Age-old bamboo artisanship tradition lives on

In Rishipara, a family is hardly a family if at least some of its members aren't engaged in making bamboo goods. From morning until evening, year-round, the area in Ityah village, in Kishimnagar union of Jessore's Monirampur upazila, is busy with artisans from around two hundred families hard at work. Dali, topa, khalai, kula: trays and baskets of all sorts, for household and agricultural use, are crafted. The traditional cottage industry has spanned many generations.

“My parents worked with bamboo and cane,” says Sri Dipak Kumar. “Now there are five people in our family, including my wife and daughter, who do the same. Demand for bamboo wares may have reduced a little in general, due to competition from plastic and aluminium products, but with burgeoning vegetable, rice and fish cultivation across the region, demand for vessels designed for agriculture has increased.”

The peak fishing season is particularly busy, when fish basket sales are robust. Then, the villagers hardly need take their wares to market. Buyers arrive with regularity at their doorsteps.

“Bamboo, our raw material, is more expensive than it was,” Sri Dipak notes, “but it hasn't caused us great harm since the selling prices for our finished products have kept pace.”

“I learnt to make bamboo items from watching my husband,” says another local, Mamta Rani. “At my father's house they also do it, but before marriage I never learnt. At first I used to end up with swollen hands and feet by the end of the day but it's not a problem anymore. To make a basic wedding tray costs about Tk 1.5 in bamboo; it sells for around Tk 6.”

The traditional craft isn't only a livelihood. It's also a social activity. Residents often sit together in the shade while preparing bamboo strips and weaving. They chat, watch TV or listen to songs on their mobile phones as they work. Whole families are often involved, with youngsters keen to participate when they arrive home from school. It's unsurprising when bamboo artisanship is moreover a sentimental link to their ancestry.

“All the families in Rishipara have at one time or other relied on making bamboo goods for a livelihood,” says the chairman of Kishimnagar union council, GM Ahad Ali. “It's hardly possible for anyone to be idle. But the industry lacks capital. If the government promoted small interest loans through local banks they could do even better. Already many families are self-sufficient, day to day, thanks to crafting bamboo.”