“I have been a coconut vendor for the last 24 years. My husband and I run this stall and ours is a great partnership. I have household chores to complete in the morning – cleaning the house and also preparing lunch at home. By the time I finish my work and come to the stall, it is 11:00 in the morning. Till then, my husband is in charge. Upon my arrival, he leaves to home to go for his part-time duty. Again in the evening, he sends me home to look after the kids and their studies.

We together earn ₹14,000-₹18,000 per month. Our earnings are majorly dependent on seasons. Sales are great during summer as compared to those during the monsoon or the winter. We get the entire stock from East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh and earn a margin of about ₹3 to ₹5 per coconut.

During the two COVID-19 lockdowns, there was no business at all. Even if we did want to sell, the customers were scared of the virus. We only stayed at home during those months and it was the worst phase of my life so far.

Of course, it feels good when the business is running well. It is not a good feeling when business is low, since things get tough financially.
So, I am here for that, trying to support my family.
I have never been to school in life neither my husband so we are working hard to educate our children. My elder is currently working as a Zomato Delivery person. He had completed his class 12 and even joined a Degree course but because of the Covid lockdown, he had to take a break for some time as we couldn’t afford the college fees. My younger son is pursuing his Intermediate and he also does a part-time job in a clothes store in the evening.

Even though I don’t want them to work at this age, situations have forced us to do so. I just hope that my sons study well and get good jobs in the future so that they don’t have to go through my fate.”