Home ›› 24 Apr 2022 ›› Nation
The weavers at Jamdani Palli in Rupganj upazila under Narayanganj are busy working day in and day out as sales pick up via e-commerce platforms before the Eid ul-Fitr.
Shoppers from all over the country find it convenient to place order for sarees straight to the traders at Jamdani Palli through social media pages instead of in-person shopping.
As online sales are on the rise, Jamdani showrooms around the village remain relatively empty of customers.
Traders in the Noapara BSCIC industrial area under the district hope that they will be able to cover losses incurred during the pandemic.
Jamdani sarees have been a part of Bengali culture for hundreds of years as an altered form of the ancient muslin cloth.
According to local sources, currently, there are about 5,000 weavers involved in this profession at Jamdani Palli in Noapara.
Although sales plummeted due to the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years, this year the industry is turning around ahead of Eid ul-Fitr.
An on-spot inspection revealed that every house is busy manufacturing sarees, with the clattering sound cleaving the air.
According to local traders, they are gaining more attention through social media and e-commerce platforms as buyers from all over the country can purchase online.
The sarees are transported via courier services, and customers have the option to pay after receiving the package.
Traders in Noapara are also doing the same. They sell sarees to retailers coming from different districts.
Many young entrepreneurs are also making money by procuring Jamdani from weavers at wholesale price and selling them online.
Each seller has their own Facebook page where they upload photos along with the price for the convenience of customers.
The price of these sarees starts from Tk 2,000 and goes up to Tk 1 lakh. More than 50 traders in Noapara Jamdani Palli have their own social media pages.
Traders expect to make sale worth Tk 10 crore online this Eid season.
Asif, owner of Bismillah Jamdani, said he has a page on the Facebook after the same name. Even though the sales in the shops have decreased recently, they have gained momentum online ahead of Eid.
“Buyers prefer shopping online nowadays. It is more comfortable which can be done staying in home. They select designs, text us with photos and with address details and we send them the products via courier services,” he added.
Sohag Jamdani House owner Md Sohag said his family has been associated with Jamdani trade for decades. He thought of selling Jamdani sarees online when sales dropped during lockdown.
“I opened a page on Facebook last year and uploaded photos of Jamdani sarees regularly. It took a while for sales to pick up but business is booming now,” he pointed out.
While the owners are happy with their sales, workers, however, complain about their wages which they say are not increasing.
The rising prices of essential commodities have made it difficult to make ends meet for workers. Many craftsmen are quitting the Jamdani weaving industry due to this.
The owners of handloom factories claim that due to the increase in the price of yarn, even though sales have increased, they are not making high profit. Thus they have not been able to increase the wages of the craftsmen.
