CIIR has joined forces with the East Timorese government and local communities to run a training workshop in product and small business development, writes Dierdre Nagle, a CIIR Development Worker in East Timor.

The workshop was divided into two parts and attended by 25 people from five East Timorese communities, who had suggested the topics they wanted the course to cover. The first three-day training session was opened by the minister of industry and commerce and focused on jam-making and small business development. The next three-day session looked at peanut-butter making, how to build solar-dryers to help with food preservation and basic accounting.

It is hoped the training will help local communities in their individual business activities and give them new ideas for future activities. Learning new skills and how to pass them on to others are essential steps on the road to economic development and entrepreneurship.

CIIR East Timor is aware that economic stability must be created out of sustainable income-generating activities that are not imposed on communities but are borne out of the communities themselves. The development of new products in Timor is important. There is a need to replace goods that are imported as they could be produced in-country at a lower price. Participation in the economy also helps to maintain civil society and, when focused on womenâ?Ts activities, helps to reduce the imbalance of the sexes. Increased female economic participation increases decision-making ability in the home, improving health care and education provision.