(source: Maris Korrol & Krista Thomson, 2005)

The self-help community of elderly retired people runs a shop and a little diner, providing opportunities to socialise, sell home-made handicrafts and eat out for the lowest prices in town. The community began as a few pensioners making handicrafts together, and selling them when they got the current building. It now has 48 pensioner members. Its building, near the city centre, with a ground floor acting as handicraft shop, cafeteria and hairdresser. The cafeteria is where elderly and lonely people meet up, hear live music once or twice a week, and eat very cheaply. The prices in the handicraft shop are also low. Most of the goods are made by members, with some from outside craftsmen, but the shop will only sell beautiful things. Self help was created to give old people a new lease of life and a new sense of ‘family’. Self Help Community is always looking for outside help, because their financial situation is not quite enough to keep going independently.

The organisation has been going since 1992 and is working well. Whether it can keep going in the future depends on money. If the government could give just a little support the group would have no problems carrying on. Profit is only made in the handicraft shop, which keeps a percentage of the price to pay for electricity and firewood for heating. Every member works in the shop for free, although they might get some food stamps for the cafeteria, and does a shift three or four times a month.