Sirajganj backwater turns into blanket-making hub

Taravanu Begum, a middle-aged woman in Paikartoli village in Sirajganj's Kazipur upazila, lost her homestead to river erosion and was compelled to take shelter at the flood protection embankment area a few years ago.

Her husband is a physically challenged man so they had endless suffering. When the family was struggling to make ends meet, a few relatives inspired Taravanu to sew blankets with old clothes as it has demand among the poor.

Taravanu did not have enough money, so she turned to a blanket trader, who lent her an electric sewing machine. She started sewing blankets at her home immediately.

Since then, the family has not had to look back.

Currently, she, along with her family members, now works from home and makes 10 to 12 blankets from old cloths every day. The blankets are sold in the Shimuldair Bazar blanket market in Kazipur, earning the family Tk 500 to Tk 600 daily.

"Blanket-making from old cloths has brought solvency to my poor family," Taravanu said.

Anjana Begum, a resident in Shimuldair village, also started sewing blankets from the wastage clothes a few years ago. After carrying out all the household chores, she can make three to four blankets a day that fetches her Tk 200 to Tk 300.

She often buys garment waste from the Shimuldair market and makes blankets at her home and sells them in the market.

Like Taravanu and Anjana, there are around 30,000 blanket makers, most of them female, who make the product from old garments in Shimuldair, Kunkunia, Borshivanga, Shampur, Goraber, Maizbari, Chaltidanga, Meghai, Nayapara, Gandhail and 25 to 30 other villages in four riverbank erosion-hit unions in Kazipur, bringing solvency to their poor families.

In the past, erosion-hit people and people living in the char areas were used to making blankets for their own use. Now they make blankets to sell in the market.

Around 300 traders are also involved in the business.

"There are thousands of home-based workers who are making blankets from garment waste and we are selling them across the country," said Md Abdul Latif, a trader.

"Each blanket is being sold at Tk 100 to Tk 170 while the poor and the lower-income people being the majority customers."

Latif said he is selling 400 to 500 blankets across the country from Shimuldair Bazar, where several thousand blankets are being sold every day as winter has hit the country.

The making of blankets from old clothes at household levels began at Shimuldair Bazar a decade ago. Today, Kazipur is the only place in Bangladesh where such blankets are produced.

Md Sohel Rana, one of the top blanket traders in the Shimuldair blanket market, says 15 to 16 factories in Shimuldair Bazar make around 25,000 to 30,000 pieces of blankets every day during the peak winter season.

He established a blanket-making factory in Shimuldair Bazar five years ago.

"Now, 21-power-run sewing machines are used to produce 2,000 to 2,500 pieces of blankets a day. We are selling blankets at Tk 300 to Tk 1,200."

The middle-income groups buy blankets in the range of Tk 450 to Tk 500, he said.

Narayanganj is the country's largest blanket-producing hub. Sirajganj's Kazipur is second-placed in the blanket making business.

As the blanket business has thrived in the upazila, many people have got new job opportunities while more than 30,000 people are involved in the trade.

Md Sumon Hossain, a weaver, lost the business he inherited many years ago and became jobless. Now he works at a blanket-making factory.

"Now I am happy to earn Tk 500 to Tk 600 a day," he said, adding that each worker can easily sew 200 to 250 pieces of blankets a day using an electricity-run machine.

During a visit to Shimuldair Bazar, it was found that many students and people of various ages are working in blanket-making factories.

Md Abu Taher, president of the Shimuldair Bazar Association, said at least 30,000 blankets are supplied daily across the country from Shimuldair Bazar during the winter season. During normal times, it stands at 2,000 to 3,000.

Small entrepreneurs have created job opportunities for thousands of people in the riverbank erosion-hit upazila, and if they get financial support from the government, the blanket business may expand, said a number of traders.