Becoming a Migrant Worker in Nepal

High-profile events such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have made one thing abundantly clear: Much of today's economic growth would be unthinkable without the low-wage employment of migrant workers. But which cultural, economic, and political infrastructures in the "source" countries make these types of migration possible in the first place?

Based on multi-sensory ethnographic research in Nepal, Hannah Uprety retraces the practices of recruitment and instruction that—step by step—transform Nepali labour into an internationally marketable commodity. In doing so, she uncovers a migration regime that effectively turns local men and women into migrant workers before they even leave the country.