Social and Behavioral Structures

We found interesting social structures and analyzed how this affect functions and changes in the market. We will elaborate on that aspect in this section. There is an association in the market. There was no formal election for the creation of the association. It started as a discussion in which some volunteers were accepted as the association by the shopkeepers. The association consists today of 13 women and 1 man without having any appointed leader.

We also noticed hierarchy inside the association, where 3 women named Mary, Monica and Natalia(names changed) came across as the most influential leaders in the association. Anthony(name changed), being the only male in the association seemed really important to the association but he had less decision-making power in the association. He is more like a force that questions every decision for good, made by the association. Although there are a few clashes in between the members of the association but during a social interaction method called Star-game, it was observed that they were friends away from work.

To understand this social structure we played a game called Star-game(mentioned in methods). The goal of this game was to understand the social relations of the seller with the association members. We could identify two groups within the market which was influenced by where they sit or they know each other better because they sit close to each other in the market. There was another group of people in the market which was the workers (who worked for some sellers) and they could be identified as the third group. Also in this game no one went and gave stars to the leading ladies of market but they gave stars to the people who worked for them. This showed that although the strong leaders of the association had a lot of influence on the market but they had limited social interaction with the sellers in the market.

The association manages the whole market with a parallel governance system. They play a major role in resolving all issues of the market, keeping the market up and running smoothly. They have strong social and political connections that helps them maintain the power position in the market. This power structure has both positive and challenging influences on the social structure of the market. It helps in making sure that the needs of the market are taken care of but this system also creates a social hierarchical system in the market. They have come up with interesting livelihood strategies which tries its best to make sure there is a harmony in the market like new people wanting to work in the market have to go through the association screening but this sometimes might also lead to decisions that favors some influential people in the market.

The social structure of the market is also partially reflected in the physical arrangement of the market. We see a pattern that follows in who sits where in the market.

FISH CUTTERS

FISH CUTTERS

PLATFORMS OF ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

Fig B.14: Sitting plan of the market

Meeting Analysis

In a few focus group meetings that we had with the association members, we could see social and behavioral patterns that we try to explain below by describing three major meetings.

Meeting 1

Location : On the street We met Anthony(name changed) during one of the other methods and we got to know that there was an association in the fish market and Anthony(name changed) was also a member. We arranged a meeting with them near the chapel of the market. We met 3-4 women mentioned above, part of the association of market. No one else showed up, we were told that the others were either sick or they went home. We got to know from them that there was no leader in the market and all 14 members worked together for the betterment of the market. We also met a few CCP employees, who supervise the market and they were good friends with these members, ensuring the smooth running of the market. These members and CCP employees had really good communication.

Meeting 2:

Location: Inside the market Chapel Anthony(name changed) did not show up in the last meeting, so he called us to ask if we met the other members. While talking to him a lot of vendors from the market came to be part of the discussion. This did not happen in the first meeting. He told us that the association holds meetings in the chapel because no one can lie inside the Chapel. Also Anthony(name changed) told us about some tensions between him and a few members in the association.

Meeting 3:

Location: Inside the market Chapel As part of the intervention we wanted to arrange a group discussion with all the sellers of the market. We wanted to do this with permission from the association members as they could be the anchors. We were called for a meeting to discuss whether this was possible or not. In this meeting around 7-8 members joined. They talked amongst themselves in Konkani language, seemed like an intense and skeptical conversation and then one of them translated to us that they would talk to CCP and ask for permission for this meeting and inform us about the same.

In these three different focus group meetings, we could observe the relationship between different association member and the vendors in the market. We could also the communication pattern within the association members. These observations helped us understand different roles of the members in the association. This helped us plan our action proposals.