I know a woman here in the US that “upcycles” wool items that are unsellable due to damage or shrinkage and makes diaper covers. She also uses other types of clothing to make toys, baby items, handbags, just about anything you can think of. She sells at farmers markets, on Etsy, and other places. This type of business serves multiple purposes. It reduces trash, makes something unusable new again, empowers business owners, and allows mom to be home with young children while still financially supporting (or supplementing) her family. It respects the talents and dignity of the individual person while helping their community out. It is harder in many developing communities to make a living selling those items though. If people can’t buy food, they aren’t going to be able to buy those items in the amounts necessary to support the artist or seamstress’s Family.
The families in my FIL’s town that are still awaiting the internet were going to open an Internet cafe and another family was planning to help market some of the traditional products from their town on a national or worldwide scale. Many of the young men leave the town for the city to work and one has gotten his degree in graphic design. He is looking forward to being able to return home and help other families too.
I am a big believer in helping people help themselves. Sometimes that means opening small businesses, sometimes it means bringing in larger companies to provide jobs. But until those opportunities come, the suffering should be alleviated in ways that promote dignity and foster hope.
Even though I am very happy my husband was motivated to leave his town (or else we wouldn’t have met), it would be so much better if these very young boys (sometimes 11 or 12 years old!) could remain home and still become educated. They could remain close to home as adults, work, support their community and help drag it out of poverty.
