The Art of Adaptation: Seasonal Entrepreneurship of Indian Migrants in Mahendranagar, Nepal
Abstract
This paper discusses the seasonal and adaptive entrepreneurial livelihood practices of Indian migrant families in Mahendranagar, a Nepal border town of Sudurpashchim Province. Based on the qualitative information produced by the in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and participant observations carried out in 2024-2025, the study examines how Indian migrants (mainly the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand) practice diversified and small-scale informal businesses. The results show that migrant entrepreneurs do not often rely on one particular occupation; they can effectively change the economic activity depending on the seasonal demand, weather conditions, and place of residence consumption trends. Popular businesses would be selling of vegetables and fruits in the streets, ice cream and cold drinks, hot snacks like samosa and chaat, seasonal clothes, and thela-based businesses. The paper places the practices in the larger Nepal-India open-border mobility and informal city economies. Although, migrant entrepreneurship is a boon in the local market and food systems, migrants continue to face structural risks such as lack of secure housing, social protection, legal non-recognition, and inconsistent school attendance in children. This article contends that migrant adaptability is manifested as entrepreneurial resilience as well as structural compulsion. It ends by urging enrollment at the municipal level, urban-wide policies, and bilateral coordination to facilitate sustainable migrant livelihoods in the border towns.
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