A three-day fair on handicrafts produced by small women entrepreneurs kicked off yesterday in Dhaka.
A total of 40 women are displaying sari, three piece, tribal clothes, ornaments, metal products and pottery items in the fair organised by Women in Small Enterprise (WISE) at Midas Office, Dhanmondi.
Meherun Nessa Abdullah, winner of Ramon Magsaysay Award, formally inaugurated the fair. The fair organisers said they aim to encourage women entrepreneurship.
"We are bringing the items made by rural women to the fair so that urban people can realise what unique products the women in the countryside can make," Farzana Yasmin, of Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bogra.
The items being displayed in the fair include panjabi, fatua, shirt, three piece, sari, cushion, wall mate, doll item jewellery and pottery.
Talking to The Daily Star, Swapna, owner of Swapna Enterprise, said apart from usual boutiques, she engages herself in mud-work and makes showpiece, ornaments, terracotta items and pots.
She claimed that her varieties could attract some exclusive shops at Ghulshan and Dhanmondi. Having a six-year experience in the trade, Swapna now supplies her products to some exclusive shops.
Rawnak Fashion's owner Rawnak Iqbal said the fair is a manifestation of women's own creativity.
"The fair offers some exclusive items at affordable prices, so I have bought three pieces for my daughters," said Parvin Akhtar Rupa, a visitor at the fair where, according to the organisers, huge visitors thronged on the first day.
"I feel proud to see the products that women have made and it could be projected in the global market to promote 'made in brand' products," Rupa said.
Sitara Ahsanullah, general secretary of WISE, said the association is encouraging women to do something rather than making usual household works.
Such habit could help a woman to become big entrepreneur, she added.
The fair will remain open from 10am to 8pm every day.