As much of Singapore slept, Madam Joy Subramaniam, 45, used to spend the witching hour scrubbing dirty toilets in a Jurong mall.
She worked around 10 nights a month - ending at 3am - to add $350 to the $500 she made as a part-time cleaner at the same mall.
Widowed at 41, she needed the extra cash to put her two sons, now aged 17 and 20, through polytechnic.
The ebullient woman still burns the midnight oil but, this time, in her own home. As a member of a fledgling women's co-operative started by the South West Community Development Council, she has her own jewellery business.
Every night, she fashions colourful little beads, crystals and cloth balls into earrings, necklaces and bracelets. A couple of weekends every month, she sells her wares at a stall in Ikea Tampines, and can earn up to $150 in sales each time.
The co-operative - Women Enterprise Workz (WEworkz) - which started in March this year, has 100 members who are being trained to set up small home-based businesses making jewellery and candles.
'I was always good with my hands,' she says. ' But till I heard about the CDC's project, I had no idea that I could actually make money by working from home.'
After plodding along for years, the co-operative movement in Singapore has received a boost as more community development councils (CDCs), voluntary welfare bodies and like-minded private citizens band together to form social enterprises.
According to the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) which oversees 75 co-operatives here, an average of one new co-operative has been set up every year in the past decade or so. This year, at least six might be formed.
The federation will celebrate International Co-operative Day at a gala dinner on Friday, honouring individuals and organisations that have promoted co-operatives here.
The renewed interest in co-operatives, says SNCF chairman Seah Kian Peng, has come about as a way of helping ordinary Singaporeans grapple with the rising cost of living.
'Co-operatives are based on the principle of self-help, where members help themselves and the community they are part of through an enterprise,' says Mr Seah, who is also managing director of NTUC FairPrice, one of Singapore's best-known co-operatives.
'In an era of rising food prices and cost of living, the role of co-operatives is heightened as an effective means of self-help.'
Rather than fatten the wallets of shareholders, co-operatives are businesses that exist to serve members' needs by providing them with jobs, loans or discounts. They are often spawned by tough times. The origins of NTUC FairPrice, for instance, can be traced back to 1973, when Singapore was battling soaring inflation and oil prices.
The supermarket chain was set up to curb profiteering and reassure those who were worried that high prices would make it difficult for them to put food on the table, says Mr Seah.
He points out that during the recent spike in prices of rice and other essential commodities, FairPrice was the last retailer to increase prices and the first to reduce them.
'Our strong social mission - back in 1973 and now - impacts every decision we take and helps ensure that prices do not go through the roof.'
Realising that survival in the early years is tough for most enterprises, the co-operative movement is offering funds to help cushion early blows and set these fledgling organisations on the path to self-reliance. For starters, all new co-operatives can get a $5,000 start-up grant.
Those with a 'strong social mission' - like providing jobs - can claim up to 80 per cent of the start-up costs and operating expenses for the first three years from the Central Co-operative Fund, set up in 1979 to promote co-operatives in Singapore.
Administered by the SNCF, the fund is sustained by regular contributions from existing co-operatives and has more than $30 million currently.
The fund is not new, but the SNCF has stepped up efforts to publicise its existence, says the federation's chief executive Zulkifli Mohammed.
'For instance, we had a lunch with the mayors early this year, offering help through this fund if any of them wanted to set up co-ops to help their residents.'
All five CDCs are interested. South West was first off the block, with its little co-operatives already up and running. Mayor Amy Khor hopes that the co-operative will help 'empower' some of the most vulnerable women - mainly housewives from low-income families - who turn up at the CDC for help.
To ensure that the business becomes viable, the co-operative through its full-time staff - a general manager and an assistant - will suss out avenues to market the products. Sales proceeds will be split between the women and the co-operative. The women are also trained in both their craft as well as the basics of running a business.
As of last year, only 52 per cent of women here worked, compared to 74 per cent of men. Among older women - those in their late 50s - employment rates are much lower, at around 45 per cent.
In the next couple of months, North West CDC plans to set up its own co-operative, dubbed Community Kitchen.
After training, housewives will make cakes and pastries at a kitchen run by their co-operative at the Bukit Panjang Community Club, says Mayor Teo Ho Pin, who is also the local MP. The goodies will then be sold at various town centres.
The Women's Initiative for Ageing Successfully, a voluntary welfare organisation, also plans to set up a women's co-operative to train older women in a host of skills so that they can get jobs or start their own businesses.
Keeping old folk active and employed is another key concern.
Three CDCs - Central Singapore, South East and North East - are in preliminary discussions with SNCF to form a 'Silver Co-operative', offering the elderly living in rental flats an opportunity to do simple jobs and socialise with others. Business sustainability plans are being drawn up and the co-operative should be up by early next year.
While it is easy to set up a co-operative, the greater challenge is establishing a sound business model and ensuring long-term sustainability, says Associate Professor Albert Teo from the National University of Singapore's Business School.
Unlike companies that seek to maximise profits, the co-operative has to grapple with two bottom lines - its financial viability and its social mission. 'This can be quite daunting,' says Prof Teo.
Co-operative sector veterans like Mr Seah are well aware of such challenges. One way to rise to the task is to 'professionalise' the sector. Instead of existing members running them, co-operatives should attract new members who have track records in running businesses. Smaller co-operatives can also tap bright business minds by inviting successful entrepreneurs to join their boards. This will help hand-hold fledgling businesses.
Flushed with the success of her first sales, Madam Joy is raring to learn more about her craft. But the Primary 6 dropout admits cash-flow projections and the nitty gritty of running a business are beyond her.
'We'll need help to sell all this,' she acknowledges, uncertainty clouding her eyes. 'I just hope we succeed.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on 29 June 2008.
