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Literature review

The literature review presented in this paper summarizes theoretical and empirical studies

that provide the background for understanding the key aspects of handicrafts industry, rural

human resource development and its effects on the poverty alleviation aspect of Bangladesh

as a whole.

UNESCO, (1997) states that, artisanal products / handicrafts are those produced by artisans,

either completely by hand, or with the help of hand tools or even mechanical means, as long

as the direct manual contribution of the artisan remains the most substantial component of the

finished product.

ICCIM (2000) argues that handicrafts translate into part of a culture and industry that applies

local raw materials and hand tools to produce items that portray an artisan’s talent in a way

different from machine-made or mass-produced counterparts.

Studies/surveys conducted by the EPB and BANGLACRAFT (An association of Handicraft

producers and exporters) and ECOTA (Fair trade Forum) provide strong evidence in support

of this. In the light of these finding, it appears that the main markets for our Handicraft-

product are in gifts, house wares, home decoration, seasonal products, toys and personal

accessories. Handicraft industry is indeed a very encouraging factor. Existing workforce in

this sector is near about 4 million, most of whom have accepted the craft work as a means of

their livelihood.

Studies suggested that traditional Bangladeshi products which have made some dent in the

export market have the potential for increasing their market share significantly. These are

traditional decorative Jutes (muslin, Naksha kantha, jamdani), block printed, vegetable dyed

Jutes, artificial flowers, woven jute products, cane basketry, pottery, small leather goods

(wallets, purse, and belts), etc.

Besides, few national development plans currently include many explicit human resource

developments. Human resource development is dealt with sectorally in separate sections of

national planning documents and typically implemented by several agencies. There is

currently no single unified policy or plan for the development of human resources.

UNDP(1991) defines Human Resource Development as the policies and programs that

support and sustain equitable opportunities for continuing acquisition and application of skill,

knowledge, attitude and competencies which promote individual autonomy and are mutually

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beneficial to individual organization, the community of larger environment of which they are

part.

Handloom Literature review:

The handloom industry in Bangladesh is having a glorious past, questionable present and

confusing future. The art of weaving is perhaps as old as human civilization. Bangladesh can

proudly claim to have many branches of this ancient art, of which the best known and most

popular is the specialty Jamdani, which is one of the varieties of the famous Dhaka Muslin or

Mul-mul (Zohir, 1996). For over ten centuries, the Dhaka area has been renowned for this

fine fabric. So fine was its texture and quality that it was said to be woven with the "thread of

the winds" and the Greek and the Roman texts mention the "Gangetic muslins" as one of the

most coveted luxury items. Woven from superfine cotton or silk yarn, Jamdani fabric is

embroidered or inlaid on the loom with silk, gold and silver threads (Mandal, 1989). Over the

Years, the weavers simplified the designs making them more stylized and geometric.

Handloom products have shown decisive upward trend in the export market since 1972 and

Bangladeshi handloom products with their distinctive design and superior quality have

created a niche for themselves in overseas markets (Sobhan, 1989).

An international expert’s study reveals that the technical skill of the weavers of Bangladesh

is second to none in the handloom-producing world. So if we can build a platform for them,

it is possible to construct an ambitious future for this industry.

The Handloom industry is still a very important part of the textile industry of Bangladesh, is

responsible for a very high percentage of the nation's economy. As Handloom industry is the

Biggest handicraft industry in our country, it is the second largest source of rural

employment after agriculture (Ahmed, 1999). Though the employment opportunity in this

sector has been

Squeezed in the last 15 years, this sector is still offering employment to nearly 0.9 million

weavers in rural area (ADB, 2002). Moreover, in general near about 18 million people are

involved in this industry. Though there is a downward trend, this industry still has a

significant amount of share in our total cloth production. According to the data available in

June 2004, this sector contributes 24% in the total clothes production of Bangladesh.

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(Handloom Board, 2004) The product range of handloom is simply amazing and includes

Muslin Jamdani Sharees, Bedcovers, Bed sheets, Tapestry, Upholstery, Place mats, Rugs or

Blankets, Satranji, Crochet, Muslin, Tribal textiles, Silk fabrics, Sofa covers, Block Prints,

Table cloth and Napkins, Towels, Dusters, Kitchen towels, Gents, Ladies and Baby Wear and

Shirts, Punjabis, and other household linen in printed, plain or embroidered Khadi (Basu,

2001). This sector has a great potentiality to meet substantial requirements of fabrics in the

export oriented garments industry. One of the major problems in this case that is noteworthy

is inadequate distribution channel which is failing to match between demand and supply.

(News Today: Feb 2005; 10) But we have come to know that, this ancient and most

important cottage industry of Bangladesh is now on the way of extinction because of various

problems and barriers adjacent to this industry. Weavers in our country don’t get quality raw

materials at right time and at right price (Ahmed, 1999). Besides, Weavers are suffering from

inadequate contemporary technology and scarcity of working capital which are mandatory to

maintain the smooth flow of production (ADB, 2002). Although skills of our workers are up

to the expectation level, they are lagging behind in capturing the modern technology due to

lack of infrastructural support from the government (Sobhan, 1989).

So Above literature reviews denotes many works in Handloom and handicraft related

activities but this is the first time that I reported this topic.

Objectives of the study

The focused objective of this study is –

To identify the contribution of handicrafts industry in rural human resource development and

show how it will act as a means for the poverty alleviation of Bangladesh. To support the

main objective there are some other objectives. These are-

To find the contribution of Satranji handicraft industry to the rural human resource

development.

To find the contribution Satranji of handicraft industry to the poverty alleviation of

Bangladesh.

To provide recommendation for the development of Satranji handicraft industry as it

will in turn contribute to the development of rural human resource and poverty

alleviation.

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On the other hand this report will covering the structured questionnaire covered 9 key areas:-

Socio-demographic characteristics

Disability, chronic illness and health status of all household members

Cash loans

Household income and expenditure

Household food intake and food security

Gender and empowerment issues

The interview usually lasted between 45 and 60 minutes.

Study Area Selection:

Rangpur division became Bangladesh's seventh division on January 25, 2010. Before that, it

had been a district under the Rajshahi division.The Rangpur division consists of eight

districts namely: Rangpur Dinajpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Panchagarh,

Thakurgaon, and Lalmonirhat. There are 58 Upazilas under these eight districts and

Gangachara upazila is located under Rangpur district. My selection study area is

Radhakrishnapur union ward no 17, in Nishbetganj, which is situated under this Rangpur

City Corporation. This Upazila is more Beautiful because it is located near “Ghaghot” river

side area and mostly route level area and here women participation in different Satranji

Production activities and their socio-economic conditions cannot be overlooked due to

several problems .But day to day women wants to improve their socio-economic conditions

by these activities, Satranji Shilpa is a growing up industry, so it may vast industry in future,

this industry can eradicated the poverty of these, undeveloped region like as Rangpur, for

this reason this Report is done at Shataranji palli, Nishbetganj, Rangpur

Location of study area

Radhakrishnapur union is located under Nishbetganj in Rangpur City Corporation with an

area of 2.69 square kilometers. The area is bounded North-west: Mominpur, North-East:

Hajirhat East-North: Rangpur Bus Terminal, East South: Rangpur Cantonment, West:

Sampur, Rangpur. Satranji are mostly defined as "items made by hand, often with the use of

simple tools, and are generally artistic and for traditional in nature Satranji palli is a Satranji

Handicraft community in Rangpur District at Nishbetganj near the “Sena-Proysah Binodon

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Park” In front of Rangpur Badarganj high way. This place is about 5 k.m far from the

Rangpur City, the geography of this place is so much charming and favorable to set up a Jute

Satranji Handicraft industry. It is situated in beside of “Ghaghot” River

Geographical Location:

The soil composition of Nishbetganj, Rangpur is mainly alluvial soil (80%) of the Teesta

River basin, and the remaining is barind soil. The temperature ranges from 32 degrees

Celsius to 11 degrees Celsius, and the annual rainfall averages 2931 mm.

Latitude and Longitude: 25.7333° N, 89.2500° E

Basic information of study area

Title Information

Ward 17

Upazila Rangpur City Corporation

District Rangpur

Division Rangpur

Distance from district Sadar 5 kilometers west

Relative location

North-west: Mominpur,

North-East: Hajirhat

East-North: Rangpur Bus Terminal,

East South: Rangpur Cantonment,

West: Sampur, Rangpur.

Area

2.69 square kilometers.

Population

Total number of population is 7808, where

number of male is 4,182 and female is

3,626.

River Ghaghot, Teesta

Soil Alluvial soil, more fertile land

Climate Temperate, Hot,: In summer

Mostly Foggy: In winter

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Justification of Study Area Selection

The overall approach of area selection is to use a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and

supervisors with experience in conducting micro and macro level socio-economic evaluation

studies and preparation of analytical study reports. The emphasis is given on:

Development of an effective work plan for execution of the assignment.

Efficient and effective process for collection of necessary and relevant information

based on both desk research and field studies.

Innovative approaches and smooth co-ordination to achieve the desired results.

Using specialist resources and information gathered for the study to reach an

authentic assessment of status of the Satranji palli people Satranji Handicraft sector in

the proposed states. While fabricating analytical framework to bring effectiveness of

the study following are the key components of the analytical frame work followed for

this study.

Socio -demographic characters: These characters in terms of family composition, sex ratio,

marital status occupational pattern, literacy rate were studied. These characters are found to

be necessary in view of spare spread of Satranji palli population in the remote villages with

and without communication facilities. The results would reveal the need for necessary

changes by the executing agencies.

Income structure: Income structures are examined in terms of activity wise composition of

family income. Family income was estimated from farms business and non-farm business

like income from handi-Satranji, income from hand loans, wage income, income from

service.

Infrastructure and Institutional development: These two aspects were studied to assess

their impact in terms of improvement of the living standards of the Satranji palli people

households. Infrastructure facilities like road communication, draining water, sanitation, type

of dwelling units, and institutional facilities in terms of market outlets, training procurement

of raw materials. These facilities demonstrate the living condition of Satranji palli people

households. The whole methodology and approach was adopted keeping in view the Satranji

palli people households involvement in producing Satranji palli people Satranji Handicraft of

different varieties and are covered in the light of the objectives envisaged for the study.

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Figure: Satranji Palli Limited, Rangpur

Figure: Satranji Palli Workshop, Rangpur (Selected area)

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Figure:Selected Area map of Bangladesh

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Figure: Map of Selected area

Figure: Map of Selected area