Rominche - Economy

The Rominche economy is largely independent of wage labor, relying instead on the sale of goods and services. Traditional occupations include the following: (1) sales of goods that may be either bulk-purchased manufactured items or secondhand merchandise, fruits and vegetables from barrows, horses and dogs, or items of their own manufacture such as baskets, wood carvings, and charms; (2) sales of services such as trash and scrap clearing, gardening, wagon construction, knife grinding, or fortune-telling. The preference for self-employment is strong, because it permits greater flexibility and mobility. However, some wage labor is taken, particularly for seasonal work on farms. Work that takes one away from the encampment usually is considered to be the province of adult males, with the exception of "calling" at houses in search of cast-off items that may be repaired and resold. Most stringent of all is the restriction of horse trading to men. Women may also earn for the household by fortune-telling and by sharp trading at fairs.