TANGAIL craftsmen, specialising in weaving shitol patis (mats or spreads), are facing difficulties of late in keeping the age-old form of art alive.

The industry falters on the unavailability and increasing prices of raw materials, which is cane (pad bet), rising production costs and shrinking demand.

In addition, a lack of proper marketing facilities, government support and bank loans now leave the once lucrative industry on the verge of ruin.

Around 7,000 people from the Hindu community are engaged in the mat weaving industry in the district and most of them are from the Hinganagar village in Delduar upazila. Some people from Baghutia and adjacent villages in Kalihati upazila are also engaged in the craft.

The craftsmen produce different varieties and qualities of mats that are colourful and artistically woven with various designs. They also weave a certain special variety that is called the 'lai patar pati', which may be priced up to Tk 1,500. The cheapest variety, such as the 'bukai1, sells for Tk 150 a piece.

The mat is comfortable for use during the hot summer months. It is popular among people from all walks of life, all over Bangladesh.

The mat makers, however, say they do not see much profit coming in now as raw material prices, especially cane, and weavers' wages have gone up, forcing many traditional craftsmen to leave the profession.

Though cane is cultivated on 1,000 acres of land in Delduar and Kalihati upazilas, it has become difficult to meet demand for the item. Cane is first harvested four years after establishing a plantation and it may continue to be harvested through the next 60 years, craftsman Shushil Chandra De of Hinganagar village said.

After the cane is harvested from the fields, it is dried in the sun first. It is then tied in bundles and submerged in water for two days. The plant is then boiled and allowed to dry in the sun again.

Next, the fibre is separated from the cane plant. The first layer of fibre is the best in quality and is used to weave the 'lai patar pati', the highest quality of mat. The second layer is used to make bukai, the low quality mat, Shushil said.

To make a mat at a cost range of Tk 480, Parimol De of Hinganagar said a bundle of cane is needed that costs Tk 150. He has to pay Tk 150 in wages to workers who process and separate the fibre from the plant. Another Tk 30 is needed to purchase dye and other materials, he added.

"We usually sell a shitol pati for Tk 500 to Tk 520.”

Anil Chanda De, 80, another mat maker at Hinganagar village, said the demand for these mats was once very high and the prices also brought in profits.

But now, local mat makers are struggling to recover their production costs.

Housewife Rekha Rani De of the same village said all five members of her family are engaged in mat production. “Earlier, I could maintain the family easily with our earnings from mat weaving. But now, it has become difficult to do so with spiralling prices of all essentials.”

Ujjal De and Shunil De of Hinganagar, two former mat weavers, said they now run a groceries store as they failed to make a living from the trade.

The mat makers sell their mats at the local market, while wholesalers also come to their homes at times to make a purchase.

They say that even though summer has set in, mat sales at the local market in Hinganagar has not peaked yet. This is unlike the trend in the past.

Local wholesalers and traders from Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Narayanganj, Bogra, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Narsingdi and other places thronged the market in the past to purchase mats.

Wholesaler Saheb Al i of Keraniganj in Dhaka goes to Hinganagar to buy mats. He sells the mats at markets and shopping centres in Dhaka. "I make a profit of Tk 50 to Tk 200 by selling a single mat, depending on quality."

Wholesaler Saiful Islam of Narayanganj said the demand for the mat made from natural fibre has gone down recendy due to an influx of various other kinds of mats made

from plastic and inferior reeds, which are much cheaper.

However, local wholesaler Shunil Chanda De said the mats made from cane fibre are not only colourful, but also comfortable to use.

Mat maker Baloram De of Hinganagar said the financial situation of the craftsmen in the area has deteriorated. Many have even left the profession to make ends meet, while others are contemplating to do the same, he added.

As most of the villagers are poor, they are forced to take loans from local wholesalers, moneylenders or non-government organisations to hang on to the trade, he said.

They are eventually compelled to sell the mats at low prices in order to repay the debt, he added.

The government should take an initiative to save this traditional craft and provide bank loans to the craftsmen on easy terms, to save the industry from extinction, Baloram said.