Money does not smell, neither does fish : the operation of female fish vendors at Vanagaram wholesale market, Chennai, India

Food and Business Global Challenges Programme

Food and Business Global Challenges Programme - Funded by the Directorate General of Development Cooperation (DGIS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research

Money does not smell, neither does fish

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of

the requirements for the degree

of

BCs Human Geography and Urban Planning

of

UNIVERSITY of AMSTERDAM

in the

Department of Human Geography, Planning and International Development Studies>

Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences

by

Rosa Slagt

Money Does Not Smell, Neither Does Fish

The operation of female fish vendors at Vanagaram wholesale market, Chennai, India

Rosa Slagt

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How do female fish vendors at Vanagaram wholesale market manage their

livelihoods?

University of Amsterdam

Bachelor thesis project Human Geography

and International Development

734301500Y

Rosa Slagt

11040548

Supervisor: Mr. Dr. J.M. Bavinck

August 2018

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Abstract

This research is done to examine how female fish vendors who buy their fish at Vanagaram wholesale market in Chennai, India, manage their livelihoods. The term livelihood is defined as the livelihood that is created from the fish trade from fish that is procured at Vanagaram wholesale market. There are multiple factors that will be examined to answer the research question. First, the spatial organization of the Vanagaram wholesale market will be examined. Furthermore, the procuring and selling processes are examined, after which the factors will be implemented in the literature to find out what the consequences are of the different factors on the livelihood prospects.

The literature used for the final sub-question is the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA). Using the different capitals of the SLA, all the factors that play a role in the fish trade will be examined. With observation, interviews, and a single map strengthened with literature, this empirical indictive research will be carried out.

It appears that there are many ways of how female fish vendors at Vanagaram wholesale market manage their livelihoods. The more profitable women tend to put more time and effort into managing their businesses and thinking about business opportunities. These women also do more things on their own, like the procuring of the fish. For women who have fewer business skills, there are multiple ways to group up and profit from the skills of the other women. For women with little business instinct and contacts, life is more tough.

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Acknowledgement

This thesis could not be done without the help of a lot of people. First, I would like to thank Don for his translation work. Without you it would not be possible to communicate with all the respondents, you did more than a translator. You taught me a lot about Chennai, the culture, and the people, and I am very gratefully for that. Your patience and energy during the fieldwork were delightful.

Also, I would like to thank all the respondents of this research for their time and honesty.

Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Maarten Bavinck, for all his patience and the good ideas in regards to the research. He has been of great value at all stages of this research: prior to the fieldwork with selecting the topic and research location; during the research to remove uncertainties and give needed advice; and after India in regards to the structuring of this thesis. Thanks a lot. I am also grateful for the advice that K. Subramanian and Leo de Klerk gave.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, friends, and boyfriend for all the support and advice they gave me during the creation of this thesis. Thanks for all the talks, walks, and phone calls while I was way too stressed about this thesis. Without you, it would not be possible that this thesis would ever be finished.

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Table of content

2.1 Fish Value Chain ... 10

2.2 Feminist Commodity Chain ... 11

2.3 Sustainable Livelihood Approach ... 11

2.4 Female Entrepreneurs ... 14

3 Methodology ... 15

3.1 The Research Question and Sub-Questions ... 15

3.2 Research Design ... 15

3.3 Research Methods ... 16

3.4 Data Collection ... 16

3.5 Ethics... 18

3.6 Limitations... 19

4 Vanagaram Wholesale Market Spatial Organizing... 20

4.1 Map of Vanagaram Wholesale Market ... 20

4.2 Map of the Vanagaram Wholesale Market, 2018 ... 22

4.3 Working at the Market ... 23

4.4 Gender division ... 28

4.5 Chapter Summary ... 28

5 Characteristics of the Research Population ... 29

5.1 Mode of Selling... 29 5.2 Age ... 29 5.3 Marital Status ... 30 5.4 Working hours ... 30 5.5 Selling location ... 31 5.6 Classes ... 31

6 The Procuring of Fish at Vanagaram Wholesale Market ... 33

6.1 Financing the Fish ... 33

6.2 Collectives ... 35

6.3 Selecting and Buying the Fish ... 39

6.4 Chapter Summary ... 40

6 7.1 Transportation... 41 7.2 Selling Spot ... 44 7.3 Selling Skills ... 45 7.4 Unsold Fish ... 46 7.5 Chapter Summary ... 47

8 The Consequences of Different Assets ... 48

8.1 Social Capital ... 48 8.2 Natural Capital ... 52 8.3 Physical Capital ... 52 8.4 Human Capital ... 53 8.5 Financial Capital ... 55 8.6 Chapter Summary ... 55 9 Conclusion ... 56

9.1 Answering the Research Question ... 57

9.2 Comparison Literature ... 57 10 Discussion ... 59 10.1 Validity ... 59 10.2 Recommendations ... 59 11 References ... 61 12 Appendix ... 63 12.1 Class Differentiation ... 63

12.2 Transport Arrangements and Costs, Chennai, 2018 ... 64

12.3 Closed questionnaire ... 66

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Glossary

Lorry: The lorries are the larger vans, in which the wholesalers are transporting the fish. The lorries are mostly insulated so that the fish stays cool.

Motorbike container: Motorbikes with an open surface used to transport goods. In this research, I will use the term motorbike to refer to motorbike containers.

(Open) van: The vehicles in which the women and fish are transported. They are smaller than the lorries. Most of the vans are open, so that the women can sit there. See Photo 0.1.

Retailer: Fish sellers who have bought the fish from a wholesaler and sell it to fish vendors and customers. In this research, the retailers are mostly the fish sellers who sell their fish inside the market hall. See Photo 0.2.

Rupee: The Indian currency. Eighty rupee is approximately one euro.

Shared taxi: Three-wheelers that are shared. They travel on one straight road, and people can hop on and hop off for very little money.

Three-wheeler: In India they are also called autos. They are yellow three-wheelers in which goods and people are transported. See Photo 0.3.

Vendor: Vendors are all the fish sellers, who have brought the fish from a wholesaler and sell the fish to customers. Some vendors are walking vendors, others sell the fish at a market, in a shop or sitting at the street.

Wholesaler: The wholesalers are the men who are selling the fish from their lorries in the coloured plastic boxes. They sell the fish to retailers and vendors.

photo 0.1: an open van. Source:

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1 Introduction

India is the second largest country in the world in regarding to fish production (FAO, 2009). In 2017 was the total mine fish landings 3.83 million tonnes, an increasing of 5.6% percent compared to 2016 (Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, 2017). That is The fish is crucial for the food security of the country, since most of the food is used for human consumption according to the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) (2010). Fish is rich of healthy and unique nutritional ingredients, as it also contains good animal proteins. Bilions of people all over the world are depending on fish for their food security and health (Béné, 2015). It is expected that due to the growing world population the demand for fish in regarding to food security will only increase (HLPE, 2014).

Not only is the fish crucial for the food security, but also for the economical position of many Indians. The fish needs to be caught, processed and sold. Many households are depending for their livelihoods on the fish sector; 14 million according to the ICSF in 2010. Female fish vendors play an crucial role in the fish sector. International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (2010, p.7) states that although women contribute in significant to the food security of diverse range of consumers, their role is often nor examined nor recognized.

Fish is rich of healthy and unique nutritional ingredients, as it also contains good animal proteins. Bilions of people all over the world are depending on fish for their food security and health (Béné, 2015). It is expected that due to the growing world population the demand for fish in regarding to food security will only increase (HLPE, 2014).

Not only is the fish crucial for the food security, but also for the economical position of many Indians. The fish needs to be caught, processed and sold. Many households are depending for their livelihoods on the fish sector; 14 million according to the ICSF in 2010. Female fish vendors play an crucial role in the fish sector. International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (2010, p.7) states that although women contribute in significant to the food security of diverse range of consumers, their role is often nor examined nor recognized.

At Vanagaram wholesale market, a lot of those female fish vendors procure their fish. The market is located in Chennai, the biggest city of the South-Indian state Tamil Nadu, as seen on map 1.1. At this market the creation and managing of the different livelihoods of female fish vendors will be examined.

9 This research is linked with the Fish4Food project. The aim of the project is to understand the differential low-priced fish value chains that can contribute to food security for the urban poor and the differential policies and business interventions that are linked with the fish trade and consumption in India and Ghana. The scientific contribution of this thesis is the link with the project, since examined how female fish vendors manage their business and their livelihoods. This thesis aims to give a better understanding of the marketing stage by female fish vendors.

This thesis is organized as follows. First the theoretical framework will be introduced. Literature about the fish value chain, the sustainable livelihood approach and female entrepreneurs will be discussed. Followed up by the methodology adopted in this research and the introduction of the research questions. In the following chapters the findings will be discussed. In between, the respondents are also introduced. Then the main question will be answered and recommendations will be noted in the final chapter of this thesis.

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2 Theoretical Framework

In this chapter, the literature used for this thesis will be introduced. First, the fish value chain will be introduced, with the addition of the feminist commodity chain, after which the sustainable livelihood will be discussed. The end of the chapter will contain information about female entrepreneurs in India.

2.1 Fish Value Chain

To know more about the fish trade, is it necessary to understand the spatial division of fish. This can best be understood using the fish value chain. One of the authors who contributed to the further distribution of this term was Michael Porter in 1985. He states that using the value chain analysis, or the relationships between multiple spokes in a network of production, in this case the trade of fish, can be well understood.

Bair (2009) has a more specified definition of value chains. She states that a value chain is a network of a specific production process, with the associated labor that connects the different spokes of the production processes with each other. Another important addition is the notion of space. The different stages of the production process move through space in order to make optimum use of the specific space advantages. The chain is used to study the whole process from production to consumption, from fishing in the ocean to eating fish curry at home, with all the value that is added at the different stages (Hapke, 2012).

The simplest fish value chains contain four stages: production, processing, marketing, and consumption. Figure 2.1 shows the simplified fish value chain used for this research, with the focus on the marketing stage. Since the fish that is traded by the observed vendors was fresh, non-processed fish, the processing stage for this research not very important. The fish is transported from the sea, sometimes via agents, to the wholesale market, where the vendors buy the fish and transport it to the selling place, where after purchasing by the customer, the fish mainly ends up in the kitchen of the customers.

11 Allisson & Ellis (2001) state that fishing, and the linked fish trade, is a high-risk occupation. The fishermen depend on what is found in the sea. Not only are the quantity and quality of the fish flexible through time and space, there are also other risks, such as environmental disasters and weather influences that are unpredictable. Furthermore, there are political policies that influence the fishery. For example, the fishing ban has a huge impact on the fish value chain. There are also risks at other levels in the value chain, such as external influences from the world market which may have an impact on the prices and availability of the fish that sellers can sell. To reduce the risks of the fish trade and the vulnerabilities of the livelihood prospects, fishermen’s households may have a diversification in the livelihood incomes (Allisson & Ellis, 2001). In that way, even when there is a ban, there are good livelihood prospects.

2.2 Feminist Commodity Chain

Examining the role that gender plays in the fish value chain known as the feminist commodity chain, first introduced by Dunaway (2001), can be helpful. This approach states that the different parts in the production process are not just parts, but interactions embedded in gendered relationships between different players in the network. With the feminist commodity chain analysis, researchers are not only able to study the different stages of global commodity chains in which women are main players, but are also able to study the effects of gender in social relationships and determine how value is added through the chain (Dunaway, 2014). With the feminist commodity chain, women are not only seen as the mother in a household and/or dependent on the male income, but as human beings who are fully participating in society and having their own rights and duties (Porter & Mbezi, 2010).

According to Nayak (2010), there are gender differentiations in the fisheries and among the coastal communities which result in an unequal distribution of resources and profits to men and women. He states that women are occupying the least lucrative sectors of the fishing industry. Meneschy (2009) calls it a division of labour by sex. The lucrative sectors that men are occupying in the fishing industry hold the actually fishing activities, where women are more dominate in the secondary processing sectors and in the near-shore collection of low priced fish species (Meneschy, 2009).

Hapke (2012) states that in order to understand the complexity of the daily lives of the women in a globalized world, it could be interesting to link the feminist commodity chain analysis to an analysis of the sustainable livelihood approach.

2.3 Sustainable Livelihood Approach

Allison and Ellis (2001) state that the sustainable livelihood approach gives a more holistic understanding, compared to traditional models, of the different stages of the fish value chain and the complexities regarding the adaptive strategies that people who work in the fishing industry face. According to Porter & Mbezi (2010), the sustainable livelihood approach is useful to study the integrated nature of lives, especially women’s. They state that the approach is a less narrow way of developmental thinking.

The term livelihoods is meant to include the different assets, tools, possible livelihood strategies, and different opportunities that determine the living gained by the individual or household (Ellis, 2000, p.10). The assets that the livelihood framework is based on are natural, physical, human, financial, and social capitals. According to the livelihood approach, individual and household livelihoods are shaped by not only economic opportunities, but also social relations and institutions (Hapke, 2012). These institutions mean the regularized practices that are structured by a set of rules and society-based norms that can be formal as well as informal (Scoones, 1998). Those institutes are important factors when deciding who has access to the different livelihood assets and therefore play an important role in sustainable livelihood prospects (Krantz, 2001).

12 Carney (1998, p.2) states that “a livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.’’ According to Lyons & Snoxell (2005,p.1317), in order to be sustainable, to be able to survive the vibrant competition, the traders need to adapt. They state that adaptability is, in terms of upward mobility, very important for success. To survive, the traders need to make changes in what they sell and how they sell it. Also, a changing of place of work can be very influential on the sustainability of the business. According to them, women are more likely to adapt their activities compared to men (Lyons & Snoxell, 2005, p.1317).

Swift (1989) argues that the different assets and the division of the different assets are an important factor in the sustainability of individual and household livelihoods. Allisson & Ellis (2001) state that this division of assets can be linked to vulnerability. Those without access to or having possession of the differential assets are more likely to be exposed to risks. According to Allisson and Ellis (2001), the vulnerability consists of external vulnerabilities and internal coping capabilities. External threats are risks like the world markets and climate change. Internal coping capabilities can be ensured by saving money, family support, or governmental safety net policies. For a livelihood to be sustainable, it is important that they are resilient. Allisson & Ellis (2001) state that resilience means that individual household livelihoods can “bounce back” from the earlier mentioned stresses and shocks.

By using the concept of livelihood, the different necessary factors, or capitals, that have an influence on the vulnerability and resilience of individual and household strategies can be examined (Allisson & Ellis, 2001). The sustainable livelihood approach can be a helpful tool to explain how different factors, such institutions, society, and policies, play an important role in the shaping of different livelihoods. Those factors determine which individual or household has access, and to what extent they have access, to the capitals (Carney, 1998). Allisson & Ellis (2001) state that the access to the different assets and activities are embedded in policies, social norms, and institutes. Actions can be seen as a combination of both individual and collective agency, which leads to political empowerment and economical mobility (Scoones, 1998).

Furthermore, the sustainable livelihood approach takes into account that poverty is not the only result of having a low income; there are underlying causes that directly or indirectly determine the different degrees of sustainability. This includes causes such as health conditions, the missing of education, or a reliable social network (Krantz, 2001). The various capitals will be explained below and it will be clear that some cases fall under several capitals.

As stated above, there are five different capitals: natural, physical, human, financial, and social. Each capital has different indicators.

Natural capital means natural resources and the environmental circumstances that can affect earning a livelihood (Krantz, 2001). Water, fish, and rain are examples of natural capital that can affect the fishing vendors. The quantity and quality of the fish can be an important factor in the profitability of the businesses.

Indicators of financial capital, also known as economic capital, are cash, savings, or a bank account, or remittances, pensions, and debts, both formal and informal (Carney, 1998). Financial capital also includes the basic infrastructure and production equipment and technologies needed to create a specific livelihood (Krantz, 2001, p.9). Lyons & Snoxell (2005) state that an important factor for sustainability of trading businesses is financial management. Savings and the ability to lend money and to buy on credit are necessary for a profitable, sustainable business.

Education, knowledge, skills, health, nutrition, capacity to adapt, and physical capability are important indicators for human capital (Allison and Ellis, 2001; Serrat, 2017; Scoones 1998, p.8). The research of

13 Lyons & Snoxell (2005) also shows that thoughtful decision-making regarding selling location and selling practices are important factors for the sustainability of the business.

Social capital includes all the social resources that individuals and households use to create a livelihood (Scoones, 1998). Examples include women’s self-help groups, kinship networks, friends, mutual understanding, and family. This also includes shared norms, common rules, sanctions, and mechanisms for participation in the decision-making progress (Serrat, 2017, p.23). Coleman (1988) states that social capital can be created from human capital: social capital can be seen as an individual asset to create a sustainable livelihood. Lyons & Snoxell (2005, p. 1317) argue that for the urban poor, social capital can be a substitute for the other (missing) capitals. According to them, vulnerable traders, for example female traders who are widowed or traders without a formal education, rely enormously on this capital and its institutes, such as the self-help groups which focus on this capital.

Social capital significantly affects governance through the development of social capital which is the development of the capacity to organize and build a network of cooperation to participate in society. Governance does not significantly affect the sustainable livelihoods because policy interventions carried out at the micro-community level (family, neighbours, religious groups) were not able to bridge the aspirations of the people and the government in making the policy. Social capital significantly affects their own sustainable livelihood to strengthen the capacity of developing a network of inter-group cooperation both internally and externally, and through increased institutional capacity of community groups in order to increase the prosperity of the community.

Family ties are seen as an important factor in regards to social capital. Geertz (1962) states that family, in regards to social capital, can have huge potential for entrepreneurial benefits. According to Lyons & Snoxell (2005), family ties can also be negative social capital since they can lead to mistrust in relationships with persons who are not related. They state that those relationships can be very crucial for the sustainability of the business. Fukuyama (1995) argues that transaction costs reduce when traders have developed a mutual understanding based on trust. Relationships that have arisen at the market side can be seen as contingent, and family relations can be seen as inherited (Lyons & Snoxell, 2005).

Physical capital contains all the infrastructure, tools, and technology used to earn a livelihood (Serrat, 2017). Roads, transportation, water supply, and fish knives are examples of indicators that apply to the fish vendors.

15.4.1 Sustainable livelihood approach and the fishery.

The framework is already used many times in regards to the fishing industry discussed by Allisson & Ellis (2001) and by Nayak (2017), for example. Nayak states that the sustainable livelihood approach offers a foundation for extensive analysis of the local fishery culture in India. During his research in Chilika, India, he found that livelihoods are divided into assets and activities, and access to them. Even though there are several perspectives regarding the way livelihood is approached, economic activities and incomes are seen as the most important parts of the approach. This suggests that livelihoods in resource-dependent communities are very complex and dynamic. Allisson & Ellis (2001) argue that

the institutional context of the fishing industry is influenced by socially-dependent norms and values.

According to Chambers (1995), livelihood better describes the way people live rather than their employment status, as employment does not encompass the many activities that make up a living, for example how people live and what their priorities are. Comprising the way people live is challenging, as it is diverse and complex. It is recorded in individuals, households, and groups making a living, shaped by institutions (both local and distant), social relations, and economic opportunities (Ellis 2000). The case of Chilika suggests that sustainable outcomes are not always the case when livelihood

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strategies are used. Instead, possibilities of unsustainable outcomes, such as human-environment disconnection and marginalisation, remains quite high.

Allisson & Ellis (2001) have done research on fishing communities in Asia. According to them, most of the villagers from fishing communities do have diversified livelihood strategies, since fishing and the fish trade is a high-risk occupation. By working multiple jobs, and therefore spreading the income, they decrease the risk of livelihood failure, for example by seasonal influence or the failure of the credit market, is reduced.

2.4 Female Entrepreneurs

This portion of the study will focus, as stated above, on female fish vendors. The fish vendors are entrepreneurs, since they have all the risks involved in having an enterprise and organizing the various stages of production (in this case the disposing of the fish) and initiating strategies to run their businesses (Deshpande & Sethi, 2009). According to Deshpande & Sethi (2009), female entrepreneurships empower women economically and socially by increasing their economic independence, as well as their positions in society. Hapke & Ayyankeril (2004) state something different; in southern India, families from the lower- and middle-classes earn more respect and status when the woman is a stay-at-home mum than they have when the wife would earn her own livelihood. When given the choice between being a stay-at-home mum and having a low-status employment, families tend to choose for the women stay at home, if it is a matter of choice. The decrease of respect and status outweighs the economic benefits from the low-status profession.

Although female entrepreneurs increase in number every year, entrepreneurship in India is still male dominated. India is ranked as one of the worst performing countries in regards to female entrepreneurship (Mahajan, 2009, p.6). Women continue to encounter huge obstacles that impede the growth of their businesses, such as lack of capital, limited education, strict social norms, and heavy household responsibilities (Mahajan, 2009, p.6).

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3 Methodology

The purpose of this research is to examine how female fish vendors at the Vanagaram wholesale market manage their livelihoods. In this chapter the methodological framework will be introduced. First, the research question, strengthened by sub-questions, will be introduced and discussed. After that, the research design and the research methods will follow. Attention is also drawn to the way data is collected where data collection will be discussed. The chapter ends with the ethics that are taken into account during this research and the limitation of this thesis.

3.1 The Research Question and Sub-Questions

The above mentioned purpose of the research leads to the following research question:

How do female fish vendors at Vanagaram wholesale market manage their livelihoods?

The livelihoods of the female fish vendors is described as the livelihood that is created from the fish trade from fish that is procured at Vanagaram wholesale market.

To be able to answer this question, there are multiple sub-questions which give answers to different parts of the research question. To answer a question about the Vanagaram wholesale market, it is important to understand the market. The first sub-question will therefore give an understanding about the spatial organization of the Vanagaram wholesale market. Also necessary in understanding how the different women manage their livelihoods, is to know how they procure the fish at Vanagaram, how they sell the fish, and an understanding of their selling place. These will be sub-questions 2 and 3. The last sub-question will give an understanding about all the different assets and the influences that these assets have on the livelihood prospects of the women, linked with the sustainable livelihood approach.

The sub-questions are:

1. How is Vanagaram wholesale market spatially organized?

2. How do different categories of female fish vendors procure fish at Vanagaram?

3. How do different categories of female fish vendors sell the fish procured at Vanagaram? 4. What are the consequences of different assets for female vendors’ livelihood prospects?

3.1.1 Outline of the research.

In the next chapter, chapter 4, sub-question 1 will be examined. In the following chapter the characteristics of the research population will be discussed. Chapter 6 will answer sub-question 2. Sub-question 3 will be answered in chapter 7. The last sub-Sub-question will be answered in chapter 8. Furthermore the conclusion will be chapter 9 and the discussion is in chapter 10.

3.2 Research Design

The research will be a case study including ethnographic research elements about female fish vendors who purchase the fish at Vanagaram wholesale market in Chennai, India. It is carried out on and around the Vanagaram wholesale market. The case study is a unique case, since it only applies to a very specific group of people, here the female fish vendors.

The Vanagaram wholesale market is the focus of interest and there is a sample of analysis selected. (Bryman, 2012, p. 68). Since Vanagaram wholesale market is significant in the research findings, it is also the unit of analysis, just like the female fish vendors (Bryman, 2012, p. 68).

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3.3 Research Methods

This study combines quantitative and qualitative strategies, strengthened with observations and maps, which makes it a mixed-methods form of research. This approach is chosen because it gives a better understanding of the whole case than one of the above methods alone would.

The inductive approach is applied in this research. In this approach a theory will be formed at the end of the research, instead of the deductive approach where the theory is used at the beginning of the study (Bryman, 2012, p. 26). This approach fits best with the observations that will be done for this research.

For every sub-question, the question is asked which research method(s) would give the best and most information. The first sub-question will be derived from participant observation, interviews, and mapping of the market. The interviews that are held in regards to this sub-question are non-structured.

The respondents had great knowledge of the specific topics that they were asked about, and the researcher wanted as much information as the respondents had. The mapping is included for a better understanding of the spatial division of the market. For the second and the third sub-questions, the information is derived from participant observations and interviews. There were three different types of interviews used: unstructured, structured, and structured. Some respondents of the semi-structured interviews, as well as the participant observations, were also part of different cases for a

more in depth analysis of the situation. In total, there are six case studies. The last sub-question will

be answered with the information derived from the three sub-questions answered previously, with additional data collected from the observations and the interviews. The collected data will be combined with theory of the sustainable livelihood approach so explore the influence of the different capitals on the livelihoods of the women.

The structured interviews give an overview of basic personal information of the respondents such as marital status, age, living area, as well as questions about the purchasing and disposing of the fish. The questions were asked to give a better understanding about the population of female fish vendors. The semi-structured interviews were mainly given to the six case studies. A topic list, based on the closed questionnaire, is used by the semi-structured interviews, so that the necessary information is gathered and other interesting information could also be included in the research. In this way, interesting information in regards to the closed questionnaire could also be included to give a better understanding of the answers by the other respondents. Bryman (2012, p. 471) states that the advantage of a semi-structured interview is that the interviewer has freedom and at the same time,

similar questions are asked between the different interviewee.

The unstructured interviews were mainly held to fill in any gaps in the data. Those questions were not always asked of female fish vendors, but also to other stakeholders. Bryman (2012, p. 471) states that unstructured interviews can also be just asking one simple question. It looks like a normal conversation.

3.4 Data Collection

The data that is used for this thesis was collected in the period between February and June 2018. The thesis proposal and part of the literature overview was given to the department at the end of March. The data collection in Chennai took place between mid-April and mid-May.

3.4.1 Literature review.

Although this research is inductive, literature about the subject is also used. This is to create context and to provide more information about the fish supply chain, the sustainable livelihood approach, and female entrepreneurs in general. The literature that has been used came mostly from academic sources, found via the UvA Catalogues Plus.

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3.4.2 Field work data.

Most of the data that is used in this research was gathered during the field work. In order to communicate with the female fish vendors, a Tamil translator was used. No data collection took place on a Sunday. The respondents of this research will be introduced in chapter 6.

Observations.

The observations at the market and the interviews were mostly held in the early morning, between 4:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Around that time, most of the women were there purchasing fish. During the observation at Vanagaram, there was a focus on the buying process of different women. While the women were purchasing their fish, we shadowed them and made notes about the purchasing process. Attention was drawn to the negotiating process.

Closed questionnaire.

To strengthen the research, we have held 50 closed questionnaires. At the beginning, some women were not very willing to participate, therefore, we chose to use snowball sampling. Bryman (2012, p. 424) states that snowball sampling is a useful way to sample if the sampling frame is absent and if it contains a case of a hard-to-reach population. After some days, when the women got to know us, the sample was taken based on age, where they were situated at the market, and how they disposed of the fish. The women were found and interviewed at the Vanagaram wholesale market. Women who were waiting at the market were asked to answer the closed questionnaire.

Since the female vendors were more likely to answer the questionnaire if the other group members were also asked, most of the times the closed questionnaires were taken by three women of the same group at the same time. Not only were the women more likely to answer, it also took less time. The women all wanted to speak as much as possible and they made sure the other respondents stuck to the questions so that they did not have to wait before it was their turn. This was often also a nice check to determine if they spoke the truth. Sometimes Respondent A said something that Respondent B immediately denied or corrected. Differences between the women were also immediately perceptible

and could be addressed directly. The closed questionnaire had changed a few times during the

research. Questions that were too hard or were less or more interesting than expected were removed or adjusted. During the first week, information was collected that was necessary to be able to know which questions were interesting to ask. The questionnaires before the last big change are not used in the tables. Additional information, for example open question answers, were then collected and are used in the research.

Cases

Respondents for the case studies were found with the help of a fish cutter or after they had participated a closed questionnaire. The sampling was taken based on how they sell the fish, how profitable they seemed, and where they sold the fish. In regards to time management, it was not possible to have every case study at two hours from the market side, therefore I chose to take one case study at a village two hours away from the market, and the five others closer to the market. The profiles of the cases can be found in Appendix 13.4.

With the walking vendors, we followed them from the moment they were dividing the fish, around 5 a.m., until the moment they went home after a long day of work, which was between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The market-, street,- and shop vendors were followed for a shorter time. They were observed and followed during the purchasing of the fish, the start of the selling day, and during the first hours they were selling the fish. Two of them sent us away because they wanted to focus on selling their fish. One

woman sent us away because she wanted to sleep. Respondents for the unstructured and

semi-structured questions were found at the market in the morning; the questions were mostly about curiosities that were seen during the observations.

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3.5 Ethics

When doing scientific research, it is important to take ethical principles into account. For this research, the guidelines of the Dutch Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice, of the Association of Universities The Netherlands, have been regarded as leading. The code of conduct is based on six principles of proper scientific practice: honesty and care, reliability, replicability, impartiality, independence, and responsibility (VSNU, 2014). The section below will discuss in more detail the most relevant parts of the code for this research.

3.5.1 Honestly and care

The Dutch Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice (2014) states that scientists should be honest and

nuanced about uncertain margins and other limitations of the validity of the research; finding the truth is always the focus of the research. For this reason, little generalization will be carried out in this study since the results are not significant and research has been carried out in a too limited a way.

It is also necessary to show respect to all the people involved in the research. All the respondents have given informed consent to the research; they knew with which purpose the information was gathered. Bryman (2012, p.138) states that informed consent means that respondents are given all the information they need to make an informed decision on if they want to participate or not. During the observations, if asked, the researcher explained the purpose of the observation. Because of the notable (European) looks of the researcher, real contrived observation was not possible. Also, it was taken into account that the risks for the respondents were small and their privacy was adequately protected.

Not only are the respondents cared for, but authorship and correctly referencing the different sources are very important factors

3.5.2 Reliability

The association of Universities The Netherlands (2014) also states that it is important that the reliability of the research is taken into account; the research needs to be traceable, verifiable, and testable. Reliability is both about the behaviour of the researcher as well as the written work of the researcher. Only fieldwork data that is collected is used in this research and speculative statements are avoided.

3.5.3 Replicability

It is also necessary that it is clear on which information the analysis is based on, therefore every decision that is made will be discussed so that the research can be replicated. All data used for this research has been saved and can be retrieved if wanted.

3.5.4 Validity

Although it is not mentioned in the Dutch Code of Conduct for Scientific Practice (2014), validity is also taken into account. Bryman (2012, p. 69) states that when using a case study design, the external validity is not very high, therefore caution is advised with generalizing and concluding from this research. The internal validity as mentioned by Bryman (2012, p. 47) is also not very high. It is unknown what the causality of different variables are as it is not always clear what leads to what. The ecological validity of this research is much higher. The research is done in the everyday lives of the respondents and is strengthened with the observations. For a more in depth overview, see the discussion chapter.

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3.6 Limitations

Like all research, this research has its limitations. As mentioned above, it is important to address the limitations of the research.

First of all, the period in which the research has been done is a limitation. A longer duration of the data collection would have led to more respondents and hours of observation, which would increase the validity of the research. Not only would it be possible to have more respondents, but also to have more in depth information and to have more case studies, for example.

Another great limitation of this research was the necessity of a translator. Working with a translator can lead to information lost, especially when the respondents talk quickly and say a lot, so the translator sometimes gave a summary. Also, the intonation of the answers is unknown. Not only was the language barrier a limitation, it was also a cultural barrier. Fascial expressions, body language, and some cultural expressions were sometimes misunderstood.

Another thing that I will come back to later on is the possibility that some respondents were giving misleading answers. Sometimes they acted poorer than they really were, and sometimes the other

way around. Some respondents were asking for money and got angry when it was made clear that

they would not get any financial support.

Furthermore, a great limitation of this research is the time that the respondents had. The questions were mainly asked in the early morning when they were purchasing the fish, so they were in a hurry. The women did not have that much time during that period, so sometimes they walked away before the questionnaire could be finished. It also happened that the women were really distracted or stressed when they were asked the questions.

Another limitation is the quality of the photos that were taken. Since the women were there only in the early morning, a lot of photos were taken before the women were there, before the sun was risen.

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4 Vanagaram Wholesale Market Spatial Organizing

The focus of this research is the Vanagaram wholesale market. An understanding of the market is therefore necessary. In this chapter, the sub-question of how the Vanagaram wholesale market is spatially organized will be discussed. The chapter starts with some descriptive information about the market, followed by an imaginary tour through the market, after which the various professions that are practiced at the market are discussed. The chapter ends with a paragraph about the gender division at the market and a short summary of the chapter.

The Vanagaram wholesale market is also known as the Chennai Fish market. The market started in 2004 and the founder is still the head of the market. The market is located in the west of Chennai, India, and has an area of approximately 16,000 square meters.

In general there are, according to the parking attendants, around one thousand female fish sellers and two thousand male fish sellers each day. On Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, it is very common for Hindu people to eat fish, so on those days, there are more sellers. On Tuesdays, Fridays, and during the full moon, Hindu people typically do not eat fish. With the full moon, during a Hindu festival in the last week of April, there were twenty-five percent of the average amount of sellers. According to the men who are sitting by the parking spots, compared with last year, the business this year is a bit dull and they did not know why.

4.1 Map of Vanagaram Wholesale Market

Not all the market space is possessed by the owner of the market. At the right side of the three-wheeler parking lot, the space is rented. Apart from the stone wall that surrounds the market, nothing has been built and there are still green bushes in the square meters on the right side of the market. A pile dug into the ground indicates the boundary between the owned and rented spaces.

The market is a field surrounded by a stone wall as is noted in the outline of Map 4.1 and visible in Photo 4.4. On both sides of the entry there are parking areas. At the right side (Photo 4.1), all the vans and three-wheelers rented by the fish vendors are parked. On the left side (Photo 4.4), all the two-wheelers used by the customers and male market employees are parked. Photo 4.1 shows the crowded area on a Wednesday around 5:30 a.m. The blue roof at the back of the picture is the market hall; the brown building in the middle is the canteen. Fish vendors who purchase the fish collectively divide the fish at this parking place. Both men and women are seen in this area. There are a couple of people who are in charge sitting by the entry who collect the parking money. The parking lot is their meeting place. At the end of the morning, when the parking area is almost empty, since all the fish vendors have bought their fish and left, other sellers fill the gap. Those traders serve the people working at the market and the consumers. Materials to clean and cut the fish are sold, along with herbs, fruits, and necklaces. The traders do not have to pay rent for the market place but if the quality is not sufficient, they have to go. Those sellers are mostly from gypsy communities.

At the end of the parking lot, first there is a roof under which the fish cutters and cleaners work (Photo 4.6). Next to it there is a small shop and the canteen on the right side as shown on map 4.1. Here, those who work at the market are able to buy their food for very cheap, but the hygiene is very poor, so only the poor workers consume the food there.

4.1.1 Market hall

It is for hygienic reasons that the market hall has been built on an elevation; Photo 4.5 shows the stairs in front of the market hall. The hygiene at the market hall is very good; at the end of every day there is a big cleaning, where approximately five men clean everything with a fire hose. The stalls are one meter higher than the footpath and a ridge runs between the edge of the stalls and the footpath. This

21 ridge is cleaned a few times a day so that way the water can run through it and garbage is drained away. There are fifty-two stalls in the market hall where the fish is sold per kilogram.

4.1.2 Wholesalers and their boxes

Outside around the market hall there are approximately seventeen wholesalers who sell the fish per box. It varies from day to day how many wholesalers there are; on a Friday there are around ten wholesalers and on a Sunday around twenty-five.

The boxes the wholesalers sell the fish in are in the possession of the wholesalers themselves and there is an administration process in regarding to those boxes. Photo 4.3 shows the boxes. The wholesalers have to give a percentage to the market administrator per box. Hidden in the bushes on the right side of the market, there is a gentleman who keeps track of everything in notebooks: information about the seller, the quantity, the number of boxes that are left behind, and more. The parking attendants said that as a result of tax evasion, the chief has ordered that all the information about possible cash flows should not be shared with anyone. Therefore, the market administrator was not willing to reveal his data; likewise, almost all the fish sellers were not willing to say what they have to pay to the market either.

At ground level under the market hall, at the left side there is an area where women do not feel welcome and safe. The female fish vendors said that it is a place were a lot of gambling takes place. On this side, the wholesalers also lend each other money. Furthermore, it is a place where disputes between the runners and other workers at the market are resolved, sometimes with shouting and violence. On this side is also the room with the ventilator and security cameras. Employees with privileges, the so called ‘in charge’, go there to cool down. There are fourteen cameras in and around the market. It is noteworthy to say is that four cameras are focused on the entrance road outside the market, five on the parking area, four on the inside of the market hall, and one on the wholesalers at the back of the market. Not one camera was focused on the boxes and the box administration or the area where the money trade takes place. At the right side, there are the toilets, benches, and some storage rooms (Photo 4.2).

4.1.3 Ice

In front of Photo 4.2, there is the ice crushing machine. The ice crushed there is ice made in a factory of Durai that is located very close to the market. The ice is a combination of water and chemicals and is used to preserve the fish. The blocks are large and cheap; for one hundred and forty rupees, you get a block as big as nine plastic boxes. The stalls owners and wholesalers order the ice and it is delivered the next day.

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Photo 4.2 Ground level right side of the market hall. Source: author, 2018.

4.2 Map of the Vanagaram Wholesale Market, 2018

Photo 4.1 The parking area on a busy morning. Source: author, 2018

Photo 4.3 The boxes administration. Source: author, 2018.

Photo 4.4 The biking parking area. Source: author, 2018.

Photo 4.7 the wholesaler. Source: author, 2018.

Photo 4.6 Young fish cutters at the market. Source: author, 2018. Photo 4.5 The entry of the market hall in the early morning. Source: author, 2018.

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4.3 Working at the Market

There are a lot of people who earn their livelihood at the market. Those incomes vary greatly between the different professions. Some are getting paid by the market owner, and others pay the owner to be able to earn their livelihoods. In this paragraph the most important professions will be discussed.

4.3.1 Big Boss

Most of the money earned at the market goes mainly to one man. The people who work at the market call A. Durai, with some admiration in their voice, the big boss. Durai, a grand man in his forties, is a self-made millionaire; his parents were not rich at all. Even if you try really hard, at the market you will only hear nice words about this gentlemen. They say that he is a good man--good to his employees and very paternalistic. The man is a millionaire who has great power, not only at the market, but also in the city. One runner said that only calling the name of the big boss made his life so much easier. If there was a problem about a queue or a reservation that he did not make, if he mentioned Durai’s name, it was all fine. Most admiration is about the fact that the he is a self-made millionaire who still sometimes works at the market, sometimes in his bare feet in the mud. The usual social segregation does not seem to apply to the Big boss. He still helps the runners with cleaning of the market. The market is seen as his kingdom. Although he has a lot of employees with a great variety of power, from all the runners to his confidant (his own brother), he knows a lot about the market. Durai makes a lot of money every day. He makes money with every aspect of the market: the fish sellers and male fish cutters/cleaners pay him a weekly amount, the wholesalers pay him per sold box, the local money lender pays him an amount of his profit, the lorry drivers pay per lorry, every driver pays the parking lot, and he has three market stalls of his own. Additionally, everyone that wants to start doing business at the market needs to pay an investment before they are allowed to do their business there. His daily earnings are difficult to determine, since none of the people who work at the market are willing to say what they pay him. When asked, they say that there is a mutual understanding that they will not say that. One informant told us that there are fifty to seventy lorries per day (depending of the day of the week), and that every lorry pays two thousand rupees. That makes at least one-hundred-thousand to one-hundred-fifty-thousand rupees a day.

4.3.2 Runners

Men who are lower on the socio-economic ladder are the runners. The runners are young men, most between the ages of eighteen and thirty, who are running all day with the boxes filled with fish on their head. They wear blue uniforms with their personal number on it, as Photo 4.8 shows. Most work between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. The quantity of runners is decided by the Big boss. There are enough runners at the moment, but every runner still makes a good livelihood. Between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., they almost run with the heavy boxes, so that they are able to do more runs. The heavy boxes cause a lot of pain. The runners have a round piece of polystyrene foam on their heads to ease the pain of the box and for more stability. It is said that a lot of the runners are alcoholics.

When vendors are buying the boxes of fish, the runners carry the heavy boxes on their heads to the vendors’ vehicles. The runners with whom I spoke said that they earn thirty rupees per run and make approximately two thousand rupees a day. Some sellers have a runner who helps them during the whole purchasing process. Every time a purchase is made, the runner carries the fish to the agreed place; if someone is alone there is often a box somewhere in the market hall otherwise it is down the parking area. The men do not always earn money with the runs; some get paid per hour by Durai, like the men who clean the market at the end of the day and the men who help with the box system administration.

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Photo 4.8 Runner number 17. Source: author, 2018.

4.3.3 Stall operators

Other people who are working at the market are the stall operators. The fifty-four stalls in the market hall are very popular to rent since it is very profitable. A lot of vendors would like to sell their fish there. When asked why this is not the case, the female fish vendors said that they are not able to sell their fish there because they do not have the money for the investment and for the first month of rent. Furthermore, you need a certain level of political influence to be able to rent a stall. Most of the stall operators have been renting them since the beginning of the market. Kala, one of the stall operators, claims that she was only able to rent the stall with her husband, because her brother had contact with the fishery department, she had some money, and Durai knew that she was able to serve at least five hundred customers a day. So for outsiders, this highly profitable business is not an accessible opportunity. The market stall operators make multiple lakh (one-hundred-thousand rupees) per week. The stalls have between five hundred and six hundred customers per day. Both small fish vendors and customers are buying their fish there, which is sold per kilogram. In the middle of the hall there is a scale so that the stall operators cannot fraud customers. Most stall operators purchase the fish from the wholesalers at the Chennai Fish market or at the Kasimedu harbor. The rent that the owners have to the pay varies between the different owners. Kala pays ten thousand rupees per month, but other owners pay sixteen thousand rupees. It depends on the start of renting and the negotiating power that the stall owner has. The stall operators employ several employees per stall. These employees earn around five hundred rupees a day and they help preserve and sell the fish.

4.3.4 Wholesalers

The stall operators mostly buy the fish from the wholesalers. The wholesalers are located outside the market hall, with lorries from all over southern India (Photo 4.7). They sell the fish in boxes to the vendors and retailers.

There are only a few wholesalers who are allowed to sell mixed boxes; most of the wholesalers sell boxes of one kind of fish. The vendors who sell mixed boxes sell each box with a fixed quantity of different kinds of fish. They do not know exactly what is inside the box. The mixed boxes offer an advantage for the small vendors by enabling them to buy these different type of fish in lower quantities. Instead of buying an entire box of each individual fish, the mixed boxes offer the fish in lower quantity and for lower prices than in the market hall. Since the wholesalers are only selling per box, they do not sell to consumers.

25 The prices are flexible during the day. Since the fish vendors come in the morning, the prices are highest at the start of the market. During the day, the prices drop. An exception to this is when there are only a few lorries with a particular kind of fish. If all except one lorry are sold out with of a particular kind of fish, the only lorry with the fish will increase the price, since it is a monopoly. More expensive fish is preserved so that if they do not sell out in one day, they will sleep in their lorries and try again the next day. If there are multiple lorries from the same company, one lorry will stay at the market and the others will go back home.

The wholesalers do sell a lot on credit. One wholesalers said that he sells almost seventy percent on credit without interest. They sell mostly on credit to large retailers. To sell on credit to every small vendor is too time consuming. Only a few vendors can buy on credit (more about that in chapter 6). The wholesalers mostly sell on credit if the trade is dull, like during a full moon or on a Friday. If the market is going very well, they are less likely to sell on credit. The prices are not fixed so negotiation is possible, but not all the fish vendors are able to arrange that. If they manage it, there is a profit of one hundred to one-hundred-fifty rupees per box.

There are different kinds of wholesalers. Some wholesalers, like one of the respondents named Joseph, is running a trading company. According to the respondent, the wholesalers order and purchase fish from different agencies. The agency sends a loaded lorry with two employees and Joseph buys the cargo. Joseph has his own employees at the market who unload the lorry and sell the fish. The respondent said that one of the tricks to make his business more profitable was that he calls a lorry and, when they arrive, he only empties about half of the truck. Then he calls the owner and complains about the quality of the fish and demands that the prices drop. If the prices do not drop, he sends the lorry away, and because he always changes his mobile number, he can often repeat the trick. Often, he orders an extra lorry to be sure, and if the purchase increases, then he sells the fish. If the purchases are dull, he will send the lorry away; the risk is not his.

Other wholesalers are companies that also own the previous links in the fish chain. The workers at the market are hired by the company. Lorries usually arrive with three men: one driver, one actioner, and then someone who helps with unloading the lorry and arranging the boxes.

Every company that goes for the first time to the market has to ask permission from Durai and pay the investment money. They call this investment money since the investment is that the agencies are allowed to sell their fish at the market. For every following time, they pay one thousand rupees per truck; for rent they pay thirty rupees a day and per sold box they pay twenty rupees. There is a mutual understanding with the market stall operators that they are selling the fish only per box, and not per kilogram.

One of the wholesalers mentioned that there is a lot of defrauding and gambling among the wholesalers. Per box, they will make a bet for what the box in question weights. If the guess is right, the box is earned. Furthermore, as mentioned before, a box contains approximately thirty kilograms of fish and twenty kilograms of crushed ice. Since the fish vendors do not measure the boxes when they purchase them, the wholesalers are defrauding; they give more ice and less fish. Although he was whispering this information, he was not ashamed about it.

4.3.5 Fish cutters and cleaners

The disadvantage of consuming fish is that it is a fairly laborious food to prepare. The cleaning and cutting of the fish is a task that is dirty and quite difficult to do if you lack experience. Many consumers and some vendors therefore hire a fish cutter and cleaner who are located in several areas of the market. Since the jobs are quite profitable, many people wish to do it for their occupation. Those who clean and cut the fish are recruited by those who were already cleaners and cutters; without social

26 contact, you are not able to become a cleaner or cutter. The cleaners and cutters may recruit someone, but Durai still decides who is allowed to clean and cut the fish at the market side. Outside the market, there are lots fish cutters sitting under umbrellas trying to compete with those who are allowed to sit at Vanagaram Wholesale market.

Some groups have permanent roofs, others install their umbrellas every day, and others lack the protection against the burning sun at all. The fish cutters and cleaners start their day relatively late; most of the vendors do not hire them, so they start around 6 a.m. and finish their business around 3 p.m. The slabs of wood are used as cutting boards and pieces of Styrofoam are used as chairs. They are left at the market at the end of the working day, hidden somewhere on the roofs or in a storage room. They earn twenty rupees per kilogram and cut approximately ten kilograms per hour. Vendors who do hire the fish cutters most of the time have a mutual understanding with one of the cutting and cleaning groups, they often get a discount of five rupees per kilogram. The male cutters pay eight hundred rupees as rent to the market per week so that they are allowed to earn their livelihoods. Women do not pay rent--in return they have to help with the cleaning of the whole market at the end of the day.

That is not the only gender division among the fish cleaners and cutters. Women and boys mostly clean the fish and adult men cut the fish. Teenage girls are not present in this chain, but teenage boys are. The cutters and cleaners do not usually operate separately--they form groups with two to four people. The most unskilled boys clean the fish with water, after which it is stripped of the scales and fins. The ones at the end of the chain are very experienced and cut the fish rapidly without even looking. Sometimes several groups of fish cutters get together and divide the work; this happens mostly between families. Photo 4.6 shows a fish cutter who works in a group. There are also men and women who work individually who clean and cut fish.

4.3.6 Drivers

The drivers are not selected by Durai. A large area of the market side is reserved for all the vehicles and their drivers, as Photo 4.1 shows, to transport the vendors to their selling spot. While the vendors purchase the fish, the drivers are waiting at the parking spots, some asleep in their vehicles, others socializing with other drivers. The drivers and the vendors usually have a mutual understanding. There is more information about that in chapter 7. There are no female drivers.

As shown in Photo 4.9, a minivan transports between eight to ten vendors, a three-wheeler transports between one and two, and a bike with open loading surface transports about four vendors. The vehicles with an open loading area have two or three shelves to sit on, with the fish in the boxes or baskets underneath, as Photo 4.9 shows.

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Photo 4.9 Female fish vendors in a mini-truck. Source: author, 2018.

4.3.7 Confidants

Some men who earn their livelihood at the market are more privileged than others. The confidants can be quite privileged and are respected by the other workers. The market has several departments, such as the fish cutters and cleaners, the parking attendants, the boxes administration, the market hall, the wholesalers, the ice distribution, and the cleaning department. Every department of the market has someone who is called an in charge; sometimes Durai made them that, sometimes they claimed it themselves. Kala is the in charge for the stall operators. Durai needs her as she has some political power and the other workers at the market respect her. As a result, she enjoys a high status with all the associated privileges. For example, Deva, the in charge for the fish cutters, has been working at the market for the full fourteen years and his whole family also works as fish cutters or cleaners at the market. Deva’s sister is the in charge for directing of all the female fish cleaners during the daily cleanings. In exchange for more responsibilities, they get privileges and more money. Deva and his sister were allowed to go to the room with the fan to cool down. Deva was also invited to the wedding of one of the market leaders that was held in March of 2018.

The box administrators are not part of the daily market management but are very respected since they are literate. Their task is to keep track of which wholesaler has sold which boxes and in what quantities. To keep track of this, they have a notebook for every wholesaler that contains all daily transactions. The analogue system is very complicated and only two people understand it.

Daily market management

At the market there is a group of men who are the daily market management. Durai is not there all day every day, so they are his ears and eyes. It is not very clear what their occupation is precisely, but they talk and walk a lot. They get paid per day by Durai. By the entrance is one of the meeting points for these men. Everyone that is entering and leaving the market is seen by them. They also collect the parking money. The men are also seen in the surveillance room, watching the cameras and passing along money. It is clearly noticeable that these men are important and respected by how they act and how the workers act towards them. Durai’s brother seems to be their supervisor, although the interaction between him and the others is very informal; they visit him at his home address. Those men earn a lot of money; the brother has a beautiful, luxurious, newly built house and one of the parking attendants was able to have a very luxurious wedding with hundreds of guests.

4.3.8 Other professions

Other people who earn their livelihood at the market are the operator of the canteen, the box administrators, and the local money lender. The local money lender is a friend of Durai’s. He is allowed

28 to do his business at the market side as long as he pays Durai. The money lender is at the market every morning around 9 a.m.

4.4 Gender division

At the market, the gender division that is present in Indian society is clearly noticeable; there are professions that women do not practice and places where women do not go. As mentioned before, there are (almost) no female drivers, fish cutters, members of the management, wholesalers, or runners.

In front of the staircase of the market are mainly the poor female walking fish vendors. At the right side of the parking area, there is a mix of men and women that divide the fish. At the left side of the parking area, there are mostly men with their two-wheelers. As mentioned before, at the left side of the market hall there is a place where there are no women; neither are there women behind the market hall, which is the area of the male fish vendors. Further to the back are the male van drivers. Women do not feel welcome or safe in the area where all the boxes are, and the same goes for the right side of the market, where men urinate in the bushes.

4.5 Chapter Summary

In this chapter, the sub-question of how the spatial division of the market organization was answered. The question is answered with descriptive text and using the map with additional photos. The market seemed to be a large, vibrant market where a lot of people earn their livelihoods. The different professions include drivers, runners, fish cutters and cleaners, and professions with more status, like the stall operators and the confidants. Not every profession is an option for women or outsiders. For example, the runners and confidants are only male. Furthermore, a lot of the more profitable professions are controlled by the big boss who decides who can and cannot earn their livelihood at the market place. Also, not every place on the market side feels inviting to women. There are specific places that are avoided by women, since they do not feel safe there.

Profession Characteristics

Big boss Durai is the owner of the market and a very rich man.

Runners The runners of the market, who run with the fish boxes.

Stall operators They sell their fish from the market stalls in the market hall.

Wholesalers They sell the large quantities fish from the trucks outside the market hall.

Fish cutters They cut the fish in pieces, mostly male. Fish cleaners They clean the fish. Mostly done by young boys

and women.

Drivers They drive the vendors to their selling spot. Daily market management

1

The ears and eyes of Durai. They earn a lot of money.

Money lender Lends money to the vendors on a daily basis.