Crafting Industry

Traditionally defined as a skilled practice of a practical occupation, a craft is often seen to exist in counterpoint to an art which is innately impractical and creatively significant. Crafts and women's involvement in crafting practices are common to every community across sociocultural and political economic contexts. Spanning the globe, in country markets in France and Burma as well as urban farmer's bazaars in the Congo and Peru, one can find women's artifacts for sale.

Whether a basket of vegetables and fruits, a patchwork quilt, a jar of honey, a string of sausages, a braided rug, a package of cheese, a knitted hat, or bouquet of flowers, the presence of handmade products is ubiquitous, and women's centrality in the production of the homemade and locally grown ...