By: Richa Macsuedon, Senior Program Coordinator, HomeNet South Asia Over 67+ million women across South Asia work from their homes but are often unseen in official statistics. They contribute substantially to their family incomes and to the economy through participation in a wide range of practices – from producing textiles and fabrics and other products, selling...
By: Richa Macsuedon, Senior Program Coordinator, HomeNet South AsiaHomeNet South Asia’s affiliate organisation, the Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), is championing the cause of thousands of invisible home-based workers within Bangladesh's export-oriented Ready-Made Garment (RMG) sector. These predominantly female workers often operate without legal status, fair wages or social protection.Highlighting a stark realityIn a first-of-its-kind effort,...
By: Edwin Bett, Regional Coordinator for HomeNet AfricaHomeNet Kenya, with support from WIEGO under the program “Building African Workers’ Power in the Digital Age,” held a one-day workshop on 27 November 2025 on two key areas related to the ILO Home Work Convention 177 (1996), with additional discussions under each topic.The What, Why and How...
By: Edwin Bett, Regional Coordinator for HomeNet AfricaHomeNet International affiliates in Kenya, including Smolart Self Help Group, Kisii Soapstone Carvers Cooperative (KISCOOP), Undugu Tabaka Supplies CBO, Machakos Cooperative Union (MCU), HomeNet Kenya and Heavenly Treasures Investment Self Help Group, participated in focused group discussions for the climate change research study “Pathways to Address Climate-Related Challenges...
By Barbara Sibbald While many businesses floundered during the COVID pandemic, a Thai home-based fishing net business went online to capture new customers. Being home-based, they worked under a roof outdoors and could easily space several meters apart. Jobs are still coming in. “We’ve never stopped working,” said Nuchnapha Bamrungna, owner of the five-person Aum Mahn Baan...
By Barbara Sibbald They don’t exactly meet the designated requirements, but there can be no doubting the success of the OTOP shop in picturesque Phayao, Thailand. OTOP, or One Tambon One Products, is a Thai government program launched in 2001 which was inspired by Japan’s One Village, One Product initiative. It supports local economies by encouraging communities...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek Aidemi: Women’s Creative Studios Association, of Kyrgyzstan, is an active member of HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia (HNEE/CA). Their mission, based on the traditions of their ancestors, is to develop innovations with the aim to increase international awareness about Kyrgyz craftsmanship. The women from the villages of Naryn region have been working together for...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek Zhazgul Duishenova is a home-based seamstress working in Kyrgyzstan. She also takes in orders from middlemen. “With them, everything depends on the orders,” she says. The middlemen provide samples and the materials, but also take at least 50 KG Som for each item. Zhazgul l is the breadwinner for her family. Her husband has...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek To reach Ruth Otieno’s home, you must traverse dirt roads with deep, wide potholes that force traffic to weave side to side. Cows and goats graze roadside and behind them, large gardens of vegetables and maize gleam in the hot sun. After parking and walking a circuitous route to avoid the furrows (ditches) filled...
Author: Leslie Vryenhoek The word “empowered” often feels overused, a buzzword stripped of its true impact. However, Jemimah Nyakongo’s journey is a profound testament to empowerment in its most authentic and powerful sense. Her transformation from a silent, marginalized homemaker in a rural Kenyan village to an influential global leader for home-based workers is not just...
