A bamboo costs 150-200 taka while a basket still sells for 150

In Kora Pakratel village of Debhata upazila, Satkhira, about 50 artisans still make baskets, trays, sieves, fish traps, poultry cages and winnowing fans from bamboo. One artisan past 65 has been at it since his father and grandfather worked the trade; he makes two baskets a day, each costing 70-80 taka in materials and selling at 150. Another says a single bamboo now costs 150-200 taka to buy. A third, with 25 years in the trade, buys a woven tabra at 180 taka and sells it at 200, a spread of 20 taka that does not even cover his own labour. Input prices keep rising while product prices stand still, and plastic and aluminium goods have taken much of the market. The younger people in these families are refusing the profession.