Page 369 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 369
peasant economy in interwar slovenia – policies of income diversification
provided that there were no other employees, and that their extent was lim-
ited. Handicrafts were defined as activities whose operators did not meet
the requirements for a craft licence and did not have a dedicated workshop
but worked in their own homes (Mohorič 1950–51, 19). In the countryside,
such production was widespread, although not all types were distributed
evenly or even present. The picture was extremely diverse as well as dis-
persed, determined by local economic and social features and initiatives.
We will only list a number of selected examples of handicraft, as we are in-
terested in the system, i.e. the mechanism of operation, the influencing fac-
tors and the consequences of the existence of the historic phenomenon of
handicraft activities for society in general.
Furthermore, any discussion of handicraft must differentiate between
two types, the more sophisticated handicrafts and the less demanding
ones. The first type featured aesthetic elements as well and could even be
somewhat artistic; the second was characterised by its utilitarian nature.
Lace-making may thus be classified among the former type, while the lat-
ter type would include production of all sorts of wood products (buckets,
crates, toothpicks, spoons, sieves, etc.), straw products (baskets, coasters,
etc.) or pottery, to name but a few. It is clear that the second type of handi-
crafts were based on materials that were easily accessible, cheap and plenti-
ful in the countryside, obtainable either at the farm itself or in the immedi-
ate vicinity. After all, forests covered over 60% of Slovenia at the time. Clay
was likewise available throughout the area. Finally, the straw was a side
product, as cereals were the most prominent agricultural crop. As early as
the late 19th century, the production of straw hats thus began in Domžale
near Ljubljana. After WWI, the production increased, giving numerous
peasants in central Slovenia the opportunity to become straw hat weavers
(Moder 1962, 73, 84).
The cottage industry was coupled with a system of distribution, and
the functional division of labour occurred automatically. The role of lo-
cal traders as intermediaries between peasants/producers and consumers
was indispensable. While there were a number of cases of peasant’s craft
co-operatives (Mohorič 1950–51, 23), which were supposed to operate a joint
marketing system and increase the products’ prices, the results were not
encouraging in spite of governmental support and examples of good prac-
tice. Such co-operatives, which were all too often limited to their local en-
vironment, failed to achieve the necessary economy of scale for their ex-
istence and operation to effect any changes in the established distribution
367
provided that there were no other employees, and that their extent was lim-
ited. Handicrafts were defined as activities whose operators did not meet
the requirements for a craft licence and did not have a dedicated workshop
but worked in their own homes (Mohorič 1950–51, 19). In the countryside,
such production was widespread, although not all types were distributed
evenly or even present. The picture was extremely diverse as well as dis-
persed, determined by local economic and social features and initiatives.
We will only list a number of selected examples of handicraft, as we are in-
terested in the system, i.e. the mechanism of operation, the influencing fac-
tors and the consequences of the existence of the historic phenomenon of
handicraft activities for society in general.
Furthermore, any discussion of handicraft must differentiate between
two types, the more sophisticated handicrafts and the less demanding
ones. The first type featured aesthetic elements as well and could even be
somewhat artistic; the second was characterised by its utilitarian nature.
Lace-making may thus be classified among the former type, while the lat-
ter type would include production of all sorts of wood products (buckets,
crates, toothpicks, spoons, sieves, etc.), straw products (baskets, coasters,
etc.) or pottery, to name but a few. It is clear that the second type of handi-
crafts were based on materials that were easily accessible, cheap and plenti-
ful in the countryside, obtainable either at the farm itself or in the immedi-
ate vicinity. After all, forests covered over 60% of Slovenia at the time. Clay
was likewise available throughout the area. Finally, the straw was a side
product, as cereals were the most prominent agricultural crop. As early as
the late 19th century, the production of straw hats thus began in Domžale
near Ljubljana. After WWI, the production increased, giving numerous
peasants in central Slovenia the opportunity to become straw hat weavers
(Moder 1962, 73, 84).
The cottage industry was coupled with a system of distribution, and
the functional division of labour occurred automatically. The role of lo-
cal traders as intermediaries between peasants/producers and consumers
was indispensable. While there were a number of cases of peasant’s craft
co-operatives (Mohorič 1950–51, 23), which were supposed to operate a joint
marketing system and increase the products’ prices, the results were not
encouraging in spite of governmental support and examples of good prac-
tice. Such co-operatives, which were all too often limited to their local en-
vironment, failed to achieve the necessary economy of scale for their ex-
istence and operation to effect any changes in the established distribution
367
