Apart from its scenic beauty and hospitality, Mizoram is known for an unique practice- Shop without shopkeepers. The Nghah loh Dawr (Shop without shopkeepers) is a common sight in some areas of Mizoram.
Mizoram CM Zoramthanga expressed that this traditional practice of Shop without shopkeepers can come handy during this Covid-19. These practice can help both the buyers and sellers in maintaining social distancing as this traditional method of buying and selling requires no physical contact between the buyer and seller.
Vegetables, fruits and any other items are kept on display in these shops along with a price list. There is a container for the customers to put the money. The customer has to go through the list to know the price of the item he/she wants and put that money in the container before leaving. When customers do not have change, they pick up change from the money container. Hence, this whole practice is based in mutual trust.
This traditional practice is beneficial for those who do not have the time to be at the shop all the time, especially farmers. In the morning they can leave their produce on sale and then work in the farm.
Similar concept was followed and tried in some other parts of the country as well including Bengaluru, Kerala etc.
(Feature image source: Zoramthanga’s twitter handle)
