About The Organization

Representatives of the Tamang Mahila Samaj, Baudha, whose members produce Buddhist handicrafts, negotiated  first time with with Himal Arts ( Himal art is a local contractor/middlemen and also exporter, it has own collection/shop at boudha.) for standardization of piece rates and an increase per piece in 2014. Included in their negotiating team were group leaders and a member of the supporting NGO, Home-based Workers Concern Society. They prepared well for the negotiations, holding group meetings, preparing calculations to justify the increase, including comparative rates. They also used the threat of moving to more beneficial sources of livelihoods if the rate were not increased.  There were five negotiating meetings. The outcome was an increase in the piece rate from 5 Nepal Rupees to 10-15 NRS per piece depending on the size but the fixed rate is verbal. There has been several negotiations after that also. The work is continued with Himal arts and  the rate of Chokhen  has increased since then(40-150 with HBWs raw material and 20-50 labour rate depending on the quality of the product). The bargaining offer is demanded when there is better offer from other exporter or there is a price hike on used materials.

424 members of five groups belonging to the Bajrabarahi sip mulak Mahila Samuha cooperative, panauti in Nepal held a successful negotiation with the export house, Pradanang Industries. The women members of the cooperative produce woolen caps for export and are skilled in the work, providing the quality products demanded by Pradanang Industries.  The negotiations  in 2014 were quite lengthy, involving 10 meetings between the negotiating team (consisting of coop members and support persons from the NGO) and the export house directly – the intermediary being cut out.  The piece rate was raised from 50 NRS to between 60-100 NRS depending on the pattern. One of the strongest bargaining points was the threat to link with another exporter if the rate was not improved. The work and negotiation both is continued, but is very informal and not systematized. The rate of each sweter has gone upto Nrs. 1000 depending on the size and pattern but all the agreements  are verbal.

Often workers in the informal economy are scattered, not recognized nor accounted for and do not have access to financial services from mainstream financial institutions. They lack voice and negotiation power rendering them vulnerable and dependent on the only accessible means of livelihoods. One of the biggest challenge is organizing them. In our experience identifying, organizing  and helping organized self-help groups into cooperatives has been an effective model for retaining, and economic uplifting of home-based workers. The process used by HBWCSN  is identifying some HBWs producing a specific product through friends, family or other HBWs. The identified HBW is outreached and through snowball sampling HBWs in the periphery  producing the same product are identified. They are facilitated to form a self-help group ranging from 10-15 workers. They are provided with different capacity enhancing actions. More self-help groups are formed in the area based on  products (all may have the same or different products) and they are formed into a cooperative in the long run. The members of HBWCSN are involved in different areas like sewing, knitting, embroidery, bead making, wool work, Dhaka cloth weaving, spinning wool, bio-briquette production, wood carving, Tibetan handicraft, incense sticks, sandal making, bags stitching and many others. Currently, there are around 3600 members and 14 co-operatives, 4 NGOs  and several self-help groups associated with Home Based Worker Concern Society Nepal.  The co-operatives and other self-help groups associated with HBWCSN, formed by the members of HBWCSN, have helped the members become empowered by providing them training, finances and sharing risk.  Co-operatives act as a medium for the workers to lobby with marketers, suppliers and governing bodies to ensure their right, safety and better financial return for their work. The funds allocated from the co-operatives can go towards helping the needy and help local economies to grow. Such groups have uplifted home based workers economically, morally and socially.

All experience and consultations shows sustaining and growing home-based and other informal workers’ organizations and businesses is a critical area of need. With needed skills and training many home based workers have been able to break the barrier of inadequate knowledge, finance and limited market and now have been able to start their own business and provide employment opportunities to many others too. With the facilitation of their cooperatives and HBWCSN, around 5 percent of the members transition from being home-based workers to small businesses each year. Some of them now generate employment for up to 20 other home workers.

Furthermore, in recent years  HBWCSN developed institutions have been successful to explore and generate inputs from local government and  other development partners  for addressing the shortcomings in their institutional development. To address the market access two of the cooperatives from Dharan and Panauti have coordinated  and sought support from local governments to  open and operate a shop "Kosheli Ghar" (shop named kosheli Ghar, i.e,. Gift house) where all the products made by HBWs are available and sold. This success has not only sensitized the government and increased visibility but also created a market for all the products in that area. The Kosheli Ghar are slowly  being sustainable by their own transactions and getting recognition of a single spot  for accessing home based workers products. Most  of the remaining institutions are in process of replicating this success.