Childcare co-operatives run by mothers for mothers, licensed and inspected, in every town

A first step

Invite six mothers in one neighbourhood who want to work but have nobody to watch the children, and one who would rather run childcare than take an office job. Agree a daily fee, a room and hours that match the local factory and office shifts, and ask the district office what licensing and inspection a childcare centre needs. The proof is six paid places promised for the first month.

Who pays first

A mother with a job offer she cannot take because nobody watches the children, who pays because the fee is smaller than the wage.

What leaves today

Trained women stay home because childcare is missing; every licensed place turns an education the country paid for into earnings instead of waste.

The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.

The test

Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?

The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.

In the book

• Ch. OneThe Letter That Says Yes and Means No
  32% of adult women in work, against 70% of men

More from cluster 23

• 437After-school clubs at the schools, paid by the parents, run by teachers who want the income
• 438Women-only transport services for the night shifts and the early trains
• 439Home-based work platforms that pay properly: sewing, bookkeeping, transcription, design
• 440Shared workspaces for women with childcare attached, in Colombo and the district towns
• 441Women's craft co-operatives with a single brand and a single buyer abroad
• 442Breastfeeding rooms and creches sold to the factories as a service, since the law asks for them

All 15 ideas in this cluster