We Work at Home: The Training Manual

This training manual is designed to assist organizations or individuals to facilitate the building of independent home-based worker organizations. Home-based working is defined as paid employment in the home or in a building or yard near the home, for example traditional crafts, making clothes and shoes, or basic clerical work. Millions of women around the world take up this form of employment. However, there is rarely a regular supply of work. Home-based workers do not usually have any rights such as the right to a minimum wage, social security or a pension. These workers are rarely counted in official statistics or recognized by trade unions. Drawing on experience in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, this practical manual outlines training in "mapping", a successful strategy for organizing and empowering home-based workers. It presents ideas, activities, and handouts around which a wide range of training sessions may be built.