Photos: Field Visits
 

An informal market in New Delhi. India's municipal laws make it illegal to vend in the streets wihtout a license. But due to red tape, less than one percent of vendors operate legally.

Sewa Nagar - Model Market. A well organized informal market in New Delhi. Hear more about the transition at the market in LE's video series "Market Forces". Click here to download the movie.

Sewa Naga Legal Empowerment Executive Director, left, with Madhu Kishwar of Manushi whose efforts are responsible for the dramatic change at Sewa Nagar.  
Madame Kishwar guides Dr.Singh through the Model Market - a permanent market that has been upgaraded by licensed vendors using high-quality materials.  
The vendors at Sewa Nagar also have a savings scheme. They have pooled their funds and built toilet facilities.  The transition at the Model Market has been a win-win for the shoppers, vendors and
 local politicians.
 Villagers in Uttar Pradesh province outside of New Delhi.
Villagers with formal land tenure built homes from more costly bricks.
Farm in Uttar Pradesh province outside of New Delhi.
Farmers in Uttar Pradesh discussing their land tenure types and what owning their homes means to them, their families and their livelihoods.
 Children gathered on top of roofs to see the village meetings.
The farmers in the Uttar Pradesh province tend to rely on traditional means of livelihoods, such as farming.
Another village in the province. Here the villagers invested less in the quality of their homes - prefering straw and wood over bricks.
 Children gathered to see the impromptu discussion on property rights... and the cameras it attracted.
 Women standing in front of their home. The types of land tenure varied.
A third village in the province. Villagers here relied on costly bricks to build their homes and used stern wooden fences to mark their lots.
 Dr.Singh concludes his visit with a stop to a model farm run by the non-profit organization Gobind Sadan. The Center included Legal Empowerment in an international forum in February 2007 under the theme of Developement and Civil Society.
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