News from Local Economic Development:
“Habits of longstanding are dogged by
persistency.”
By Mary O’Connor
This ponderous title refers to my tendency to think in
terms of man-hours of labor. As an extreme example,
you may remember this conundrum of modern economics: How much money has to be on the sidewalk for it
to become profitable for Bill Gates to spend the time it
would take to pick it up?
This raises all sorts of other questions, but my point
is that in trying to work in local economic development,
man-hours of labor can be a useful yardstick. I tried using the amount we pay our
tutors, but realized that this
was not practical after trying
to work up a price for a local,
hand-knit, full-length, amazing-looking coat/sweater creation: $982. I have no doubt
that this one-of-a-kind garment, marketed well, will indeed sell for easily twice that
amount with a bit of world
capital. But as a direct purchase from the creator of the
garment, it could set up some
unrealistic expectations on
the part of the knitter.
I recently conducted another “pricing research project.”
The souvenir sector in Krusevo has growth potential for
a variety of happy and sad reasons. I had the idea that
souvenir candles could provide an easy source of local
income for the small entrepreneur in Krusevo. Though
an avid consumer of candle products before Peace Corps,
scarcity and cost has restricted my use to church candles
here adisappeared in the United States, replaced by the
unfortunate flickering bulb at the push of a button, my
candle needs were well met here, with the added satisfying presumption that the money and my own prayer were
somehow falling in the positive realm.
So having been only a consumer, it seemed fitting to
attempt a bit of fabrication prior to suggesting novelty
candle production on a larger scale. I talked to my honey
man, who directed me to the house of the wax woman.
She was expecting me, which I took as a good sign. A
widow, she was happy to chat for a good long time over
14 - pauza
coffee and sweets prior to a tour of the offerings. I had
expected that the wax would be the solid equivalent of
the honey; that is to say, the finest and highest quality.
(Macedonian honey is the best honey I have ever tasted.
I use it in any and everything requiring a sucrose-based
additive.)
But rather than a golden mass of bee-building material, her goods looked like ancient wheels of grey-brown
cheese. After affable negotiations over the commodity
and promises to return for a
visit, I carried a two and a half
kilo wheel o’wax home.
The production was a successful improvisation, in that I
did not burn down the house,
destroy any domestic inventory,
or injure any living beings, and
I produced two tiny candles in
two hallowed-out orange skins.
This took me about four manhours. Though they looked
convincing, they failed to stay
lit.
Still, I was greatly encouraged. If a complete novice can
produce candles in four hours, this could be a viable cottage industry. Realizing that the wax was the collected
remnants from church candles added an appealing environmental aspect to the potential marketing strategy for
the Krusevo candle.
I thought it best to conduct some casual research before
general release. In talking to a neutral but very knowledgeable Macedonian about this idea, he seemed to think
that there could be some trouble with the church. It might
be seen as an intrusion of an income stream.
Perhaps, but I think the candles could be sufficiently
different in form and appeal so as to present a complimentary, non-competitive product stream. The mind
reels with speculation. Having invested time and energy
to date, I will continue to nudge it forward in Krusevo
and report back to you in the next edition of “News from
Local Economic Development.”