Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Mohamed Moosin, originally from Kandy district, sells cotton candy in the street in Kokuvil, Jaffna district, Sri Lanka. Moosin says he has been in the business for 17 years.

Zacualpa Ecatepec, Mexico

Dulce Santiz, 19, harvests mushrooms at her family home in Zacualpa Ecatepec, Mexico. Santiz typically waters them two times a day, depending on the weather, and her family sells them as a source of income.

Erdenet, Orkhon Province, Mongolia

Baatarjav Riimed and Tserendulam Chuluunkhuu wash sheep and goats in a cattle tub in Erdenet, Orkhon province, Mongolia. Small livestock are washed and disinfected once a year to prevent parasitic diseases.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Alahuraj Thayalan saws a coconut tree trunk into planks in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Thayalan sells the wood for roofing material.

Kirumba, DRC

Justin Paluku Mukule trims Ramazani Ghislain’s beard at a salon located in the Kinawa neighborhood in Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo. Ghislain says he goes to a hairdresser every seven days to have his hair and beard shaved.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

María Elena Ferreira grooms Mora, a white toy poodle, at a shop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ferreira, who has groomed dogs part time for 15 years, says, “What I like most is working at the veterinary clinic. When I work with animals, I feel relaxed, and I love being with them. The majority [of the dogs] are good. Once you pet them, they relax and stay calm.”

Harare, Zimbabwe

Kennedy Maromo repairs a car’s exhaust pipe in an industrial area in Harare, Zimbabwe. Maromo has been a gas welder for 20 years, but because of coronavirus lockdown restrictions, he has fewer hours to earn money for his family.

Harare, Zimbabwe

Miller Marara paints a sign at a workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe. Marara says the coronavirus pandemic affected his profits, so he started gardening behind the workshop to make additional income.

Erdenebulgan, Arkhangai Province, Mongolia

Enkhtsetseg Enkhbaatar, right, paints Nemekhjargal Togtokhbayar’s nails in Erdenebulgan, Arkhangai province, Mongolia. Enkhtsetseg has been working as a manicurist since 2019, when the bank where she used to work went bankrupt.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Esariyan Jeromiyas grinds iron to make a window frame in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Jeromiyas, a salaried employee at the workshop, commutes 30 kilometers (19 miles) each day.

Chihuahua, Mexico

Sylvia Alonso Espinosa, an orthodontist, checks Lizeth Alejandra Hernández Enríquez’s teeth in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. Alonso says her workload decreased by 30% at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and several patients abandoned their treatments. “Now, because of vaccinations, we’ve started to see a more normal flow similar to what we had before the pandemic,” Alonso says.

Kirumba, DRC

Paluku Masivi planes a wooden board to make a piece of furniture in Kinawa district, Kirumba, Democratic Republic of Congo. Local carpenters like Masivi make furniture for homes and businesses.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Kumar Rasaili embosses the figure of a goddess in a singing bowl at his shop in Swayambhu, Kathmandu, Nepal. Rasaili says tourists are his typical customers and the coronavirus pandemic has hampered his business.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Otgontuul Nyamsuren braids paper to create a flowerpot basket in Khan-Uul district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. “I tried to braid paper six years ago and quit,” Otgontuul says. “During the [coronavirus] lockdown, I learned how to make paper plates and bags. I also post pictures of them on Facebook for people to learn from me.”

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

Paola González sells flower bouquets and arrangements at a small stand in the mall in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Vendors like González are taking advantage of foot traffic at the mall since COVID-19 restrictions have eased.

Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka

Kunarasa Dilaxan combines cement and sand to make stones for building material in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Young workers like Dilaxon used to travel to other districts for work, but they now stay close to home as coronavirus cases rise.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Shrestha says he usually drives around the city to look for customers, but because of an increase in gas prices, he cannot afford to waste fuel.

Lusaka, Zambia

Felix Kapya makes mud blocks to sell in Chongwe district, east of Lusaka, Zambia. Kapya says price hikes have made cement blocks unaffordable, so mud blocks are a viable alternative.

Trymore Sagwati and his colleagues fill potholes with sand and cement in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. The government has started to repair roads to reduce accidents and damage to vehicles.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gabriel Herbas, who works at the entrance of his business to prevent people going inside during the coronavirus pandemic, upholsters a chair in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Herbas says he has more work because of the economic crisis: “Now, there’s a greater tendency to repair things because the price of clothes has gone through the roof.”

Byambadorj, Mongolia

Byambadorj Davaa plows a field in Ulziit, Arkhangai province, Mongolia. Because of poor vegetation growth in summer, herders purchase grass to feed their livestock in winter from farmers like Byambadorj, who started to grow animal feed, or fodder, this year.

Westlea, Zimbabwe

Lovemore Musiyiwa, who sells sugar cane when it’s in season, takes a bite in Westlea, Zimbabwe. Musiyiwa says on a good day he can make $70 from selling the sweet snack.

San Francisco, Mexico

Karla Mora sells nitro coffee from her tricycle in San Francisco, Mexico. Mora, who avoids paying rent for her business, says, “There should be more independent projects because they don’t generate as much trash and you don’t spend on electricity. In the end, it’s sustainable – and it’s fun to be on the street.”

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Murugan Jeevaratnam hammers wood to make kitchen shelves in Inuvil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Jeevaratnam, 73, has been working as a carpenter for 45 years and says now that he’s older, he earns his salary by doing easier work.