The village of bamboo handicrafts

Almost all the 320 families at Parshuram village of Chandrapur union in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila earn their livelihood by making and selling bamboo made things, especially fishing tools.

They earn well when there is high demand of indigenous fishing tools like darki, bana and teprai during the rains from June to September while they have to sell their produce for lower rate to the middlemen during the rest eight months.

“I got training on making different things from bamboo in my childhood. Now I am able to earn Tk 80-100 daily from the handicraft by working during the leisure. I also help my mother in the work,” said Purnima Rani, 17, a college girl at Parshuram village.

“From June to September, I earn Tk 180-200 every day, but the earning drops to Tk 100-120 during the rest eight months of the year as we have to sell our products at less rate to the middlemen,” said Purnima's mother Shobha Rani, 50, widow of late Narayan Chandra Barmon.

“With the earning we can somehow maintain our livelihood but there is hardly any saving for the future,” she added.

“The people in the village are engaged in the trade of making bamboo items for generations. I have been doing it since my childhood. Mainly we produce bamboo made fishing nets, ceiling and toys,” said Surdharno Chandra Barmon, 75, a craftsman in the village.

Akkas Ali, 65, another craftsman of the village, said all the members of his family are trained to produce bamboo made things round the year.

“We spend huge labour but the earning is little,” he said.

Zahurul Islam, 48, a middleman of the village, said he buys bamboo made fishing tools from the craftsmen at low rates during the off season and stocks those for selling during the rainy season.

“We earn profit of Tk 100-150 from selling each product during the monsoon. We provide capital to the craftsmen, and so, they get less prices during the off season,” he said.

If the producers of bamboo made things get interest free loan, they would be relieved from dependence on the middlemen and live better, said several stakeholders.