Paper flowers bring good luck to Rangpur families

Many families in Rangpur division have been in the trade of making paper flowers for a long time and many of them have changed their luck.

People in the trade said that they make flowers of different sizes and colours with paper and sell those to wholesale and retail markets, including those in Chawkbazar in Dhaka.

Paper flowers are especially sold at fairs though traders also supply the flowers to shopping malls due to increasing demand.

Shafiqul Islam of Bholarchaora village in Lalmonirhat has been making various types of colourful paper flowers for the last 30 years. He has involved his three sons and wife Marina Begum in this work.

Twenty more people from the village have learned to make paper flowers from Shafiqul and brought prosperity in their families.

Islam told The Daily Star that it costs currently Tk 9-10 to make each paper flower and he sold it to the wholesalers at a rate of Tk 11-12. An artisan can make 300-500 paper flowers every day.

"I am able to earn Tk 10,000-12,000 every month by making paper flowers," he said.

Maruf Islam, another paper flower maker of the same village, said that he earns an average of Tk 9,000-10,000 every month.

"At present, the income is getting less due to the increase in the price of paper and paint," he said.

Mitali Rani Das of Madhupur village in Rangpur's Kaunia upazila, said she bought four bighas of cultivable land by making paper flowers.

"We can make 55,000-60,000 pieces of paper flowers every month," she said.

Golzar Hossain Tokdar, a paper flower wholesaler in Rangpur city, said there are 200-220 paper flower artisans in about 20 villages in eight districts of greater Rangpur. They make about 18-20 lakh paper flowers every month.

"The demand for paper flowers is increasing day by day. We sell each flower to retailers for an average profit of Tk 2-3 each piece," he said.

Akbar Hossain, a paper flower wholesaler of Chawkbazar in Dhaka, said that Rangpur is No. 1 supplier of paper flowers.

"We give orders over the phone to the producers, who send it through courier services within one or two days," he said.