She and her family rely on income from rainfed agriculture, which is highly erratic due to fluctuating prices in markets and climate shocks such as droughts. “Sustaining a big family like ours was becoming a huge challenge because of these erratic earnings. It was SEWA who came to our rescue,” said Gauriben. For the past three years, SEWA also trained her family to run “Rural Homestays" in her home, using an online platform. The homestay program supplemented Gauriben’s income from agriculture and embroidery work, helping her host national and even international guests, who would come to her village to experience the rural lifestyle, traditions, and foods. With these income sources, Gauriben and her family were getting by before the COVID-19 pandemic struck India. Since the beginning of the pandemic and onset of travel restrictions, however, she has not had any bookings for her rural homestay. The nationwide lockdown also had an adverse impact on her family’s ability to sell her farm produce and embroidery, because of restrictions on markets introduced to slow the spread of the virus. Gauriben is not alone in her struggles – in fact, more than half of the survey respondents had to use their savings and borrow additional funds to meet basic necessities. “Despite having three different sources of income, we do not have any income [now] and must beg to the local grocer to give us groceries on credit,” said Gauriben.

Less than one third of the street vendors in the sample were able to sell food due to the pandemic

Interview 1 / June 2020

Percentage of respondents who went outside, by activity

2.2%

2.4%

13.2%

14.5%

15.6%

23.9%

54.4%

Buy food

For employment

Sell food

To collect water

Medical care

To meet friends

Attend Meetings

N=627. Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

In December 2020, Budhiben provided an update on her family and their work. She reports that both of her sons are back to work: “Since December 2020, my son has started to work again. He is doing labor work in the factory that produces iron plates for industries. My younger son is doing masonry work.” According to the phone survey in December 2020, more than 85 percent of men and women reported going to work in the week prior to the survey, compared with just over 50 percent in May 2020. As she previously described, Budhiben’s work continues as well and is very important to her sense of well-being. She explains, “The marriage season brings work for us. We have two to three customers every day. Our team of five can handle this well. Working together is good for all of us. In whatever situation, our work will remain in demand as it is about water. Our charges to customers are also not high, so we are not facing any issues related to payment.” Budhiben’s work is important for the community as well, as water security continues to be a pressing issue several months into the pandemic. Surveys show that concern about not having enough water has increased over the last few months in Gujarat, and more than 20 percent of women still do not wash their hands as much as they should, a critical step in stopping the spread of disease. Budhiben also reports that she remains connected with SEWA in multiple ways: “I am always keeping RUDI products with me while going out for handpump repair work. I also attended health training events. Now I am a member of the Corona awareness team in the village. Thus, I am also spreading awareness related to safety against the coronavirus in the villages.” Budhiben is not aware of the infection numbers in her village, although she knows of cases in nearby villages. Budhiben continues to worry about her family’s finances, and she has reduced her household’s expenses due to her concerns: “This is a hard time, particularly from an economic point of view. We have reduced our outside expenses. We are not buying as many fruits as we generally bought before the pandemic time. Similarly, we are not purchasing any readymade food items from outside.” Ration relief from the government helps her with some essential items. Budhiben and her family receive 21 kilograms (kg) of wheat, 10 kg of rice, and a small stock of pulses twice a month. The school closures remain challenging for her family, and she knows that the lack of school and social isolation could have an impact on her grandson. Budhiben says, “Spending time with children is more important now as they are missing their school days and playing with friends. I am trying to spend time with my two sons and my 8-year-old grandson and 5-year-old granddaughter from time to time. More than education, children are missing their friends and their playtime outside.”

The percentages represent the proportion of people who responded “yes” to the questions.

*The marriage season requires that hand pumps be readied to supply water for large numbers of wedding guests. **RUDI is a SEWA enterprise set up for processing and marketing low-cost, high-quality agricultural commodities among farmers and rural laborers.

Interview 2 / December 2020

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Worried about not having enough water

Washed hands less than required

Changed plans or skipped activities due to inadequate water

Drank less than required

Faced food insecurity due to lockdown

36.0%

22.3%

3.5%

6.1%

11.6%

12.3%

22.3%

26.6%

Budhiben Motibhai Parmar hails from Takhatpura village in the Aravalli district of Gujarat and is the matriarch of a family of four, including her son, daughter-in-law and grandson. Together they live in a small one-room house. Budhiben’s husband passed away eight years ago, after which Budhiben raised her children and made her family’s income on her own, working long hours. With no agricultural land handed down to her, Budhiben worked as an agriculture laborer before joining SEWA. “I became a member of SEWA 20 years ago to improve my income and earning capacity,” said Budhiben. SEWA leaders taught her the skills needed to repair hand-pumps used for drawing potable water. After acquiring these skills, Budhiben formed a five-member hand-pump team, which helped her obtain additional work opportunities and income. “We even got contracts from the district government for repairing hand-pumps in our district,” beamed Budhiben. These new skills and government contracts became particularly critical when the COVID-19 lockdown started to put a strain on her family’s income. More than a quarter of women participating in the phone surveys worried about not having enough water during the pandemic. “When this lockdown was announced, we made an appeal to the local authorities that water is an essential service, and hence hand-pump repairing activities should be allowed,” said Budhiben. The local authorities agreed, and Budhiben was able to continue her work. Thus, every day, Budhiben and her team go out at 9 a.m. to repair and service hand-pumps in her area. In one month, they repaired over 150 hand-pumps across 50 villages. “Due to this hand-pumps repairing work, I am busy for the whole day and I hardly get any time to think about the pandemic or its impact,” said Budhiben. Budhiben credited work to be the sole deliverance from the stress and uncertainty brought by the lockdown. She also exemplified the spirit of resilience by turning this crisis into an opportunity for more work. “I see everyone tensed and worried ... but in our home, it is the work that has helped us to carry on in this crisis. Through my work, I am not only able to earn a livelihood for myself, but also facilitate access to clean water to several women in our district ... thus reducing some of their challenges.” “I am really thankful to SEWA for standing by me and supporting me in these difficult times.”

Phone surveys found that more than a quarter of women interviewed worried about not having enough water during the pandemic

Worried about not having enough water

Water insecurity experienced

26.6%

22.3%

12.3%

11.6%

Washed hands less than required

N=627. Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

Skipped activities due to inadequate water

Drank less than required

Interview 1 / June 2020

Budhiben Motibhai Parmar

Photo or illustration here

Ensuring Access to Water

SEWA leaders taught her the skills needed to repair hand-pumps used for drawing potable water. After acquiring these skills, Budhiben formed a five-member hand-pump team, which helped her obtain additional work opportunities and income. “We even got contracts from the district government for repairing hand-pumps in our district,” beamed Budhiben. These new skills and government contracts became particularly critical when the COVID-19 lockdown started to put a strain on her family’s income. More than a quarter of women participating in the phone surveys worried about not having enough water during the pandemic. “When this lockdown was announced, we made an appeal to the local authorities that water is an essential service, and hence hand-pump repairing activities should be allowed,” said Budhiben. The local authorities agreed, and Budhiben was able to continue her work. Thus, every day, Budhiben and her team go out at 9 a.m. to repair and service hand-pumps in her area. In one month, they repaired over 150 hand-pumps across 50 villages. “Due to this hand-pumps repairing work, I am busy for the whole day and I hardly get any time to think about the pandemic or its impact,” said Budhiben. Budhiben credited work to be the sole deliverance from the stress and uncertainty brought by the lockdown. She also exemplified the spirit of resilience by turning this crisis into an opportunity for more work. “I see everyone tensed and worried ... but in our home, it is the work that has helped us to carry on in this crisis. Through my work, I am not only able to earn a livelihood for myself, but also facilitate access to clean water to several women in our district ... thus reducing some of their challenges.” “I am really thankful to SEWA for standing by me and supporting me in these difficult times.”

Phone surveys found that more than a quarter of women interviewed worried about not having enough water during the pandemic

Back to Home Page

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

Losing Her Vending Space

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

Age: 48 Occupation: Hand-Pump Repairer

Worried about not having enough water

Washed hands less than required

Skipped activities due to inadequate water

Drank less than required

Water insecurity experienced

N=627. Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

26.6%

22.3%

12.3%

11.6%

Interview 2

Interview 1

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Worried about not having enough water

Washed hands less than required

Changed plans or skipped activities due to inadequate water

Drank less than required

Water insecurity experienced*

36.0%

22.3%

3.5%

6.1%

11.6%

12.3%

22.3%

26.6%

In December 2020, Budhiben provided an update on her family and their work. She reports that both of her sons are back to work: “Since December 2020, my son has started to work again. He is doing labor work in the factory that produces iron plates for industries. My younger son is doing masonry work.” According to the phone survey in December 2020, more than 85 percent of men and women reported going to work in the week prior to the survey, compared with just over 50 percent in May 2020. As she previously described, Budhiben’s work continues as well and is very important to her sense of well-being. She explains, “The marriage season brings work for us [because it requires the preparation of hand pumps to supply water for large numbers of wedding guests]. We have two to three customers every day. Our team of five can handle this well. Working together is good for all of us. In whatever situation, our work will remain in demand as it is about water. Our charges to customers are also not high, so we are not facing any issues related to payment.” Budhiben’s work is important for the community as well, as water security continues to be a pressing issue several months into the pandemic. Surveys show that concern about not having enough water has increased over the last few months in Gujarat, and more than 20 percent of women still do not wash their hands as much as they should, a critical step in stopping the spread of disease. Budhiben also reports that she remains connected with SEWA in multiple ways: “I am always keeping RUDI products [RUDI is a SEWA enterprise that processes and markets low-cost, high-quality agricultural commodities among farmers and rural laborers] with me while going out for handpump repair work. I also attended health training events. Now I am a member of the Corona awareness team in the village. Thus, I am also spreading awareness related to safety against the coronavirus in the villages.” Budhiben is not aware of the infection numbers in her village, although she knows of cases in nearby villages. Budhiben continues to worry about her family’s finances, and she has reduced her household’s expenses due to her concerns: “This is a hard time, particularly from an economic point of view. We have reduced our outside expenses. We are not buying as many fruits as we generally bought before the pandemic time. Similarly, we are not purchasing any readymade food items from outside.” Ration relief from the government helps her with some essential items. Budhiben and her family receive 21 kilograms (kg) of wheat, 10 kg of rice, and a small stock of pulses twice a month. The school closures remain challenging for her family, and she knows that the lack of school and social isolation could have an impact on her grandson. Budhiben says, “Spending time with children is more important now as they are missing their school days and playing with friends. I am trying to spend time with my two sons and my 8-year-old grandson and 5-year-old granddaughter from time to time. More than education, children are missing their friends and their playtime outside.”

December 2020

June 2020

*The percentages represent the proportion of people who responded “yes” to the questions.

Shantaben Parmar

Photo or illustration here

Losing Her Vending Space

The survey found street vendors were some of the worst hit financially due to the pandemic, with 98% of vendors interviewed facing food insecurity under lockdown

Back to Home Page

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

Ensuring Access to Water

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

Age: 51 Occupation: Street Vendor

Street vendor

Faced food insecurity due to lockdown

98.3%

places. Seating is available only on a first-come, first-serve basis, meaning one member of Shantaben’s family had to wake up every day, as early as 3 a.m., to secure a place for her to vend. Even then, her sales were very low. This crisis ate up much of the Shantaben’s savings, leaving her with the difficult choice of either spending her meager savings on household expenses, or buying the stock of vegetables for her struggling vending business. “We are not even able to break even these days,” said Shantaben. Survey results indicate street vendors were some of those worst hit financially due to the pandemic, with 98% of vendors interviewed reporting facing food insecurity under lockdown. “Corona a toh amne kora kari didha” (this Covid crisis has completely dried-up all our resources) is all she can say.

Casual laborer

Home-based worker

Wage/salary job

Does not work

Agriculture

Animal husbandry

Service provider

86.8%

76.5%

72.4%

70.8%

67.5%

57.9%

50.0%

Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

Interview 2

Interview 1

Shantaben’s struggles to find a secure place at the market have persisted: “During lockdown, I have faced pressure to change my place, but I have not changed it. I am only working at APMC Market Jamalpur.” She goes on to ask, “How can I change my place? They are issuing orders only. Are they ensuring the security of my place where I have sold vegetables for decades? No, not at all.” In addition, the safety of women and girls is a concern at the proposed new location down at the riverfront: “The authorities are forcing sellers to move to the riverfront which has many issues, including the safety of young girls.” According to Shantaben, she supports more than 2,000 members in the vendor business, fighting for better conditions and outcomes for her business and the businesses of other vendors. Shantaben helps other vendors weather the difficult economic times, working with them to get extensions on their loans and trying to provide vendors with work despite the restrictions. In her SEWA activities, Shantaben works with others to improve awareness around COVID-19 safety measures. She says she encourages others to “keep socially distancing and take precautions for safety in the pandemic situation.” While she is not aware of the current number of cases in her community, Shantaben has heard of COVID-19 cases in her neighborhood and the surrounding areas. She says sadly, “More than five people I know from the surrounding areas have died in the public hospital so far.” Shantaben’s financial struggles have continued despite some recovery compared to the severe early lockdown. To cope with the loss of income, Shantaben took loans from both private moneylenders and from SEWA: “Unfortunately, I can only obtain a loan of 10,000 INR from SEWA, but my need is 100,000 INR...I should not have taken a loan from the private moneylender, but I do not have another option. The business is still not normal, and the number of work hours has reduced,” she explains. But the private loans have caused a vicious cycle of loan repayment. Shantaben continues, “These moneylenders are not going to change their interest rate or repayment terms. The government requires a series of documents to support the loan application that we do not have. My 35 years of work in the informal business sector as a vendor is not enough for them.” The phone surveys showed that even in November–December 2020 (Round 3), 80 percent of food insecure vendors resorted to borrowing money, compared with 18 and 11 percent of agriculture-sector workers and laborers, respectively, who faced food insecurity. These levels are only slightly lower than those from May 2020, when 89 percent of vendors resorted to borrowing money during the original economic shock. Although Shantaben has heard about relief measures from the government, most relief measures are for those working in the formal economy. As a member of the informal economy, her ration relief has been limited to receiving 5 kilograms (kg) of wheat and 5 kg of rice only three times since April 2020, which was insufficient to meet her needs. Therefore, Shantaben adjusted her food consumption by eating cheaper foods like roti and daal or onions and potatoes: “We don’t have any variety of food. We are using whatever is available to us and we avoid purchasing things from outside.” All the members of her family have seen their earnings decline. However, she knows her situation is not unique: “In fact, it is the same situation for the majority of the vegetable vendors. Out of my 11 family members, 8 members are in the vegetable vending business.” Our survey confirms that even by the end of the year (Round 3), 95 percent of vendors still reported food insecurity issues, compared to 60 percent of those engaged in agriculture. Shantaben offers a grim outlook of her community, “I have seen people in a very poor situation. I have even seen suicide cases in the Danilimda area due to the economic situation.”

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

Street vending

Casual labor

Home-based work

Wage/salary job

Unemployed

Agriculture

Livestock

Services

Faced food insecurity in the last four weeks

98.3%

86.8%

76.5%

72.4%

70.8%

67.5%

57.9%

50.0%

62.5%

57.1%

60.4%

83.3%

84.0%

66.7%

87.9%

94.7%

June 2020

January 2021

Gauriben Ramabhai

Photo or illustration here

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Less than one third of the street vendors in the sample were able to sell food due to the pandemic

Back to Home Page

Ensuring Access to Water

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

Losing Her Vending Space

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

Age: 50 Occupation: Rural Homestay Manager/Entrepreneur

Buy food

Percentage of respondents who went outside, by activity

2.2%

the COVID-19 pandemic struck India. Since the beginning of the pandemic and onset of travel restrictions, however, she has not had any bookings for her rural homestay. The nationwide lockdown also had an adverse impact on her family’s ability to sell her farm produce and embroidery, because of restrictions on markets introduced to slow the spread of the virus. Gauriben is not alone in her struggles – in fact, more than half of the survey respondents had to use their savings and borrow additional funds to meet basic necessities. “Despite having three different sources of income, we do not have any income [now] and must beg to the local grocer to give us groceries on credit,” said Gauriben.

For employment

Sell food

To collect water

Medical care

To meet friends

Attend Meetings

2.4%

13.2%

14.5%

15.6%

23.9%

54.4%

N=627. Recall period- 4 weeks before the survey

Interview 2

Interview 1

Gauriben’s family has faced multiple hardships since the last interview: “My son had a road accident in October 2020. To manage the expenses, I borrowed money on credit without interest from my sister. I did not have any other option as the family’s income sources were highly affected in the past months. However, now I am planning to repay the credit amount by taking a loan.” One of her other sons, who worked in the factory in Mumbai, came back home to her village because he lost his job, along with 200 other workers from nearby villages in Radhanpur, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To manage the financial challenges, Gauriben’s family has changed their household consumption behavior: “We have made many adjustments like not purchasing fruit and not shopping for Diwali.” Phone surveys also show that while women are now going out for household and work activities, going out to meet friends and families remains limited, even several months after the original lockdown was lifted. Gauriben heard of two cases of COVID-19 in her village: “Both of them recovered. Thank God. However, in and around my village, there are cases from time to time and a few people died due to the COVID-19 infection.” When asked about how people and organizations should protect themselves against COVID-19, Gauriben explains, “In my view, people have started and should start all economic activities with good healthcare and hygiene. The government and other institutions should actively support small businesses and agriculture activities to help reduce people’s fear. Currently, people are living with fear not only due to COVID-19 health risks but—more than that—due to economic losses and damages that have been going on for several months.” Although she received initial food assistance from the government in April 2020, Gauriben says that neither she nor anyone else in her village has had any relief beyond the initial three rounds of food relief. Gauriben also expresses fears about the security of her agricultural income: “Presently, in winter, we farmers are fearful. We are hearing constantly about a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are facing increasing prices for daily essentials, such as onions, tomatoes, and potatoes. Businesspeople are selling their products at a higher price, claiming inflation, but are purchasing crops from farmers at a very low price. We farmers do not have options amid this uncertainty, so we sell our crop at a low price. A couple of months ago, we were fearful of health issues, and now we are worried about both our health and income.” When asked about positive changes, Gauriben reports that farmers have started to grow multiple crops together and have moved away from the one-crop formula based on their experience in the last season. She explains, “We have divided our farm into four parts and are growing cotton, castor, cumin, and wheat. Farmers are doing this to deal with uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on markets and supply chains as well as climate change. I see this as one positive change.” She also notes that people are now using money more carefully. And while farmers adjusted cropping patterns, the phone survey also showed that 7 percent of women respondents changed their jobs, as did 11 percent of their husbands. Gauriben says her work with SEWA continues, but that the speed of work is affected: “My embroidery work has started again slowly, the same with agriculture. Regarding my homestay [under Hum Sab Ek Hai, a rural homestay initiative of SEWA that translates to “we are all one”], a month ago, we expected bookings, but they were not confirmed. Now, again, I do not have a single booking in my homestay. This is a hard time as the winter season is the main season for my homestay business.”

Percentage of respondents who went outside, by activity

54.4%

Buy food

For employment

Sell food

To collect water

Medical care

To meet friends

Attend Meetings

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

23.9%

15.6%

14.5%

13.2%

2.4%

2.2%

76.7%

66.1%

33.5%

35.0%

38.5%

18.2%

9.4%

June 2020

November 2020 and January 2021

Rekhaben Manubhai Rathod

Photo or illustration here

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

The survey found many women struggled with mobility restrictions – with nearly 95% of interviewed women reporting having less mobility under lockdown

Back to Home Page

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Ensuring Access to Water

Losing Her Vending Space

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

Age: 32 Occupation: Farmer

The same as before

Mobility now compared to pre-COVID*

N=627.

94.4%

Less than before

More than before

2.9%

1.9%

Interview 2

Interview 1

Mobility now compared to pre-COVID*

94.4%

2.9%

1.9%

N=627.

The same as before

Less than before

More than before

According to Rekhaben, the police enforced the initial phase of lockdowns very strictly in her local village. Men were prohibited from venturing out of their homes – let alone going to fields or the market – and only women were allowed to go outside for a short duration of one to two hours. The larger survey indicated many women struggled with similar mobility restrictions – with nearly 95% of interviewed women indicating their mobility decreased under lockdowns. With everything under lockdown, it was virtually impossible for Rekhaben to accomplish her tasks in the allotted two hours outside the home. Her daily roster of activities included travelling to the fields to harvest her crops, buying cereals and vegetables for household use, fetching fodder for the cattle, and then traveling to either Ahmedabad (90 km away) or Baroda (40 km away) to sell her harvest. “How am I supposed to accomplish all these tasks and return back home in two hours only, especially when all modes of transportation are closed?” worried Rekhaben. Even when she did manage to get her produce to the markets of Ahmedabad or Baroda, Rekhaben said that the traders favored the large farmers and offered only throw-away prices for small farmers like herself. “All is lost now, as we stare into an uncertain future with mounting losses. The main question before me is how will I pay the EMIs (equated monthly installments) for the solar pump?” asked Rekhaben. Acknowledging the government’s temporary debt relief measures, Rekhaben said, “SEWA sisters informed me that the government has declared a three-month loan moratorium so I can defer my EMIs for three months but I will still accrue interest.” Asserting the importance of providing small-scale farmers like her with a favorable environment to sell their produce, Rekhaben emphasized: “We do not want charity, we just need support so that we can stand up on our feet again. We need innovative financing solutions to face this economic crisis.”

*This figure does not depict the proportion of respondents who answered with “cannot say/unsure.”

Income loss by occupation

99%

Street vending

Home-based work

Casual labor

Wage/salary job

Unemployed

Agriculture

Livestock

Services

May 2020 – June 2020 Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

2.9%

1.9%

70.4%

15.3%

14.3%

97%

87%

83%

78%

67%

92%

56%

55%

39%

44%

33%

61%

38%

June 2020

December 2020

Ayeshaben Habibbhai

Photo or illustration here

Closing Down Her Snack Shop

More than 40% of women interviewed reported not being able to afford buying fruits and vegetables for their families

Back to Home Page

No Bookings at Her Homestay

Ensuring Access to Water

Losing Her Vending Space

Minimal Demand for Her Crops

Age: 34 Occupation: Snack Shop Owner

Could not obtain them

Ability to obtain fruits/ vegetables for family

N=627.

58.2%

Could obtain vegetables/fruits

worried about how they will pay their expenses, and it broke Ayeshaben’s heart when her children asked for food that she could not provide. Many women interviewed expressed similar concerns with food affordability: 53% percent of phone survey participants noted that they were unable to afford healthy food and 40% responded that they ate less food than required because of a lack of money. To add to her woes, Ayeshaben’s eldest daughter had an accident just before the lockdown, and her wounds had to be bandaged properly. The doctor had advised her to change the bandage after 15 days so that the wound would heal quickly. “But ever since the lockdown, we don’t have enough to eat, so how can we afford to travel to the hospital and get a new bandage?” asked Ayeshaben. Ayeshaben praised the courage and resilience of her daughter, who refused to go to the doctor because it would lead to additional expenditure. Instead, she applied homemade antiseptic remedies to her wound to save money. But these feelings of pride in her children’s resilience were quickly replaced by well-founded fears for their safety and well-being in this pandemic and lockdown. “I am continuously praying to god to keep everyone safe from this coronavirus and bring things back to normal soon,” said Ayeshaben.

41.8%

Interview 1

In December 2020, Ayeshaben felt that things were starting to get back to normal after the lockdown. Ayeshaben was able to restart her business in December, but she still does not have many customers due to the school closure. She explains, “The school closure has a direct impact on my small snack shop. The majority of my customers were schoolchildren.” The school closures have also had an impact on her own children, as Ayeshaben has four school-age children between the ages of 7 and 16. She finds their education to be a challenge in the pandemic: “A mobile phone and television are a source of education and entertainment for us. [Sharing] one mobile phone between three children is hard, but we do not have any other option.” The IFPRI phone surveys show that 50 percent of households reported that school closures affected their children’s education, as their children could not go to school during the pandemic. In more than one-quarter of these households (27 percent), children were not taking any online classes either. The long-term consequences of inequity in access to education will likely increase the wage-earning gap between those who had adequate access to online education and those who did not. Ayeshaben says she has been financially struggling for almost a year now, but she prays that her business will soon return to the way it was before the pandemic began. Ayeshaben has also continued to support SEWA’s work in her village, particularly Self Help Group-related work. However, her husband is still struggling to find work. She worries about her family’s income, saying, “My husband wants to work again as a driver, but he is still not getting work.” To cope with the loss of income, Ayeshaben’s mother-in-law encouraged her to buy a buffalo during the lockdown period. She helped Ayeshaben learn how to care for the buffalo, which provides her family with about 2 liters of milk per day. Her husband also helps to care for the buffalo and sells the excess milk. After purchasing the buffalo on credit, Ayeshaben now pays an installment of INR 2,000 every 10 days. However, she worries about the financial strain of paying the installments, saying, “Currently it is difficult to manage the payment of installments, but somehow I’m managing. I’m hoping to repay it soon and start earning some money from the buffalo milk sales.” Ayeshaben is receiving food support twice a month from the government, including 14 kilograms (kg) of wheat, 1 kg of pulses, 6 kg of rice, and 1 kg of salt (through December 2020). Thanks to the ration support, Ayeshaben and her family have enough food to eat, although she is constantly working to keep her family’s food costs to a minimum. As a result of this stress, Ayeshaben and her family had to stop buying fruit and other more expensive items. In the phone surveys, while the proportion of women reporting an inability to purchase fruits and vegetables has declined, nearly 15 percent of households still report shortages and lack of affordability of fruits and vegetables. Ayeshaben’s daughter has fully recovered from her accident, although Ayeshaben’s own health remains a concern for the household: “I have not visited a doctor in several months. I generally manage the stock of one-month medicine for two months. I skip taking medicine to reduce my expenses.” As far as she is aware, COVID-19 has not yet reached Ayeshaben’s village, although there were reported cases in other nearby villages. Ultimately, Ayeshaben says that the priority for her is having sufficient business for her snack shop and work for her husband. She explains, “If I get sufficient work, then I know how to manage the remaining things.”

41.8%

14.5%

Nov. 2020 – Dec. 2020

May 2020 – June 202

Interview 2

Share of HH that could not obtain fruits/vegetables for family

June 2020

December 2020