Idea 442 of 500. Cluster 23: The women who are not working
Sinhala and Tamil lessons by video for the children of Sri Lankans abroad, taught from home by graduate women and paid in pounds, dollars and francs
The mechanism, from the book
The single largest unused asset in the country is sitting at home. Much of what keeps it there (childcare, safe transport, working hours) can be sold as a service, and the industries that would employ it can be built.
Every idea in cluster 23 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Ask ten families you know abroad whether their children would take a weekly Sinhala or Tamil lesson by video, and at what price. Find two graduate teachers who can teach from home with a steady connection and a quiet room. Run a few free trial lessons, then agree a monthly fee paid in advance from abroad. The proof is five families paying for a second month.
- Who pays first
- A parent in London or Melbourne whose child understands the grandparents a little less every year, and who will pay to change that.
- What leaves today
- A graduate's teaching skill sits unused at home; lessons paid from abroad bring foreign money in and keep the language alive in the next generation.
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
- 436Childcare co-operatives run by mothers for mothers, licensed and inspected, in every town
- 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
Idea 442 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.