A Fair Trade journey, Bagdha Hemp Project

Any of the information in this story or photos may be reprinted for promotional purposes on the conditional proviso it is stated that it has been provided “Courtesy of Siham Craftlink http://www.sihamcraftlink.com/”


Photos http://www.sihamcraftlink.com/album/bagda/index.htm photos are in an album format and the small photos when clicked open to larger photos.

 

Bagdha Hemp Project, Agailjhara, Barisal

A project of Prokitree, Bangladesah

To our surprise the vehicle that we were being driven in came to an abrupt halt. There at the beginning of a narrow track were two rickshaw carts waiting to transport the “Aussies” the last couple of kilometres along a narrow track to visit the Bagdha Hemp Project in Agailjhara, in South Western Bangladesh. Where do we put our legs? What do we hang onto as the driver/ rider pulls us along behind his bicycle over the bumpy track? We didn’t have much time to think about it as we were soon on our way, with the “Aussies” hysterically laughing.

We alighted as graciously as possible to be greeted by the leader of this group. We were taken to a little building, the walls made of tin sheeting to see a sea of beautiful faces and the click clack of knitting needles. About forty women were sitting on grass matting on the floor and although they watched our movements carefully, the ladies didn’t miss a beat with the click clack of the needles . The day we visited, the ladies were very busy making items for the Body Shop in the United Kingdom.

Bagdha Hemp project started in 1982 with 18 people. It was then that Shahjahan Miah, a Project Development Officer from Mennonite Central Committee Job Creation programme began employing very poor women from Bagdha Village. Since hemp was very readily available in this area, Shahjaha initially started to teach the women how to make rope and twine. Today there are 91 regular workers and also 91 seasonal workers employed. The number working at any one time depends on the orders received. Many of the women work from their homes , but visit the centre every couple of days to receive new supplies and drop off their work.

The variety of products has also grown greatly beyond the initial rope and twine. There is hemp bags, wash cloths, hemp hair ties and hemp angel decorations to name a few. Siham Craftlink provides a selection of these items in its wholesale range. Within the Bagdha Hemp Project, there is also a woodworking component and we may be purchasing some salad bowls and toys in the future. In the display room adjacent to where the women were working, I saw some interesting Bamboo chimes. Mmmm , couldn’t resist them and they have been ordered and will be a arriving in June ( in a very big sea shipment)

We were told that before this project was established, some of the women and their families ate the stem of the lotus plant as their main sustenance. Today the women are able to provide food for their families as well as pay for their childrens education. Anima Badda shared with me ( through an interpreter) that she was married at 12 years and her husband had no income. A neighbour asked Bagdha to give her work. She was accepted and although she had only basic skill, this improved over time and now she is one of the most skilled workers at this project. Today her son attends university and her daughter is a graduate. As Anima said, her life has completely changed because of Bagdha. She had no hope in life before.

Before the hemp twine reaches the stage where the ladies can knit and crochet amazing items, there are several processes involved. The hemp fibres are cleaned through a very large metal comb. This is very physical work as the bundle is repeatedly “thrown” into the comb. It takes about 2 hours to clean 5 kgs of hemp fibre . It was fascinating seeing the twine developing from a handful of hemp fibre. In an area outside, there are 6 bamboo posts with holes which is used for the spinning. It is helpful to look at the photos here. As the twine is being processed the ladies walk backwards until 50 metres length of hemp twine has been reached. The twine can be 2,4 or 6 ply. The twine is then boiled to prevent shrinkage.

The ladies looked so happy. One lady said, “ everyone is my friend.”The ladies are grateful to have the opportunity to change their life circumstances around. The same lady said ,”without work I wouldn’t be able to live.”

I would have liked to stay longer watching the creative magic of these gentle ladies but it was already late afternoon and we had another project, Jabopar to visit. And of course another rickshaw cart ride! That story is for another day.

A Fair Trade Journey, Recycled Paper Project Thailand.

Here is the next story with photos on our Fair Trade Journey.

Any of the information in this story or photos may be reprinted for promotional purposes on the conditional proviso it is stated that it has been provided “Courtesy of Siham Craftlink www.sihamcraftlink.com”

Photos http://www.sihamcraftlink.com/album/recycledpaper/index.htm  These photos are in an album format and the small photos when clicked open to larger photos.


Recycled Paper Group Thailand

It was an adventure before we even visited the recycled paper group , about an hour and a half drive outside of Bangkok, Thailand. After telephoning for numerous directions,and driving up and down narrow streets and over canal bridges, our driver eventually brought us to the house and village where the ladies make the amazing items from recycled telephone books and recycled promotional/ advertising brochures.

We were excitedly met by Rachada Tripobsrisakul, the leader of the recycled paper group. Rachada shared with us that eight years ago she had no work.There was a government teaching programme at the time and she learnt to weave baskets. Her skill and artistic talent developed beyond weaving the basic baskets. Soon she was weaving lizard, butterfly, dragonfly and penguin designs and there was no stopping her!! Her imagination and skill ran wild.

Rachada has taught many people in her village . I had an attempt at step one, rolling one piece of recycled paper onto a length of thin wire. Well, I failed dismally. The paper and the wire has to be at exactly the right angle!! And that is the easy bit before the complexity of weaving amazing life like animal and bird shapes takes place.  After hundreds of strips of rolled wired paper are assembled, they are dyed . Again the imagination can run wild as to what colours will be then used to make that lizard magnet and what colours will be used to make that butterfly magnet ? There were riots of colour. Rachada has trained many ladies and men in her village. It is obvious that different individuals have different skills. We timed Rachada. She wove a lizard magnet in ten minutes! For some of the other ladies they were struggling after half an hour.
When the orders come in, the whole village gets involved. There is a buzz of activity. Craft production in the morning and in the afternoon it is field work . The village is surrounded by rice paddies .

The Recycled Paper Group do not pay for the yellow pages that they artistically recycle but they do pay someone for the collection of unwanted "junk Mail" such as advertising brochures and flyers.
With an array of different recycled paper" critters" on display, it was hard to know what to select to add to the ever popular present range of butterfly, dragonfly and lizard magnets as well as the recycled paper maracas that Siham Craftlink presently sells. It was decided that the frog and ladybird beetle magnets will add a nice diversity to the Siham range this year. As we left the village, we saw an amazing sight. There was a canal that was" jumping" with activity. We were curious. This was a frog farm , and the nets were in place, just as if the villagers were going to trap fish. The Recycled Paper items are purchased through ThaiCraft Association, a non profit Organization. ThaiCraft works in partnership with over 70 community based artisan groups . ThaiCrafts objectives are to promote self-reliance for craftspeople with income generating opportunities and to preserve indigenous craft traditions in Thailand. As a member of the International Federation of Alternate Trade ( IFAT) , ThaiCraft is committed to promoting fair trade practices with a concern for the social, economic and environmental well-being of craft producers.

Easterfest in Toowoomba Queensland 2010

 Siham Craftlink participated at the recent Easterfest in Toowoomba.