Thirty-five-year-old Karuna Sapkota is from Tistung, Makwanpur. She is currently living in Kalanki with her family of six including her husband and four kids. She started selling chatpatey (spicy snacks) for a living some nine years ago. She keeps her stall in Basantapur and pays Rs 1,500 rent per month.

Like every other street vendor, her only problem at work is the municipality officers who discourage keeping stalls in the street. However, Karuna works hard day and night to make sure that her kids get to attend school.

All four of her children are studying in a boarding school. She can usually be seen around New Road with her mobile stall. Karuna earns between Rs 1,000-2,500 per day. “All kinds of works have their own challenges, but I like what I do because I don’t have the compulsion of going to office every day and I can choose my timings,” she said. Karuna makes sure to take a break of seven to 10 days from her work each month.