Leaving Dhaka

At the airport in Dhaka, waiting for the flight to Kolkata...

 

We had a wonderful evening with Suraiya, her daughter and two lovely grand-children. We were treated to very good food, including mango ice cream! It was a very enjoyable way to end our visit to Bangladesh.

 

When we got back to the Y the tailor was waiting with the clothes (saris, salwar kameez) that many had ordered, and which needed to be packed into already overloaded suitcases. I think some of us will be shopping for an extra suitcase in India!

--
Ten Thousand Villages
371 Richmond Road & 1174 Bank Street, Ottawa - http://www.alternativetrade.com
~~ Shop fair trade - Your purchase makes a difference ~~

Last Day in Bangladesh

A slightly disappointing last day. We were supposed to spend the morning with Dhaka Handicrafts in their local office, then have the afternoon free. However, they decided to send us off to visit a small producer group off in the country ... a 3.5 hour drive each way ... about 4/5 of the way to Feni, which we had opted NOT to visit yesterday. And yes ... the drive was scary, with the buses being the most aggressive we've seen.

I don't have the name of the group with me, but we had less than an hour there and the information we were given seemed questionable. For example, they told us they had 10 men and 23 women artisans, but that was plainly not true, at least during our visit, as we only saw about half a dozen women.

We got back around 4pm, at which point they insisted we have 'lunch', so any shopping or other plans had to be cancelled.

Now we're all trying to get packed up for the flight to Kolkata in the morning. Suraiya should be here soon to take us to her house for dinner, so we're hoping for a more positive end to the day.

Tourist Time

This afternoon most of us were taken to see just a tiny bit of old Dhaka. We went to Lalbagh Fort, and interesting complex, peaceful and with beautiful gardens. We had a good view of some streets teeming with rickshaws.

Later we stopped to see the National Assembly and a mausoleum for a former president (still trying to find out more about this).

Late afternoon we did some shopping at Aarong, a well-known craft and clothing store on 4 floors - the business also supplies to Villages. We're told that the artisans are paid the same price for items sold locally, and it was encouraging to see how popular the store was.

We then enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Santoor, an excellent Indian restaurant that is highly recommended the next time you find yourself in Dhaka!

Time for bed. To Dhaka Handicrafts tomorrow morning...

Jobarpar Welcome

At each project in Agailjhara we were greeted with flower garlands and showered with flower petals.

Sanjita Halder, Jobarpar

Sanjita, aged 25, has worked for Jobarpar for 1 year. She was educated to class 10 but failed exams for secondary school so her parents arranged her marriage. Her husband had a small store which failed due to lack of business. After that they were very poor. They had a child, Ashimita, in 2004. Life was very hard.

Sanjita’s husband died in 2005 after falling from a tree. Sanjita discovered that her husband had taken out several loans, just for money to live on, and she inherited those loans, which will take a long time to pay back.

At Jobarpar, Sanjita works on cards and stars: cutting and assembling these products. She really enjoys working with a group of women who are so positive and energetic. She loves feeling that her work is worthwhile.

With the money she earns, Sanjita sends her daughter to school – she is currently in JK. The rest of the money goes to pay off the loans. They live with her parents. “My daughter is everything to me”, she said. “Without this job I could not live.” She hopes to provide the best education that she can for Ashimita.

She asks that we remember her when we are back in Canada, sell her products and place more orders so that she can continue to send her daughter to school and pay off the loans.

Interview by Ian

More pictures from Jobarpar:

Handmade paper drying in the sun

We were welcomed with a song.

Chaos while trying to reach the ferry on the way back to Dhaka.

Keya Palm

It was quite late when we got to Keya Palm, so we didn't have time for an interview. There was an emotional reunion between Pauline and Shova, who visited us in Canada a couple of years ago for workshops!

The women stayed late, which we felt a little bad about as they would have to walk home (some of them quite a distance) in the dark. However, it was another opportunity for us to learn about how they operate. Many of the women were carrying bundles of dyed palm back to their homes to work on products there.

Back at the guesthouse (below) we had some adventures with spiders and bats before retiring for the night!

Minita Rani & Shefali Mandal, Baghda Enterprises

When the group first began in 1982, there were only 18 women involved; today, it comprises 121 women working full-time and 110 women on a seasonal basis. For Villages, they make twine and an exfoliating cloth. Their biggest, and only, other customer, is Body Shop for whom they make a bath mitt.

Minita Rani is one of four chairwomen of this group which we visited in the district of Aguiljhara. She is 42 years old with a Class (Grade) 5 education. She told us that prior to working with Baghda, her family was extremely poor. She would collect wild lotus to feed her children and she could manage only one or two meals a day. Today her family can afford three meals each day thanks to her work. Her oldest son moved to Dhaka, her elder daughter is in Baghda college and her youngest is still in secondary school. Her husband is not employed.

Shefali Rani, 45, was one of the first women to join Baghda. At first, she found it difficult to work in the shop and find time to do her housework as well, but she has overcome all the difficulties and has been able to afford food, clothing, housing and education for her family of two sons and two daughters. She has been so successful that her sons, Gobinda and Goutom, and her daughters, Putul and Kaushum all hold PHDs. When Gobinda was old enough, he worked to pay to continue his own education and help his siblings.

When SIDR blew through in November, 2007, there was severe damage in the area. Houses and cattle were destroyed as trees. When they fell on ponds the fish were killed and a valuable source of food was lost.

Interview by Carell

More pictures from Baghda:

Walking through the village

The artisans of Baghda

Bangladesh has a nationwide surplus of photogenic kids!

Shelley Barua, HEED Handicrafts

Shelly Barua is a woman in her late 40s - When Anne started the interview with Minu, Shelly was just smiling to the group - Her smile was what caught my attention. I stand closed to her and started asking questions about her job. She is a cutting master working for Heen Handicrafts for 15 years and this has been her only job in her live - This organization own its building in Tongi in the industrial district of Gazipur, one hour from Dhaka by a terrible road with big holes.

Shelly attended to school and when she was in great 11 she got married. Love Love Love

She and her husband, Sujoy Barua, who works for a NGO, have a son, Shuvo, who is finishing the secondary school. He is 15 years old and is in grade 10. That was our point of connection, our kids. Both are the same age and are attending the same grade. So then I asked about her dreams and she said she did not have any – I opened my eyes and both laughed - I said, No? and she corrected herself and said, Yes, I dream about my job and I said, why, do you like it or you do not? And she said Yes, I dream about my job because with it I can send my son to the college – that is grade 11 and 12 in Bangladesh- She gave me two gifts and we had a great time along with …….. who was our translator. Both women understand a little bit of English and with my short knowledge of the language plus my strong accent, we had a fun time and great laugh for at least 15 minutes. The story will continue.

Interview by Isabel

More pictures from HEED:

Terracotta vases awaiting shipment

At HEED - in John's office

Minu Begum, Heed Handicrafts

Minu is 29 years old and came from a very poor family with 3 sisters and 2 brothers. Her father a general construction labourer could not afford to feed all of his family so he decided to marry off Minu to a very old man who already had a wife and child. Minu didn’t understand what was happening but at the age of 15 married this man and the following year she had a son. She was very happy to have a son. After 7 years of marriage her husband died leaving her with no rights to his family. So she was left alone and very poor. Now she must look for a job. An artisan friend told her to come to HEED. She had no education and skills but they took her and wanted to help her. Her first job was unpacking and packing product . Then she started observing the sewing jobs and became interested in that. HEED encouraged her to sew and that’s what she does now and loves it. Soon after she remarried to a younger man and now has a second son. She is very happy and is out of her ‘darkness’.

She has been with HEED for 10 years and feels she has much DIGNITY now. She mostly works out of the HEED building because the conditions there are better eg better lighting and more space but she can work at home too .She can also have her sons come there after school. She can pay her own expenses and sends her sons to school and eats 3 meals a day. She sees a bright future for her sons. She would actually like her sons come to Canada.

She would like to tell Ten Thousand Villages to order lots of product so she can have a lot of continued work and for the customers to buy lots. She thanks us all.

Interview by Anne

More pictures from HEED:

A scene in the countryside on the way to HEED

Dyeing Jute

Sayeeda Khatoon, Shova Handicraft

Hidden away in a maze of small alleys in the heart of Dhaka’s Mirpur neighbourhood is a very special building. It’s not significant for its size or construction, for it is merely a humble two story concrete and sheet metal box no different from all the others on the street. Its uniqueness comes from what lies within. This is the very heart of Shova Handicraft, a fair trade organization that provides employment for more than 50 women and gives the world beautiful hand-made cards expertly decorated with wheat straw.

Sayeeda Khatoon has been making wheat-straw cards for 27 years. She has seen the organization grow and change and she has changed with it. The 41-year-old mother of four started work with the Shova’s predecessor, Mirpur Wheat Straw Centre, and continued with the company through its metamorphosis into Shova.

After finishing her grade nine studies, Sayeeda got married as was expected of her. Her husband unfortunately could not provide enough through his work to support a family so at 16, Sayeeda started working herself. She found a supportive sister hood and an outlet for her creative aspirations. Now with two people bringing income into the home, life changed for Sayeeda.

Sayeeda’s face shone with pride and her smile said it all. She was earning enough to pay the school fees for her children and so her four children are in school. The pride of the family is 20-yeqr-old Razu, an engineering student at university. Sayeeda said her dream is for Razu to finish his studies and maybe go abroad and have a great job.

But Sayeeda’s dream does not stop with her son. She has plans for her 3 daughters as well. Mina, 23, is taking her high school graduation. Diva is in Grade 10 and 4-year-old Dina is learning English as it is spoken around her and looking forward to going to school. (Dina is the girl who's picture I posted earlier, holding the chocolate.)

Sayeeda will continue making cards for Shova. “I love making cards” she says with a smile. She explained that she usually works six hours a day and when there is a big order she will work seven days a week. With Mina’s help she can complete 25 cards in a day.

And what of little Dina? “She helps too,” Sayeeda says laughing. “She can do the punching.” (punching the very small pieces out of the flattened wheat straw using a mallet and a metal punch)

Over the year’s Sayeeda’s income has become more and more important to the family. “my husband is not very responsible,” she explained. “So I have taken on the whole responsibility for my family” Last year that responsibility included her extended family. Her sister and brother in law live in southern Bangladesh where, she says, “There is nothing.” After Cyclone Sidr they were left with less than nothing. Sayeeda was able to offer them help as she proudly says she was able to send them 3000 taka. This made her very happy and satisfied.

Sayeeda’s future is in her children, but she does not forget her past. When she thinks of talking to Canadians-the people who buy her cards-she would tell them about her family and how good their life is. And if it were not for this job Saeeda says, “If not for this opportunity, the kids would not go to school and we could not stay in this town We would have to go to south Bangladesh and we would have nothing.”

Interview by Sonia

Rest Day in Dhaka

We had a wonderful visit to two villages yesterday afternoon: Kathalia and Taltoli. Both create jute hammocks for Villages and other jute products for CORR. Unfortunately the drive back in the dark was possibly more scary than the drive back from Agailjhara, but we made it. As our original dinner plans were cancelled we jokingly said that we should order in pizza, and Dennis (our wonderful tour leader) made it happen ... and he even treated us to chocolate for dessert! We were very happy.

As we're not going to Feni today I'm going to get caught up on blog posts with pictures and stories - I'm sitting in the boardroom at Prokritee while the others are off shopping for clothes...

CORR Jute Works

Some of us were a bit surprised when we drove up to the CORR building this morning - it's big, modern, spacious ... and has an elevator! We soon learned that they are a huge organisation - they represent 4000 artisans, across 200 groups, and have 60 staff. They deal with a significant number of customers across the world (there are people from France and Italy also here today), and handle international shipping for Prokritee, HEED and many other local groups who don't have their own export license.

 

We have seen most of the building - the admin offices, quality control inspection, packaging, sample rooms etc. We saw some new products which should arrive in our stores later this year. Some products are finished here - terracotta products are whitewashed, jute angels are trimmed and packaged. There is a beautiful guesthouse where artisans can stay when the come to Dhaka ... and we're enjoying a lovely lunch here. Soon we'll head off into the countryside to visit some of their artisans.

 

The staff gave us great information about how CORR operates - they are a non-profit organisation 'marketing trust'. They have a 9-person board, of which 5 are elected by the artisans. They set money aside each year so that when an artisan retires or 'graduates' (decides to leave because they are self-sufficient) they receive a lump sum to help them establish themselves. The groups they work for also set money aside while they are working so they can receive some income at times when there are no orders. CORR also offers micro-credit loans to the groups.

 

I think we're all finding today a wonderful experience. We have seen some amazing places already, and they were all small local groups which do amazing work. But to see an entirely different side of fair trade in Bangladesh is very encouraging. This is really a business, not a charity or a project.

 

Time to head for the vans for more driving ...

--
Ten Thousand Villages
371 Richmond Road & 1174 Bank Street, Ottawa - http://www.alternativetrade.com
~~ Shop fair trade - Your purchase makes a difference ~~

Back in Dhaka

Not much time, so this is just to say that WE SURVIVED! The drive to / from Agailjhara is actually 7 hours on the scariest roads many of us have been on. Constant near-misses (it's a high speed game played with margins of fractions of inches ... we saw the tragic result of this in the form of a newly wrecked bus) and bone-rattling bumps (especially for those of us in the back of the bus!) meant it was physically very exhausting.

 

BUT ... the 4 projects we visited were so inspirational, positive and uplifting that it more than made up for the journey. We all feel very, very lucky to have been able to visit these wonderful artisans. We heard so many stories - some that make you weep, but others that fill you with hope - they all truly make the job we do come into full focus.

 

We've decided to cancel the trip to Feni tomorrow - it would just be way too much time on the bus, and the project there is very similar to ones we've already seen. Prokritee assure us that the artisans will understand.

 

In the morning I'll try to get caught up on the blog with artisan stories and pictures while the ladies go off to purchase salwar kameezes. Then we hope to explore old Dhaka.

 

Off to CORR Jute Works after breakfast...

--
Ten Thousand Villages
371 Richmond Road & 1174 Bank Street, Ottawa - http://www.alternativetrade.com
~~ Shop fair trade - Your purchase makes a difference ~~

Off to Agailjhara

We're up early this morning and will soon be on the road to Agailjhara to visit a number of artisans working with Prokitee. We came to the realisation that we'll be well fed during the day, so just had a small breakfast!

I think we're all looking forward to being out in the countryside - it's about a 6 hour drive, including a ferry ride.

MCC, Prokritee & HEED Handicrafts

This will be very short, as we just got back from a very long day which included 3 hours on vans travelling on roads best described as 'not yet completed' (or even started in some places).

It was interesting to learn about MCC's operations in Bangladesh from Larry Fisher. We presented him with a letter about the $22,000 we had raised towards Cyclone Sidr relief. It will be used to build approximately 70 houses in one of the worst-hit areas ... where other agencies had promised to work, but have not yet done so. The government is so impressed with MCC's work that they're now being invited to work in these neglected areas.

At Prokritee we learned from Sajid and Suraiya about how they are about to become a completely separate entity from MCC. I found it very moving to learn how the producers trust Prokritee to look after their interest, while we trust them with the same, and our customers trust us. It was great to make this connection.

MCC also fed us a wonderful lunch ... we're certainly not losing any weight on this tour so far!

HEED is located some way outside Dhaka and it was fascinating to see green rice fields, boats on the rivers, etc. Though we did witness some of the worst poverty along the way.

John told us a lot about the 11,000 artisans they have trained, and the 3500 they currently work with, then took us around the workshops to see cloth dyeing, weaving, quality control, packaging. We also paid a brief visit to one of the pottery workshops nearby.

Then we had another wonderful dinner, received very generous gifts from the staff at HEED, then made our way slowly and very bumpily back to Dhaka.

Off to Agailjhara early tomorrow morning, so no posts for a couple of days. I'll try to post much more about all of the above if I get computer time later in the week.

First day in Dhaka

A long flight from Heathrow saw us arrive in Dhaka at around 2am local time. It took a while to get through immigration, find our bags and change some money but we were finally able to meet the local MCC / Prokritee representatives who loaded our luggage into one van and us into another for the drive to the Dhaka YWCA.

To bed around 4am. Some of us slept, some of us didn't. Some of us found the switch for hot water for the shower, some of us didn't! Personally I slept very well, waking briefly at 6am to the morning chorus of crows and howling dogs, then snapped awake at 8am convinced there was a riot happening outside. The Y is tucked away on a side street, but there's a major intersection nearby. Quickly realised that it wasn't a riot, just the sound of life on the streets of Dhaka - constant car horns, rickshaw bells, whistles and shouts.

A good breakfast of omelette and toast then we had an exhilarating way to start the journey - by plunging into the noise, heat, crowds, dirt and whatever else can be found on the streets. A few of us wandered several blocks in either direction from the Y. To the east we came upon a market which was a feast for the senses. Great piles of lentils, rice, spices etc. Lots of chickens & ducks waiting to be purchased. Spectacular mounds of fruit. Fresh naan bread being plucked from the tandoor - I'll be back for some of that!

Lots of friendly greetings - we'd heard that Bangladeshi people are curious to meet foreigners. Understandly some poverty too, with many outstretched hands which are hard to ignore, but there's no way to put something in every single one.

We travelled from the world's 11th least densely populated country to the country with the 11th highest population density, with a significant percentage of it’s people concentrated in Dhaka which has grown from approximately 1million in 1971 to about 20million today. It’s a city that is constantly on the move. Driving around is quite the adventure, with endless honking of horns and tests of which driver has the most nerve before one of them eventually yields. The condition of many of the city buses would make you think there must be constant accidents, but we survived the day with only a few close calls.

Shova Handicrafts

Our first artisan visit this afternoon – to Shova Handicrafts, a group that employs approximately 50 women to make wheatstraw cards. (The cards themselves originate at other coops in Bangladesh.)

We were made very welcome and learned a lot about how they operate, and how they’ve benefited from the business relationship with Ten Thousand Villages. It was a very moving experience for us to directly learn what a difference it makes to their lives. I’ll post more in a future blog.

Shova treated us to a lovely lunch of spicy noodles and rice pudding, then presented us all with a gift of cards and flowers – such generosity from people who have so little. It was a great introduction to the hospitality of Bangladeshi people. A group of kids gathered to wave goodbye as we drove off.

Our host, Suraiya, then took us to see steps in the creation of saris, from weaving on hand looms, to decorating and retailing. The first two stops were in quite a poor part of the city, where we attracted significant attention and gathered a huge crowd of kids, all of whom wanted us to take their picture and to tell them our names. Unfortunately we also got to see kids the same age working on the decorative process. We were assured that they go to school in the morning, and the working conditions did seem relatively good, but it was a sobering reminder of how manufacturing works in this part of the world.

Most of us are very tired, so an early night for many, in preparation for a busy day with Prokritee tomorrow. The call to prayer is echoing from the minaret at the local mosque.

A couple more pictures from a fascinating first day!

Henna hands working with wheatstraw

A girl at Shova about to enjoy some fair trade chocolate from Canada!

We're on our way!

Our group met at Toronto Pearson airport mid-afternoon on Thursday, though we were saddened to learn that instead of 12, we are only 11. Farah was unfortunately not granted her visa in time to join us.

We're at Heathrow airport waiting for the flight to Dhaka. Fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, brownies, flapjacks all readily available in the airport!

Getting ready...

Five days to go and time to start preparing - wondering if everything will fit in my suitcase. Part of travelling light is not being afraid to take a knife to a $35 book! There's really no need to bring all 1200+ pages of a book the size of two bricks, when we're only going to 4 cities. In about 80 pages I've saved considerable weight, but have the sections on Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Agra, as well as the food and language information!

Weather forecast for Ottawa: snow, freezing rain then rain, followed by a flash freeze.

Weather forecast for Dhaka: 26 degrees and sunny.

This trip can't come soon enough!

Tickets! Visas!

There was much excitement amongst the tour participants yesterday and today as we started to receive packages from MTS Travel with our tickets and passports which had been sent for visa processing.

A life of travel has meant that I've always loved the simple act of getting a new stamp in my passport, though these days it's disappointing that most of the time the passport just gets swiped through an information reader. All the more exciting then, to have two full pages newly stamped, stickered, signed and stamped again with the various bureaucratic measures needed to visit parts of the world where bureaucracy rules!

Two weeks to go...

I'm sure every one is counting the days to departure now. We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our tickets, and the return of our passports which had been sent away for visa processing.

After two more snow storms in the past week, personally I'm currently of the opinion that the best thing about this trip will be not having to shovel snow for 3 weeks!

Now to experiment with posting pictures. Here's a map of Bangladesh... click to see a larger version.

As mentioned earlier, in addition to Dhaka, we'll be visiting smaller communities not shown on this map:

• Agailjhara which is in the south of the country (to the north-west of Barisal), and
  
• Feni, which is in the east (to the south of Laksham).