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CHT: Living off handicrafts

JASiM MAJUMDER, Khagrachhari
Handicraft business is gaining popularity in 25 upazilas of the Chittagong Hill I tacts (CHT) as the trade proves to be profitable.
At least 500 handicraft centres are selling products worth Tk 15-50 lakh a day, fetching hefty' profits mainly for the local indigenous population.
According to businesses in the area, they can easily mark 30 percent of sales turnover as profit as they sell products that are high in" quality.
Traders from Chittagong. Rangamati, Bandarban and Comilla come to Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban to buy local handmade products. The other buyers are tourists.
Handicraft businessmen said the centres have become shelters for the unemployed men and women in the area.
Ratna Tripura, a seller of Bayon Textiles in Khagrachhari bazar, told The Daily Star that the centres are trying to boost local demand, besides exports.
"Most of our products are made by local indigenous people. The business is helping them become financially independent," she said.
Officials with Bangladesh Small Cottage Industry Corporation in Khagrachhari district said about one lakh indigenous people from 500 villages weave items, including lungi, gamchha. scarf, khaddar, sari, pinon. thami, bedsheet, shawls and decorative pieces.
There are around 60 handloom-textile enterprises, with another 5,000 waist looms in the homes of indigenous people in CUT, according to Bangladesh Small Cottage Industry Corporation.
The indigenous people collect cotton from at least (50 local markets in the three hill districts -Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban. They use looms made of local bamboo and wood to weave fabrics.
Thousands are directly or indirectly dependent on this business. A major part of the demand for the products in the area is also met by the industry.
Konika Chakrna, a fabric weaver from Perachhara in Khagrachhari. said she earns Tk 1,100 on average for every 12 hours of continuous work. A couple can Tk 15,000 a month from this trade, she added.
Many families are able to make a fixing by weaving, said
Dr Sudin Kumar Chakma, a retired principal of Khagrachhari Government College.
“Tradition is what guides the people of this area. It has
given them financial stability and they are able to live in peace," hesaid.
Khagrachhari Hill District Council Chairman Ruhity Karbary said at least 13
minor indigenous communities, including Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Rakhain, Tanchangya, Khumi, Banjughi, Chak and Bome, are involved in the business.
"If the government patronises this sector, the hand-icraft business could become the most important sector in the Chittagong Hill Tracts," hesaid.