Shuvo Poribeshbandhob Kolom

About

Shuvo Poribeshbandhob Kolom (Shuvo Eco-friendly Pen) is the business of Nasima Akter of Loan Office Para in Jashore town, named after her only son, Mir Naim Akter Shuvo. After a fish farm built with her husband's retirement money failed, Nasima kept the family going by stitching kantha quilts; then she wrapped paper around a pen refill, made 100 pens and sold them to schoolchildren, and the business grew from there. Her daughter Rebeka Sultana, an English literature graduate, devised a way to fix small seeds of guava, tomato, okra, green chilli, flowers and fruit into the empty end of the pen; seed pens have been on the market since January 2023. After use the paper pen breaks down in the soil and the seed sprouts. Seven artisans working on the veranda of the house make about 1,000 pens a day. Most buyers are NGOs, who have their names and addresses printed on the pens; son Mir Naim Akter handles marketing, and pens go to all 64 districts, with samples sent abroad. Pens made of jute have also been tried.

Products and services

• Seed paper pen

  Tk 15 / each

  Retail price; dropped in soil after use, its seed sprouts

• Paper pen

  Tk 10 / each

  Retail price

• Wholesale pens (over 100)

  Tk 6.50 to 7.50 each; NGO names and addresses can be printed on them

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

Address and hours