Introduction:

Shiva, a resident of Bangalore, India, works as a cobbler and a vendor specialising in reselling second-hand footwear. He completed his formal education up to the 7th standard following which he embarked on a career in selling refurbished footwear in street markets of Bangalore at a young age. As the sole provider for his family of five, which includes his wife and three children, this occupation serves as his primary and only means of income.

Employment and Income:

Shiva buys old stock of footwear from local footwear stores for prices ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 60 per pair. After repairing, he sells them at the Chickpete and Neelasandra markets on Sundays and Wednesdays, respectively. The prices of footwear that he sells in these markets ranges from Rs 200-700 depending on the quality of footwear and he manages to sell footwear worth Rs 4,000-5,000 during the Sunday market in Chickpet and worth Rs 1500-1700 in the Wednesday market of Neelasandra. In total, across eight market days, he manages to generate an income of around 20,000 rupees per month through the resale of refurbished footwear.

Aside from the two market days each week, he conducts his operations from home, dedicating his time to washing, repairing, and refurbishing the footwear to prepare them for sale in the market. Although he wants to set up a shop, he is unable to due to lack of funds and his busy schedule.

Problem statement:

Shiva’s business was growing at a slow pace due to lack of resources and the need for capital to purchase the footwear. He had to invest a significant portion of his earnings in buying old stock of footwear, refurbishment material and work which resulted in low profit margins. His monthly expenses that included school fees of three children, ration for home, and visiting his native nearly equalled his overall monthly earnings of Rs 20,000. As a result, saving money for business expansion proved to be a challenge.

Furthermore, selling his goods in open in the markets of Chickpet and Neelasandra, he was subjected to vagaries of weather. This often led to income loss during unfavourable weather conditions. Despite Shiva's sincere endeavours, these factors posed significant challenges in meeting his required expenditure.

Intervention

Shiva's life took a positive turn when he was identified by representatives from Saahas for their entrepreneur support vertical under the project Change Matters, which is focused on responsible collection, reuse and disposal of bulky waste and e-waste items. In order to extend the lifespan of bulky waste items such as clothes, footwear, toys, furniture, mattresses and prevent them from ending up in landfills, Saahas either donates them to charitable organisations or give them to entrepreneurs trading in second-hand goods, like Shiva.

Saahas provided Shiva with free old stock of footwear collected from residents as part of the project. This saved him money that he would have spent on purchasing old footwear from stores, amounting to around Rs 2000-3000 per month. Moreover, he found the opportunity to earn extra income by collecting notebooks, paper and firewood from Saahas’ aggregation centre - Kasa Rasa in Koramangala and sending them for recycling and repurpose.

In addition, Shiva also participated in Repair Campaigns organised under the Change Matters project. These campaigns promote the concept of repair and reuse wherein a group of service providers namely cobblers, tailors, bicycle mechanics and knife sharpeners etc. are brought together for repair drives in residential communities. Shiva was one of the service providers in these campaigns for repairing footwears. He has repaired 373 pairs of footwear during 27 days of repair campaigns organised in 8 different locations. Residents appreciated his work, and as a result, he has received requests from apartments to provide recurring repair services.

Attending the repair campaign also proved to be a source of additional income for him. He worked at a fixed daily wage of Rs 1400-1500 for each day of the repair campaign, provide additional earnings. All this additional income gave him the much needed capital to buy old footwear stock and raw materials in bulk at lower cost.

Impact: (Tentative)

Shiva's business began to grow at a rapid pace due to Saahas' intervention. The provision of free old footwear allowed him to save money and invest it in other parts of his business. Here are some highlights of the increase in his earnings under the Change Matters Project from July to Nov, 2023:

Without Saahas’ intervention, Shiva's earnings through footwear sales in Chickpet and Nagasandra markets from July to December would have been around Rs 1,20,000 considering his usual monthly income of Rs 20,000. However, due to the support under Change Matters, he managed to secure an additional income of Rs 64,700 from July to December, 2023 which was an increase of 54% over his usual income.

He was able to increase his inventory, and his sales volume increased as well. Additionally, through his collaboration with Saahas, he got access to additional revenue streams through repair and dealing in additional recyclable materials.

Conclusion

Shiva's story shows how sustainable livelihood programs can make a big difference for small businesses while promoting environmental sustainability. By providing old footwear stock, engaging him in repair campaigns, and linking him with various Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), Saahas increased his revenue and profit margin plus diversified his business. This has helped his whole family.

Shiva’s journey stands as a source of inspiration for other small entrepreneurs and highlights the importance of collaborations between institutions and entrepreneurs to achieve long-term sustainable development. Saahas' involvement played a pivotal role in helping Shiva unlock his full potential, transforming him into a thriving and successful entrepreneur.

Photos from the repair campaigns: