The cottage industry losing momentum

If one visits slums in Dhaka, one will find talented craftsmen like weavers and potters. They are now day-labourers or beggars. These people had been in their ancestral professions upholding the thousand-year-old tradition. But plastic and aluminium products have now left them out of work. Thirty per cent of about 15 million population in Dhaka city migrated from the rural areas in the recent past. But unlike many other Third World cities this influx was not accompanied by industrialisation.
The production of pottery is one of the most ancient arts. The oldest known body of pottery dates back to the Jomon period - from about 10,500 to 400 BC - in Japan. And even the earliest Jomon pottery exhibited the unique technique and design. In the New World many pre-Columbian American cultures developed highly artistic pottery traditions. The Indian sub-continent, including Bangladesh, was also famous for pottery. The customs and practices of rural life inspired artisans to create and recreate objects of play, of worship, and of utility. To suit the immediacy of their needs they used cheap and readily available materials such as clay, wood, brass, bamboo etcetera.
From the very beginning of our Bangalee culture, clay pottery has represented our identity and lifestyle. The artisans' works include making clay-pots, earthen ware, toys of clay and different images of Hindu gods and goddesses. But it is now regrettable that in recent time, especially in the last few decades potters had been in distress. Because of the unavoidable factors like clay, lack of capital, unsatisfactory sale of clay pots, lack of fuel wood for burning raw pots they are now in peril. Earthenware and fashionable things of clay are being rapidly supplanted by aluminium, plastic, steel and other alternative materials. Even toys for children are being made with plastic, wood and cloth.
Besides, so-called prestigious people never tend to buy earthenware thinking of their image and status. But it is admitted everywhere that cooking-pots of clay is more conducive to health than pots of silver or other materials; rice cooked in clay-pots help cure gastric problems. And earthen pitchers keep water cool in hot days. Another cause for not selling clayware is its brittleness. In spite of being cheaper than aluminium or plastic-made pots, clay-pots are not being sold that much. Thus potters have to survive with negligible earnings.
Health hazards are caused by modern household articles. Use of plastic bottles can cause cancer.  A research on repeated use of plastic bottles conducted by Australia-based Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines Staff said many users were unaware of poisoning caused by reuse of plastic bottles. The findings, which were circulated recently in the UN bodies, said that some users might be in the habit of using and reusing disposable mineral water bottles and keeping them in the cars or at work. The researchers suggested that it was not a good idea to use plastic bottles more than once as the plastic called polyethylene terphthalalate or PET used in these bottles contain a potential carcinogenic element, a cancer-causing chemical agent. Earthenware is safe.       
One of the reasons why our standard has fallen is because the rural artisans have difficulty in marketing their products. In Rajshahi where 'Shokh hari' was once pervasive, it is now confined to a few solitary houses. Similarly, the makers of blankets from lamb's wool are not active as before and now take up other means of income-generating sources. The rural craftsmen have abandoned their professions due to the lack of demand in the market. Even those who are involved in a 'sholar' craft making birds and other items are facing problems. The craftsmen got the materials for free before but now the landlord are charging them a fee for the raw materials.
Of the indigenous Bangalee art forms, pata-chitra or scroll paintings stand apart because of subjects, vibrant colours, unique lines and the style of presentation. In ancient times, before paper was introduced, artistes used to paint on thick cotton fabric. Usually mythical or religious stories were the themes. However, in the course of time contemporary issues, animals and many more found their place in these paintings. In scroll paintings, a choir narrates a story. Most of the paintings illustrate myths, episodes from the Purana, Ramayana; some feature animals and imaginary monsters. The paintings have several sections so as to maintain a sequence.
Rural Bangladesh had a thriving tradition of making dolls and toys from different indigenous materials. Two specimens collected by BSCIC, Dhaka, are the head of a tiger and the head of an elephant. One interesting relic has been found in Comilla - it is a design done on terra cotta.
A large number of blacksmiths in the country have been facing manifold problems for a long time. Price-hike of raw materials, lack of patronage by the relevant authorities and the shortage of fuel are some of the problems the blacksmith community has been facing. Blacksmiths were not getting fair prices for the tools made by them despite hard labour. The demand for their products has fallen due to easy availability of machine-made tools. They had no scope to expand their business due to dearth of capital. Banks do not provide loans to them. So, they are totally dependent on the moneylenders, from whom they cannot borrow money due to the high rate of interest.
The traditional jewellery business is also now facing a tough competition. Many of the shops are buying substandard readymade jewellery from Dhaka and selling those locally and because of this, costumers are losing faith in the producers. Some of the jewellers whose proprietorship has been passed down the family for the past seven or eight generations are facing serious trouble. About the present condition of this profession they say that the goldsmiths are not surviving, as they are not adopting modern technology and new fashions because of lack of capital, non-cooperation from financial institutions and the lack of any government and non-government assistance. Similar is the case with other cottage industries like bamboo crafts, metal casting, brass, satranji, shakha etcetera.
In the textile sector, over 10 million people are reportedly employed by the handloom industry, which meets nearly 50 per cent of the country's fabric requirement. It accounts for 65 per cent of textile production. Value addition by the handloom sector, according to one estimate, stands at Tk 10 billion. The handloom industry meets the bulk of the common people's requirements for saris, lungis, bed sheets and the like.
If developed, the handloom industry can create jobs in the countryside. Besides, the handloom products can be exported. Lungis, gamchas, caps, bed sheets, bedcovers etcetera, produced by handloom factories are exported to the Middle East and South East Asian countries. 'Grameen check' is increasingly used to make apparels for exportable readymade garments (RMG). Handloom-spun fabrics have been a substitute for the previously imported fabrics for RMG units. The handloom factories can add further value to the RMG sector, and the domestic and foreign markets. But due to lack of support, 37.6 per cent of the handlooms all over the country are not operational.
Smuggling in Indian fabrics poses a threat toS the domestic sector. The authorities should not allow illegal marketing of the fabrics imported for the RMG sector. A recent media report says about 70 per cent of the handlooms have been closed down in Narsingdi district which was, once known as the Manchester of Bangladesh for its exquisite handloom textiles. It is now a shadow of what it once had been. In addition, replacement of the labour-intensive handloom factories by power looms created an unemployment problem.
Thus the cottage industry of Bangladesh is losing the momentum.
The writer is a retired Professor
of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.
[email protected]