Vanlalmawii's little knick-knack shop

On my first day of interviewing the borrowers, I met Vanlalmawii, a hardworking grandmother, at her petty shop. She lives just near her shop which is in College Veng, near one of Mizoram's best colleges, Pachhunga University College, in Aizawl, Mizoram. Vanlalmawii had all sorts of knick-knacks and other items neatly displayed at her little shop. She had bakery items, dahi, lassi, cold drinks, sweets, sour treats, eggs, biscuits, soap, etc. I was amazed by how she managed to fit in so many items in such a tiny space. I learnt that  Vanlalmawii is a mother is five. All her children are married. Her daughters often help her with her shop. Her husband works as a guard at the college nearby and earns about Rs. 12,000. Vanlalmawii earns about Rs. 6000 to Rs. 4000. Her income depends a lot on college season.

 

Vanlalmawii had taken the loan to expand her petty shop by purchasing more items and to start some business. She and her group members tried selling steel which they got from Silchar. Initially they were doing well and the profit was good but issues arose when some members did not have time to help. So they decided to discontinue this kind of business. The other group members also own petty shops. So far they have repaid a little more than half of the loan they have taken and have not faced any difficulty in repayment. 

 

When I asked Vanlalmawii whether the loan helped her accomplish what she had planned or if it had made any difference, she said,"I made good use of the loan by buying more products for my petty shop. However, to start off any kind of business in a place like Mizoram, where things are very expensive, the loan is not sufficient." Besides being able to expand her petty shop, she said that she was grateful that the loan gave her the opportunity to try out something new even if it did not work out.