Pushpa signed off Project Bamboo and is taking a more direct role, working with representatives from each Mahali community to build links to buyers.
Market access for the new bamboo products is not yet in place.
- Completed
- Project Bamboo
- Naogaon
- Skills & Training
£2,200Total deployed
What this did for 62 Mahali artisans.
Bamboo work that pays, in the hands of the women who already knew how to do it.
- 5 MO
- Duration
- 62
- Participants
- +50%
- Household income
- 279
- People reached
across their families
Cheap plastic took the market, and the craft went with it.
In Naogaon, indigenous Mahali women are fighting to keep their traditions alive while poverty, stigma and the loss of their livelihood push their families deeper into hardship.
They were skilled bamboo artisans. Cheap plastic goods drove the craft out of the market, and the income went with it. Without economic opportunity, women are silenced, children's schooling is cut short, and the community stays where it is.
Where every pound went
| Ref | Line item | Amount | Share | Chk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L-01 | Programme Organizer- 1 person | £434 | 19.7% | |
| L-02 | Organize handicrafts training | £759 | 34.5% | |
| L-03 | Design support | £151 | 6.8% | |
| L-04 | Inputs for facilitating handicrafts training | £479 | 21.8% | |
| L-05 | Stationery & Office Supplies | £157 | 7.1% | |
| L-06 | Mobile, Internet & others cost | £77 | 3.5% | |
| L-07 | Travel costs for field visit | £145 | 6.6% | |
| Σ | Total deployed | £2,200 | 100% |
Six months. Four things.
01
Six months of workshops
Practical sessions on designing and making bamboo pieces that sell in today’s market, with travel and food covered so attending did not cost the women money.
02
Bamboo and tools
Quality bamboo, tools and inputs, so the finished work could stand against mass-produced goods on price and durability.
03
Getting it to market
Finding places to sell, from local fairs to wider markets, so the craft reaches customers and the income holds after the programme ends.
04
Community engagement
Making sure the women’s own view shaped the work, that the craft knowledge stayed with them, and that the local partnerships outlast the six months.
Updates
Saif visited Saikor and Durgapur in Naogaon and spoke with eight women, who all confirmed seven days of hands-on bamboo craft training, their first ever.
Women said local buyers want traditional items, so the new products are hard to sell.
Mahian and Zaynab visited Lal Matia, where Badabon Sangho is opening its own shop so the women have a dedicated place to sell their bamboo products.
There was no market access plan when production started; the shop is the fix.
Badabon Sangho finished bamboo craft training for Mahali women across four communities in Naogaon, with the last group trained between 30 January and 8 February.
One group's training moved back from November so members could finish harvesting crops.
