Alan,
Does this little inquiry into mass production help you to understand how much it takes to keep an international economy going? The challenge after the start up is to keep it going. Otherwise the effort does not yield a long term solution to the problem in the co-op. Far better is to come up with a culturally responsible business plan that you can teach them so that they can feed their families in the long term. There is an old saying: "Give a man a fish and he eats one meal, teach a man to fish and he can feed his family" well into the future.
The economy of scale, would make it more viable for the co-op if it could be a continuing production of one or two items over a long term with short orders on the side. Consistent fish for the table.
Oh, Thank you for your efforts on both the X-kilt ( I will have to look up that thread) and the desire for social justice. My own church is working on an education program in Salvador, with a goal of self sufficiency in ten years.
Question: RUUU? --- Steve