A PLAN to "get manufacturing moving in country Australia" has taken off in Wedderburn.
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With few retail and commerce employment opportunities nearby, the National Hands Network identified the town in Loddon Shire as the ideal place to launch its program.
Not only do adults have the opportunity to create items for recognised European brands, but children are also being introduced to the world of wholesale, meeting minutes and dividends.
The students, aged five to 15, work on every aspect of business management, attending two-hour sessions every Tuesday after school at the NHN Centre on High Street, Wedderburn.
On Sunday, 17 Wedderburn school students held a "Good Eggs" stall at the local farmers' market, selling the wares they spent 12 weeks creating.
Created from recycled egg cartons, the students sold all 500 of their items during the five-hour market.
NHN founder Miranda Pereira said she wanted to give children in the region an equal opportunity afforded to those in the city.
"These towns don't have stores like Priceline, Cotton On or JB Hifi," she said.
"This is the first commerce situation they would have encountered in their lives.
"They made $600 from the market, which they will sit down and find out how much their running costs were and what they actually earned from it."
From flowers to miniature Santas, the children made a whole range of unique items simply from used egg cartons.
Ms Pereira said the program had so far proved a success.
"We've managed to have children from five to 15 attend every session on a Tuesday out of their own time," she said.
"To be able to build professional-standard home furnishings just from egg cartons was pretty amazing."
Loddon Shire was the first rural council to take part in the National Hands Network. The Good Eggs program was a part of the junior program.
Wedderburn also hosts a program for adults where they collect a work pack from the High Street centre to create fashion items.
Ms Pereira said they were not an employment agency.
"It's all about reigniting manufacturing in rural and regional Australia," she said.
"We find the brands and feed them into the community in Wedderburn."
The NHN will extend the program into Bendigo, Maryborough and Shepparton next year, seeking to provide rural people with the opportunity for income and dignity.
Bendigo has already had a taste of the NHN program, as unemployed young people take part in the Wood Gang at White Hills.
Ms Pereira said they came to the program seeking work experience and are now creating wooden homewares.