Idea 443 of 500. Cluster 23: The women who are not working
Elder-care services so that the daughter can work instead of nursing the parent alone
The mechanism, from the book
The single largest unused asset in the country is sitting at home, and the reasons are practical, not attitude.
Every idea in cluster 23 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Put a notice in one temple, church or mosque, and at the local clinic, asking families who care for an elderly parent whether they would pay for a trained carer for a few hours a day. Meanwhile find two women with nursing or caring experience who want paid work. The proof is a family that books and pays for the first week of visits.
- Who pays first
- A working daughter who has been taking leave to nurse a parent, and pays a carer so she can keep her job.
- What leaves today
- Women leave paid work to nurse a parent alone; paid elder care keeps both her wage and the carer's in the economy.
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 443 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.