Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation

Tootli Rahman, one of the pioneer designers to uphold Bangladeshi heritage weaves, is very vocal in preserving our art forms. She set her preservation project in stone in a meeting on 12 May 2018, announcing that she will be establishing a foundation for the Bangladeshi weavers and cultural craftsmen.

Bangladesh's planning minister, AHM Mustafa Kamal was present, and Tootli Rahman conveyed her gratitude towards him for supporting her cause. US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Stephens Bernicat, graced the occasion and encouraged everyone who is a part of the foundation to never give up on this project.

The motto of the Bangladesh Heritage and Crafts Foundation is to provide proper livelihood for the craftsmen. And that will give them ample incentive to keep alive the practice of handloom and weaving. The foundation aims to preserve the fading heritage of our traditional nakshi kantha, pottery, brass, bamboo, jute, cane work etc. The pillars of the Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation are to work with, train and promote local weavers. The Foundation promises to be a consortium of shared ideas from other countries too, where people will learn about the diverse history of each other's craft heritage. It will be a platform to showcase the vast expertise of worldwide artisans.

In the meeting, Rahman announced that the foundation will open a small outlet in the near future, which will be called "Heritage Crafts."  She emphasises that the clothes will be of exclusive designer quality, but at a very affordable price. The meeting concluded with a short documentary by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury on our weavers.