15,000-16,000 taka spent a month, 8,000 left, and 15 families still at the wheel

At Taleshwar Kumarpara in Bagerhat Sadar upazila the wheels once turned in more than 200 families; about 15 families are left in the trade. One potter told the reporter that after spending 15,000-16,000 taka a month on the work he is left with only about 8,000 taka of profit. That puts a month's profit at roughly half a month's outlay, so one bad season can undo the year. A woman in the same neighbourhood has been at the craft for 30 years. The report attributes the decline to plastic, melamine and ceramic goods displacing clay pots, so the wheels now run on fewer days. It gives no product prices, clay costs or loan figures.