Fultera Begum's Shital Pati and Bamboo-Cane Crafts

About

Fultera Begum of Lakshmibaur village in Noarai union, Chhatak upazila, has been making and selling shital pati mats, hand fans and stools (mora) from bamboo and cane at home for about twenty years, with her only daughter Achuma Begum as her main helper. After her husband Intaj Mia died she began weaving mats with her daughter, and other products followed; the income supports the two of them. She buys murta cane from village homes or the haat, prepares and dyes the strips, and mother and daughter weave three kinds of mat: for beds, for prayer and for sitting. A large mat takes about a week; mats sell for Tk 200 to Tk 1,200, with patterned ones costing a little more. She can make three or four hand fans a day, which sell for Tk 100 to Tk 300, and also makes bamboo baskets and fish traps (chai). She sells at the village haat, some buyers come to her home, and many order by phone ahead of weddings. After attending a Grameenphone 'Internet for All' courtyard meeting, she and her daughter plan to use the daughter's smartphone to grow the business online.

Products and services

• Shital pati mat

  Tk 200–1,200 / each

  Three kinds: bed, prayer and sitting mats; patterned ones cost a little more

• Hand fan

  Tk 100–300 / each

  Three or four made a day

• Stool (mora)

• Bamboo basket

• Fish trap (chai)

Prices as given by the owner; ask before you buy.

Address and hours

To learn or to work here

• Visitors welcome