FROM Water-Hyacinth is regularly producing a variety of eye-catching products that are very affordable, good quality and environment-friendly in Pabna’s village, so the demand for these products is constantly increasing in the country and abroad. The concerned of the industry said that earn about Tk 2 crore from these products’ a per year.

Many women of various village including college and school female students are becoming economically independent due to involvement in this industry.

Some 60 to 70 male and female workers are working in this exceptional water-hyacinth industry at Santhia in Pabna, most of them are female workers. About 3 hundred families of 15 villages have already been provided employment under this industry.

As it is a high quality and environment friendly product, the product is now exported to at least eight countries in Europe and America, earning about two crore taka per year.

It can be seen by going to the factory, such a cottage industry has been developed by the couple Jaytun Khatun-Rafiqul Islam of Rasulpur village under Khetupara union of Santhia upazila in Pabna where every day from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm production and sale of products. 20 types of products including tubs, vases, buckets, rugs, trays, fruit baskets, egg containers, paposhes, wraps, hats, mirror frames, dining table mats are made from hyacinth.

Workers get a wage of Tk 40 to Tk 100 for making flower tubs of different sizes. They deposited making products to the factory after some sit in the factory and some work at home.

The workers earn an average of Tk 400 to 500 in a day from transporting and drying garbage.

It can be seen on the surface, people of 15 villages including Jagannathpur, Haturia, Nakalia, Ghughudah, Gaurigram, Dopmajgram, Dhatalpur, Kshetupara, Miapur, Bahalbaria, Baniabach, Gangohati on Santhia and Bera upazilas come to sell hyacinth every day in this cottage industry. An average of 50 to 60 maunds of raw and 5-7 maunds of dried water-hyacinth are bought and sold per day. Raw hyacinth is sold at Tk 100 to Tk 120 per maund and dried at Tk 1,800.

The couple’s water-hyacinth products are sold to ‘BD Creations’, a handicrafts exporter. They also supply these products and scraps to a factory in Khulna, where paper, paper dolls, notebooks, one-time gas-plates are being manufactured from scraps.

Zaitun Khatun said, ‘My father-in-law used to trade in cane at my husband’s house. My husband also started this business. Then three years ago came to mind that rattan goods cost a lot. After that, the interest to know and see why people do what they do, how they do it increases.

I went with my husband to BD Creation in Dhaka. We went there and saw various products being made from hyacinth. We are also interested in doing this. Then three masters from BD Creation came to our village and taught us by hand. Then we involve the village women in this work. At present, 30-40 women are working to make handicraft products using hyacinth. At present we are making and selling 10 types of products. About Tk 30 to 40 thousand per month excluding expenses.

He said, my future plan is we want to take it far. But I can’t go ahead due to financial crisis. Working with high interest loans from NGOs does not make much profit. If the government gives us a loan at low interest, then we can provide employment to at least 2 thousand women in the village.

Rafiqul Islam said, the idea of making handicraft products from rattan comes to mind. BD Creations is assisted with us. But financially it is very difficult to do on a large scale because the work has to be done by investing money on the basis of orders from the company. In that case, the loan taken from the None-Government Organization (NGO) does not have much profit due to carrying a lot of interest. So, if the government cooperates with us, then many people in the area will get work.

Needless to say, many have brought prosperity to the family by selling soft drinks and making products. Of them, many school-college students are also able to continue their expenses and study expenses by doing this work.

Intaj Ali, a residence of Dhatalpur village, Nazmul Mia of Miapur village and Mojibur Rahman of Baniabach village in the upazila said that they sell water-hyacinth for Tk 800 to Tk 1,200 per day.

Handicraft worker Khushi Khatun, a student of Pabna Government Edward College and Sumaiya Khatun, a seventh-grade student of Miyapur High School, said that whenever we get time between studies, we can continue to pay for my education, hand expenses and clothes with the money we earn by making hyacinth products.

Majia Khatun of Rasulpur village, Akalima Begum, Doly Khatun of Gangarampur village told this correspondent that we can earn from Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,500 a week by doing this work. It has now brought some comfort to the husband’s needy family.

Santhia Upazila Women’s Affairs Officer Alamgir Hossain said, since we have a lending system, if the couple Zaitun Khatun-Rafiqul applies to us, then we can give them a loan with a service charge of Tk 2.5% percent. We have also been decided to propose a project around this cottage industry. So that more women of the village can be involved in this work.

Mahbub Alam, Senior Manager (Operations) of BD Creations said, “Since 2020, we started making handicraft products from water-hyacinth. By the end of that year Zaitun-Rafiqul couple was working with us. We are proud to be with them.

Abdur Rahman Ashiq, the leader of BD Creations, said that by buying and processing dried hyacinth, they make all attraction products. Eight countries are exporting the manufactured products of hyacinth. We are discussion going on with some other countries. Now these eco-friendly products worth about Tk 2 crore are being exported every year. These eco-friendly products worth about Tk 2 crore are being exported every year.