Habitat as a productive asset in two Caribbean cities

4 October 2007

Anyone who has ever visited a city in 'the (economic) South' has surely encountered the topic of this study. Through an opened door, you may have caught a glimpse of a seamstress working on a dress or a woman babysitting children. Hebe Verrest has studied the role of these Home-Based Economic Activities (HBEAs) in livelihoods in low-income neighbourhoods in Paramaribo (Suriname) and Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). HBEAs are important for a third of households that are able to upgrade their livelihoods from a level of survival to a level of security. Verrest has analysed the organization of HBEAs and concludes that the classic entrepreneur is very different from the majority of HBEA-operators. She therefore recommends that poverty reduction policies should shift away from programmes focusing on this classical entrepreneur.