Rickshaw pulling is a large, labour-intensive, unorganised sector in India, involving 8 million individuals belonging to the lowest social strata. The article describes an initiative to increase the daily earnings of rickshaw pullers by training them to retail branded products, on a 'bulk-buying retail-selling' model. The article reports on a project that began with 30 rickshaw pullers in Jaunpur, a semi-urban district of eastern India. Critical issues related to the sustainability and future of such projects on a large scale are discussed.
