Masks from garment scraps: Rural women earning a living amidst the pandemic

When the countrywide school closure notice due to the Covid-19 outbreak was announced on March 17 this year, Johora Pervin and Abdullah Al Maruf -- both teachers -- lost their livelihoods and the income they needed to maintain their family of five in Rajbari.

They stopped receiving salaries from the school for differently abled children they worked at in Pangsha upazila of Rajbari.

Last month, however, Johora learnt to produce face masks, alongside around 500 women from seven districts -- Rajbari, Jamalpur, Kushtia, Magura, Gazipur, Narayanganj, and Dhaka.

At a time when informal sector jobs have all but disappeared leaving so many unemployed, a byproduct of the pandemic has led to livelihood opportunities for some rural women who are making biodegradable, reusable face masks from garments factory scraps.

What the women are making are called Ella masks, a product of ELLA (Eco-friendly low-cost liquid absorbent) Pad, an award-winning social enterprise known for reusing high-quality textile scraps from export-oriented garments factories to produce reusable sanitary napkins for RMG workers at an affordable price.

"We are provided with the garment scraps. Our cutting masters cut the scraps according to the pattern provided by Ella. And then we stitch the masks on our own," said Johora.

She has been making around 100 masks a day from the scraps and getting Tk 4 per mask. "The amount is way better than the salary I would get through teaching."

"My husband has been coordinating the process here -- collecting the scraps, arranging additional materials, and sending the ready masks to the capital," she added.

Like Johora, three other teachers of a local private school and a madrassa and six homemakers in her area are earning around Tk 400 a day through this initiative.

According to the organisation, Ella masks are standardised as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Mamunur Rahman, founder of ELLA Pad, said the organisation has been trying to develop a new supply chain for the women manufacturing the masks.

"We are connecting them with different institutional buyers. For instance, officials of the US Embassy and UN agencies such as UNFPA, UNDP, UNIDO, and UNCDF, are currently purchasing their masks, while USAID is also planning to buy through bulk orders. ELLA is just working as a matchmaker," said Mamunur.

The women of Jamalpur have been deluged by orders.

Currently, 30 micro female entrepreneurs of Mouchak Mohila Unnayan Sangstha, a national award-winning organisation in Melandaha upazila, have been producing Ella masks since April and making a significant contribution to their household incomes.

Nazma Akter, for example, has been sewing around 100 masks a day, while also doing her regular household chores.

"I even make masks on Fridays, as my husband who is a construction worker has been idle since the shutdown. If I didn't have this gig, it would have been difficult for us to survive during that time," she said.

"By dint of these masks, I was able to afford private tuition for my two children, as they were at home without lessons since schools closed."

Earlier, Nazma would earn some income from making handicraft clothes where she would get around Tk 350 for a three-piece suit -- but one would take around 10 days to make.

She stopped receiving any orders during the shutdown, when there was less demand for clothes.

"Now, I'm hopeful that I can support my family until things get back to normal," said Nazma.

Sahera Akter from Melandaha has also been earning some extra bucks from making masks, alongside her regular job as a trainer at a local social organisation.

"I usually work at my office from 9:00am to 2:00pm. In the afternoon, I start making masks at the Mouchak Mohila Unnayan Sangstha's factory, and bring back some scraps for stitching at night using my own sewing machine," said Sahera.

Shamsul Alam, Ella mask coordinator at Melandaha and the founder of the Mouchak Mohila Unnayan Sangstha, said they try to involve women who lack financial independence.

Earlier, these women would do handicraft work on nakshikantha, three-piece suits, two-piece suits, and bedsheets, through which they would receive a small amount for their weeklong labours, said Shamsul.

"It takes around 15 days for two women to stitch a nakshikantha and they get a remuneration of around Tk 1,500-2,000 altogether.

"However, in mask-making, they are earning Tk 400 each day, without any additional expenses or hassle. We usually collect the scraps from factories in Gazipur and Narayanganj, and they just do the manufacturing," said Shamsul.

Currently, Mamunur is aspiring to diversify the products from the garment scraps, once the demand for masks slows down -- into home textile items for one. This way, these women will continue to have regular employment, even beyond this time of crisis.