Hmingthanzauvi a mother of three, started supporting her family by making dry flowers and selling them in the neighbourhood shops. Her husband works as a contract labourer in the with the government and his income is uncertain. Initially the flowers fetched her Rs. 3000 to Rs 4000 as profits per month but that was not sufficient for the family. Hmingthanzauvi had taken the loan to expand the flower business but realized that this money could be invested in starting a small petty shop. So she ran a petty shop for 3-4 months. When the petty shop did not give her enough profits she started selling second hand garments.
I ask her if she is satisfied with the garment business now. She happily says that this business has helped her a lot. Her profits nearly doubled as compared to the flower making business but selling second hand garments requires more patience. She says that she buys  one gunny bag of old clothes for about Rs 20,000. For the initial days each garment may sell for anywhere between Rs. 250- Rs 500 but as the good stuff is sold away the price of garments fall to Rs 100 each. In the end the left over stock is even sometimes sold for Rs 10 per piece. Hmingthanzauvi keeps buying new garment bags every two  to three months , whenever she has the money.Hmingthanzauvi now contributes substantially to the household income and also saves money for the education of her daughter and two sons who are both teenagers.
Hmingthanzauvi poses with her other group member
