What I learnedSilk weavers and workshop owners of the Harinagar and Laharpur weavers' lanes, Chapainawabganj

From 1,500-2,000 looms down to 500: in a silk weavers' lane that depends on Aarong, yarn gets dearer but cloth does not

Silk looms are shrinking in the weavers' lanes of Harinagar and Laharpur in Chapainawabganj because sales depend almost wholly on Aarong and yarn prices have risen. Weavers earn no more than Tk 350-500 a day, so no one new is learning the trade.

In the Harinagar weavers' lane in Chapainawabganj, 1,500 to 2,000 looms ran 10-15 years ago; now only 500 are running. In the Laharpur weavers' lane in the Sadar upazila, looms have fallen to a third in seven or eight years, to about 100 now. One weaver said he had 40 looms running, which has shrunk to 10 in five years. The silk cloth trade here depends almost entirely on Aarong, that is BRAC; cloth has to be made at their fixed rates and to their taste, and there is almost no market outside. This Eid BRAC bought at least 30 percent less cloth than before, so work fell. Meanwhile yarn prices are rising. Silk yarn that was Tk 7,000 to 7,500 a kilo is now Tk 9,000 to 9,500; imported China silk yarn rose by Tk 2,000 a kilo 15-20 days ago. But cloth prices have not risen. Weavers cannot earn more than Tk 350 to 500 a day, which does not keep a household going; so no one new is learning the craft and the young are going abroad. Weavers fear that without government patronage the silk industry will one day disappear. The owner of 'Shuvo Silk', who teaches at a private college and still holds on to his forefathers' trade, is also disheartened about the future.

Lessons

1.Depending on a single buyer puts price and volume in its hands; when it buys less the whole lane suffers.
2.If you cannot raise cloth prices as yarn gets dearer, both wages and profit are squeezed; keep room to negotiate prices up front.
3.At Tk 350-500 a day new artisans do not come; to keep craftsmen you need alternative markets and better prices.

We published this with the person's permission, without revealing who they are.

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Lessons

1.Depending on a single buyer puts price and volume in its hands; when it buys less the whole lane suffers.

2.If you cannot raise cloth prices as yarn gets dearer, both wages and profit are squeezed; keep room to negotiate prices up front.

3.At Tk 350-500 a day new artisans do not come; to keep craftsmen you need alternative markets and better prices.