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Human Development is about freedom. It is about building human capabilities- the range of things that people can do and what they can be. But due to the fact that extreme poverty remains a daily reality for millions of people around the world and that these poor people live without fundamental freedoms of action and choices that the better-of takes for granted, freedom remains a utopian dream for many. Larger freedom is, due to this context, proclaimed to be at the heart of human development, but how can larger freedom be achieved in a world characterised by extensive poverty, inequality and exclusion? For those that are caught in the poverty trap escaping it seems impossible, but is it? This study explores strategies for larger freedom and discusses the possibility of achieving larger freedom then with a gender perspective. The domestic sector in Guatemala has been chosen as to illustrate how socio-economic inequality is a serious impediment to human development and how to overcome barriers for development.

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Camilla is an economist be training and she also holds a master degree in Development Management. She has work several years in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic within the area of development. She currently works as a lecturer in development studies at the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway.

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