Age-old Crafts for Contemporary Markets

Photo: Prabir Das

Photo: Prabir Das

During the monsoon, when village women are unable to go out because of heavy downpour, they stay at home to embroider flowers, animals and human figures to tell the stories of their lives on the quilt with colourful yarn and needle. This thousand year old tradition has been turned into a profitable business that employs thousands of people.
While some works are done using the speed and skill of modern sewing machines, other crafts are created using age-old techniques. According to the Mirpur Benarasi Palli Cooperative Society, in Mirpur alone, about thirty thousand weavers, dyers, hand spinners, embroiderers and related artisans have been using their skills to produce around 620 million meters of fabrics every year.
Interestingly the total fabric production from Mirpur meets the 65 percent of consumers' demand in the country. It also provides employment opportunities to thirty thousand Bengalis and Bihari refuges in Mirpur alone.
According to the local craftspeople, during the Partition of India in 1947, 125 families migrated from India to different places of Dhaka. And they brought along their skills of weaving to create the much-wanted apparels of today. After the independence of Bangladesh, the artisans shifted their living to the refugee camps of Mirpur. Gradually their small handloom industry began to expand and so did production and revenue.
Starting from a small cottage industry it has expanded into a huge business. In the early nineties, a big marketplace grew, now commonly known as Benarasi Palli. Although the craft floated from Benaras, India by non-Bangalis,  gradually the number of Bangali artisans has also risen and at present the number of Bangali artisans is almost equal to those of non-Bangalis, including Biharis of refuge camps.

The handwork of the artisans end up in high-end stores.

Photo: Prabir Das

Although Mirpur is famous for its unique Banarasi it also produces some eye-catching karchupi and embroidery on clothes that will adorn women of all ages. An octogenarian Atia Begum is running the handloom business for half a century. She recalls that during the nineties to compete with Indian clothes the art of karchupi and benarasi weaving came into being. However after the advancement of textile technology embroidery became an easier and speedier job. On the other hand, Karchupi is still done in the traditional format. For that reason it takes at least two to fifteen days to weave a sari.
Karchupi requires a simple machine used for weaving in a wooden square shaft-loom. The fabrics are fixed in place in the shaft. The warp threads are tightened with a heddle, and the weaver creates the patterns on canvas of fabric. In the process of weaving the handloom, the weaver creates a perfect harmony of motion and rhythm. And all this with what is called a 'Bhuti pin,' the only tool they use to make the designs. The vast majority of Bangladeshi handlooms is engaged in weaving cotton and blended fabrics although handloom silks have earned a good reputation. So depending on the demands most of the weavers do the Karchupi designs on silk.
Saleh Ahmed, President of the Urdu Speaking People Youth Rehabilitation Movement says for generations, the weavers have promoted their product locally. At present nearly 1,000 manufacturing units in Mirpur are running their production of Karchupi.
Unfortunately, however, the demand for the traditional apparel craft has been decreasing among the city based clientele. Traders believe that consumers are more interested in Indian saris, since they are getting them at low prices. Manik Mia, a 65-year-old weaver and entrepreneur says, “In Mirpur the housing problem is getting worse everyday. Here, people living in Bihari refuge camps use the same roof for dual purposes: for living and making saris. At night we sleep, but the home becomes a factory in the morning. Moreover we need proper lighting to produce good quality work, but unfortunately we work in small rooms with no ventilation or proper lighting facilities.”

At night we sleep, but the home becomes a factory in the morning.

Unstitched embroidered shalwar kameez pieces are all the rage during Eid, Photo: Prabir Das

According to traders, in Mirpur there are nearly 110 shops at the Palli, through which weavers directly sell their product to the customer. The manufacturers and traders say the annual sales of the 110 shops would be between Tk 40 crore and Tk 50 crore, which is much lower than it is supposed to be.
At present these ornamental Karchupi clothes cater to high end stores. Prices are quite reasonable for these customers: saris from Tk 1,500 up to Tk 15,000 and a wedding sari costs Tk 10,000 while formal saris start from Tk 1,500. Depending on the quality and price a weaver gets Tk 600 to Tk 6,000 for a single of sari.
In 1977, to develop the living standards of weavers the Ministry of Textiles and Jute established Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB) as a Statutory Public Sector Organisation. The Board has been assigned to promote the overall development of the handloom sector with emphasis on making the lives of the people engaged in it better.
Historically, handloom is considered part of our heritage. The artistry achieved in handloom fabrics is unique. Handlooms can be delicate fabrics for special occasions or less expensive cloth for daily wear. The industry has shown an innate resilience to withstand and adapt itself to the changing demand of modern times.
To ensure the development of the handloom weavers, BHB has been initiating a number of package programmes covering the supply of input, innovation of suitable designs, financing of working capital, development of human resources, modernisation of handloom technology, efficient marketing management and formation of weavers' societies.
According to BHB, in Bangladesh there are more than 0.183 million handloom units with 0.505 million handlooms and about 1 million handloom weavers. Fifty percent of workers are female. Production of these handloom fabrics is diffused in numerous production centres all over the country linked by a network of primary, secondary and central market.

In the process of weaving the handloom, the weaver creates a perfect harmony of motion and rhythm. And all this with what is called a 'Bhuti pin,' the only tool they use to make the designs. Photo: Prabir Das

To provide proper support BHB has organised the weavers in three different folds based on income and production. According to the code of conduct the weavers have been registered in three tiers- Primary, Secondary and Apex.
The tradition of weaving cloth by hand constitutes one of the richest aspects of Bangladeshi culture and heritage. The craftsmanship behind these handloom fabrics is unparallel. While discussing the weaver's job Atia Begum says, “I do these artworks to express my experiences of my forefathers' displacement, their travel from homeland to a faraway land, so each and every fabric we produce carrying the colourful stories of our past.”