Documenting Policy & Organizational Practice
Work completed so far has focused on three sector groups: waste pickers, street traders and home-based workers. This work is largely driven by WIEGO’s sector specialists: Sonia Dias, Sally Roever, and Shalini Sinha.
Waste Pickers
Global – synthesis of organizing and policy practice: Refusing to be Cast Aside: Waste Pickers Organising around the World contains many of the current better practices in policy and organizing across the globe. This documentation commenced at the First World Conference and Third Latin American Conference of Waste Pickers, held in Bogotá, Colombia in March 2008.
Africa – review of literature on waste collection: Melanie Samson’s review of literature (see Research Report No. 6) synthesizes a vast body of literature on waste collection in Africa, outlining trends and identifying gaps.
Brazil – experience of collective action and policy: Brazil is an example of innovative attempts to incorporate waste pickers into formal waste management systems. Sonia Dias, whose PhD work focused on waste and citizenship forums in Brazil, is currently developing materials reflecting this experience.
Street Traders
Latin America – regional review: Sally Roever is documenting current knowledge of the policy and organizational environment for street traders in Latin American. This will complement previous WIEGO reviews of street trade dynamics. See “Street Vendors in Asia: A Review” and “Street Trade in Africa: A Review.”
India – analysis of the implementation of India’s national street trading policy: Shalini Sinha has completed research analyzing the process of securing and also implementing India’s national street trading policy. This policy is a rare example of a national street trader policy (forthcoming in the Briefing Note Series).
Peru – cases of innovative organizational practice: Sally Roever has analyzed the Red de Mujeres (Women’s Network), Briefing Note 2 and the Red de Comunicadores (Communicators’ Network) in Peru.
South Africa – documenting the Warwick Junction Project: The Warwick Junction in inner city Durban was, for 10 years, a case of good practice of street trader management and support. WIEGO has supported the book and photographic exhibition Working in Warwick: Including Street Traders in Urban Plans.
Home-Based Workers
Asia – a review of evidence: Ratna Sudarshan, Institute for Social Studies Trust in New Delhi, and Shalini Sinha have completed an overview of what is known about home-based workers in South Asia in general, and in India in particular. Among other issues this will consider trends in organizing and policy responses. (See Research Report No. 10.)
India – innovative approaches to basic service delivery, the case of the Mahila Housing Trust: Improved basic service delivery is particularly critical to home-based workers. Sara Rusling, a British researcher whose Masters evaluated the Self Employed Women’s Association’s Parivartan slum upgrading programme in Ahmedabad, has completed a briefing note summarizing the findings of the impact of this programme. (See Policy Briefing Note No. 1.)
