The water supplier
Laxmanram is 18 years old and from Ranisar Colony Jaisalmer. He supplies water by camel and has been since he was two, following in his father’s footsteps. Together with his father and his elder brother, they all work to support the family. He is one of three brothers and he also has two sisters. Alltogether, they work 18 hours a day, 6 hours each using the same camel, bringing water to places that can only be reached by camel.
Laxmanram has had access to a mobile phone for two years and the family bought it because they thought it would be useful in the business. Before the mobile they where earning approximately 900 rupee per day. Now, with the mobile phone, they earn up to 1500 rupee per day. Laxmanram can call the owner of the well to ask how many people are there collecting water. To fill up one tank usually takes 20 – 30 minutes and if there are many people waiting, he can simply call another one to see if the cue is shorter, saving a lot of time.
The shopkeeper
Kishen is a 40 year old shopkeeper who sells tobacco, soft drinks and chocolates as well as specializing in making paan. Paan is a green leaf filled with either a mix of tobacco or a mix of spices and sugar. Kishen is famous for his paans. He has had the business for 25 years. There are 14 people in his family supported by Kishen and his two brothers. He works 16 hours every day, seven days a week.
Before he had a mobile he went to the marketplace once or twice a week to find the products he sells. Each trip took 1.5 hours and cost him around 50 rupees. Now he calls his supplier who sends him the products by rickshaw. And previously when people wanted to place bigger order they had to come to Kishen’s shop. He would then tell them when to return to pick up the paans. Now they call him instead. He now has a lot more big orders, especially for weddings.
Kishen spends 300-400 rupees per month on his mobile and makes 5-6 calls per day.
Before he had a mobile phone his average monthly income was 12 000 rupees. Now it has risen to between 18 000 and 20 000 rupees.
The bicycle repair shop
Kalandi has a small bicycle repair shop on the main street of a small village called Salapada. He is 43 years old and has a family of six. In the shop he does all kind of bicycle repairs and flat tires on motorbikes.
Before Kalandi had a mobile phone he used to go the city to get supplies for his shop. Every time he went it took him one to two full days of getting there, buying the supplies, packing, and going back. He used to do this four times per month. So he had to close the shop for four to eight full days per month to manage his supplies. Now that he has a mobile he never has to travel to the city. He just calls his suppliers and they send the goods by truck or bus.
Kalandi also uses his mobile to contact customers. Before he had a phone they came to his shop and would either come back a couple of times per day to see if their bike was ready or Kalandi would give them a time when it would be. Sometimes customers would be angry when it wasn’t ready when they arrived. Now he calls the customer when its ready so that they only have to come to once and his income and number of customers has increased.
