Dreaming anew with jute

On June 15, 2017, a section of a clay wall crashed and fell on 18-year-old Sabina Yeasmin, paralysing her from the waist down. The incident happened just when she was about to sit for her HSC exams, and set her education back by two whole years.

It had devastating consequences for her family. Her farmer father, stricken by poverty, was initially at a loss over what to do. He eventually took her to Savar's Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP). This proved to be move in the right direction for Sabina. To this day, she is getting treated there, albeit in a different capacity these days.

After being a patient for a year-and-a-half, she joined CRP's basketball team. Though still on a wheelchair, the new role brought her a lot of relief -- it is not only a milestone for her path to full recovery, but came with a steady income.

Although somewhat helpful, the meagre amount she made there was not enough to cover all of her costs, which is why she was still on the lookout for some additional income.

This correspondent met Sabina at a training session organised by the e-Commerce Association of Bangaldesh (e-CAB), Spinal Cord Injuries Development Association Bangladesh (SCIDAB), and People with Disabilities Aid Foundation (PDAF). The training programme began on Sunday and concluded yesterday.

The programme was aimed at teaching persons with disabilities how to make jute products such as bags, pots, rugs and blankets and make a living out of it. Alongside Sabina, a total of 30 people took part in it.

Talking to The Daily Star, Sabina said, "The accident put me on a wheelchair and threatened to bring my life to a halt. My father gradually became unable to bear my treatment costs."

"At least some of it was relieved when I joined the basketball team, but I was looking for something more substantial," she continued. "And this is when the opportunity to become jute product maker and entrepreneur was presented to me."

"It's got me all dreamy-eyed," Sabina laughed. "I'm really hoping that the training will get me somewhere, that it will help me earn enough to sustain both myself and my family, as well as cover all my treatment costs."

Tamzid Hossen, founder of PDAFm told The Daily Star, "The training was arranged with the hope that people with disabilities gain some knowledge on the crafting of jute and its business side, so that they don't have to lag behind financially. It's tailor-made to take their circumstances in consideration."

The programme offered sessions on all steps of the trade, from raw material sourcing to crafting, all the way up to lessons on how and where to sell the end product, Tamzid emphasised.

"This is the first time we have organised something like this," he added. "We'll be arranging more sessions of this sort in the future."