Chapainawabganj nakshi kantha industry takes a hit from pandemic

Rejina Anwar, owner of Adiba Boutique House in Chapainawabganj New Market, has been involved in the nakshi kantha (embroidered quilt) business since 2009, but she never suffered like she has since the pandemic hit the country.  

Rejina told The Business Standard, "I have never seen such a slump before. Usually under normal circumstances, my sales amount to Tk1.3-1.5 crore a year, but currently it doesn't approach Tk15 lakh."

Others in the nakshi kantha industry of Chapainawabganj have suffered similarly since Covid-19 hit the country. Normally, nakshi kantha traders sell products worth Tk110-120 crore annually, but last year their sales hardly amounted to around 10-15 crore taka. Traders say sales dropped by around Tk100 crore that year.

With such poor sales amid the pandemic, about 50-60% of people working in this sector have lost their jobs and means of livelihood.

This sector falls in the SME category, but none of the affected entrepreneurs has received the incentives announced by the government. About 90% of the entrepreneurs have bank loans and are struggling to pay back their bank loans, shop rent, and workers' salaries. 

According to the Chapai Nakshi Kantha Association, about 60,000 workers work in about 300 production units in the district, of which 95% are women. About 4 lakh people are directly and indirectly involved in this sector. 

Under normal circumstances, artisans in the district produce about seven lakh nakshi kantha annually, but last year they produced only around 1.4 lakh pieces, sales being poor. 

Due to the lack of demand amid the pandemic, produced goods remained unsold for two-three months. 

Sales drop with declining demand 

Rejina said, "Earlier I used to receive orders from all over the country. But currently the volume of orders is not even 10-15% of what I got before. I'm struggling just to pay off bank loans and workers' salaries."

Another affected entrepreneur is Raushan Ara Bijli. Since an early age, Raushan Ara's dream was to do something for the poor and also gain self-reliant financial independence. She started "Swapnapuri Nakshi Kantha Ghar" in 2002 with working capital of only Tk10,000 and was one of the four or five early entrepreneurs in the district. Before Covid-19 hit the country, she was the source of income for about 500 women.

She told TBS, "I have lost about Tk1 crore in the pandemic so far. Under normal circumstances, I produced about 7,000 nakshi kantha a year. But as demand went down in the pandemic, we could hardly produce 500-600 nakshi kantha last year."

She said, "Before the pandemic, around 500 root level seamstresses worked for me. But currently, I cannot give work even to a hundred people and have to turn away many poor female workers every day." 

Urmita Begum (43), one such seamstress, used to make nakshi kantha for various showroom owners and big entrepreneurs on a contract basis before the pandemic hit. 

"Before Covid-19 started, I earned at least Tk6,000-8,000 a month. A big share of my family's income came from my earnings. I could support my parents as well as my children with that income, but now I'm jobless because of Covid-19," she told TBS. 

"I've been asking many people for work, but have failed to get any. Showroom owners are also not able to give any work as there are no sales," she said.

Afsana Khatun, general secretary of the Chapai Nakshi Kantha Association, told TBS, "The booming business collapsed due to Covid-19 and our sales are very low this year. No entrepreneur has received any incentive from the government. Small entrepreneurs in this sector are helpless and hardly able to manage workers' salaries, shop or showroom rent, and bank loans."

Taharima Begum, president of the association, told TBS, "The government should pull this rural industry out of the slump and ensure that incentive money reaches the affected entrepreneurs."

"They should also arrange low-interest and unsecured bank loans for the nakshi kantha industry.  Furthermore, the government should take steps to aggressively publicise and market these products at home and abroad," she said.

"People in this sector have got this far almost exclusively on their own initiative. If the government nurtures it like other SME sectors in preparation for the 4th Industrial Revolution, it is possible to employ about 10-12 lakh people in the next 10 years and spread the industry across the country," she continued.

"It will also pave the way for the economic emancipation of the country's destitute, helpless, and unemployed women," she added.

SME Foundation Managing Director Md Mofizur Rahman, "The sector has really suffered a lot amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The entrepreneurs in this sector did not receive any incentives in the first phase as we could not contact them on time," he told TBS. 

"However, this sector has been included in a plan for distribution of Tk200 crore in incentives this fiscal year," he said.

Chapainawabganj nakshi kanthas are different from ones made in other parts of the country. Five of the most famous nakshi kanthas made in the district are: lahari kantha, sujni kantha, lik kantha, carpet kantha, and chhoptan kantha.

Before 2010, there were only 30-40 nakshi kantha entrepreneurs in Chapainawabganj, but now there are 300 traders in this sector there. The sector has created employment opportunities for women from all walks of life, but now more than half of them are unemployed due to the pandemic.  

Usually the price of nakshi kantha ranges from Tk1,000 to Tk3,000. Due to lack of promotion, the Chapainawabganj nakshi kantha is not being exported directly abroad, said people involved in this sector.