ABSTRACT
The Council of Community Representatives' newly established enterprise fund set about its task of generating work and money in the sustainable and mutual way its members had agreed: that is, with careful attention to social enterprise, economic development and the environment. Their initial task was to sort out what needed to be done and with whom, in ways that would enable small enterprises to emerge and grow. They wanted to know more about who was already doing what, how existing small businesses got started and what was stopping others from getting started. What skills were under-utilized, what natural resources were at hand? Later, they will want to know, in respect to it all, what equipment, working capital or start-up cash is needed? Who might benefit from working with whom? What is getting in the way of people starting up businesses, finding jobs, building houses, getting their children to school, obtaining proper health care and so on? Do local regulations impose restrictive taxes on employment? Do building permits still take months to approve? Are there still restrictions on land ownership, the use of common land, trading, renting, keeping animals? And how do people cope with the shocks and stresses of natural disasters, everyday hazards or social exclusion? What, in this sense, is the extent of their vulnerability? And, given the ethnic mix in the area, what are social and cultural practices regarding work in each of the different ethnic groups, how do they organize and what are their attitudes to cooperation?
