Farida Parvin, a housewife in Sultanpur village under Sadar upazila of Satkhira district, now has her own source of income — making jute products for a private organisation involved in exporting those.
Like Farida, a number of women in the village are now earning money after receiving training from ‘Rishilpi International Handicrafts Organisation’.
Farida has two sons and a daughter and her husband Abdur Razzaque used to run a tea stall to cover the expenses of the five-member family.
In 2016, Farida joined Rishilpi International Handicrafts Organisation after hearing about it from another woman and received training there. Now her monthly income is Tk 5000-5500.
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The raw materials are provided by the organisation and as per their demands, she makes jute bags, wall and floor mats.
Tereja Mandal, another housewife of the village, said she is now able to bear the entire expenses of her family and the medical treatment of her husband, who is paralysed, by making jute products.
“The organisation provides Tk 300-350 per jute bag to me and Tk 2500-3000 for each wall and floor mat,” she said.
Around 7,000 women are now involved in making handicrafts for the organisation which has proved to be a boon for them.
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European countries are the main buyers of the jute products, and every year, jute products worth Tk 9-10 crore are exported from Satkhira. The jute products are being exported to Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Finland and Switzerland in Europe and to Australia as well.
Sanjay Sarkar, product manager of Rishilpi International Handicrafts, said the organisation has been exporting jute products after giving training to 7,000 women of the district.
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“The demand for jute rope and jute cotton is huge in European countries,” he said.
A woman worker can earn Tk 5000-6000 each month by making products for the organisation, he added.
During the pandemic, the demand for jute products was poor but now the demand has gone up again, he said.
Asish Kumar, jute inspector of Satkhira district, said, “People in both Bangladesh and abroad are interested in using jute products as it is environmentally friendly. The demand for jute bags is also high as the government imposed a ban on use of polythene bags.”
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Humayun Kabir, deputy commissioner of Satkhira district, said the jute products made by the women of Satkhira can fetch fame for the country as well as play an important role in the national economy.