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Cottage Industry
In poor areas there are people unable to leave home to work. There are widows who cannot leave their children alone; women in families where the tradition does not allow them to leave home, the weak or abandoned elderly; or those suffering from some type of physical handicap that does not allow them to move about freely. An entire community may suffer from an economic barrier to improving their incomes. Community of people hired as workers for large estate owners, for instance, have their lives dictated by the land owner who keeps them in bondage with low pay and high cost loans of food, keeping the families as indentured servants.
The purpose of cottage industry (CI) is to provide a source of supplemental
income through the development and marketing of products that use the
hand skills of these people and that will allow them to meet their home
life needs. CI is a program that provides piece rate work for people.
The people themselves decide how many pieces they would like to make and how much income they would like to earn. For many it becomes their primary source of income., It transforms lives, allowing people to eat three meals a day, put their children in school, meet some of their medical costs, and, eventually to rebuild their homes, get clean water and build toilets. CI also encourages saving programs to allow families to send their children to school. A medical benevolence system is also set up.
In a community where the need exists, CI forms a group of people. This group discovers a specific hand skill within the group. This skill varies: crocheting, knitting, weaving, sewing, wood-carving etc. A product line is designed and will be group specific as long as they can meet demand. CI buys the raw materials. Each group selects a supervisor who picks up materials and delivers finished goods each week. She keeps a complete record of work. She returns poor quality goods and works with the person to correct any errors.
Once a week the entire group gathers in one of their homes to discuss the problems and joys of the work. The supervisor teaches new procedures, disperses and collects work and makes payments for finished goods. There is an hour to share good news with the group.
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