Organization and disorganization: a case study of women coir workers in Sri Lanka
Risseeuw, C.
Invisible hands women in home based production: 177-205
1987
Document Number: 378983
The chapter describes personal experience as a researcher-turned-activist while working with women engaged in coir (coconut husk fibre) production in rural Sri Lanka. Although focusing on the small group of women that the author helped to organize for better access to credit, marketing and awareness building, this experiment is placed within the larger context of variables which are difficult to predict and impossible for the women to control. A detailed historical background of the development and organization of the coir industry in Sri Lanka is given, first under Dutch colonial rule and later under the British. Within the village itself, a difficult dependency relationship exists between women producers and the larger landowners who own the trees and adjust the price of raw materials according to fluctuations in the local and international market place. With increasing population pressure and heavy male outmigration, women are becoming increasingly dependent on wage labour and home-based work just at a time when uncertainties in demand in the larger market are also increasing. The impetus for organization came from the women themselves as they sought a solution to their difficulties, which could not be answered merely through understanding the historical context. Therefore, they began pressing for the researcher to assist them in their efforts. Initial barriers, which also constitute continuing constraints, include suspicions women have toward each other due to their isolation and competitive situation, resistance from male traders and vested interests, and inadequate access to credit. Describing the evolution of the organization over 5 years, the women's struggle was found to be a continuing one and, as women, their vulnerability within the local power structure was particularly great. Nonetheless, organization is seen as the key to combating the exploitative aspects of the coir industry and improving the conditions of these home-based producers.