Home ›› 30 May 2023 ›› Nation
More than 300 families of Mymensingh’s Iswarganj upazila have become self-reliant by making Nakshi Pakha (decorated hand-fan).
Once the villages of the upazila’s Barahit union were known as Bara Bhanar Gram as producing clean rice from parboiled paddy was the most common profession for the residents. However, the villages have now become famous for the Nakshi Pakha decorated with various designs made mostly by women.
About two decades ago a local named Idris Ali popularised hand fan crafting in the union. This work spread to the villages of Baradangri, Paradangri, Syedabad, Perinarayanpur and Kanthaldangri.
At present, more than 300 families in this region are making a living by crafting hand fans. About 1.5 lakh hand fans are made every week in these villages.
Regarding the history of how fan crafting became popular in the village, Idris Ali said about 19 years ago his daughter learnt about the art and started making hand fans in her free time.
“I encouraged her to teach other interested women of the village about crafting hand fans. Slowly the craft became popular and spread to neighbouring villages as the demands were high,” he said, adding that many families in the village can now afford to lead a comfortable life due to this.
The whole process is done locally. The men cut the bamboo and make the frame and handle of the fans. After that, women do the rest of the work, including cutting, sewing, embroidery.
Family members work together in harmony to improve their lives and livelihood. It is a common scene in every yard of the houses in the union to see the women sit and carefully draw out a pattern of fan texture on the point of the needle.
About 500 printed fans are produced per week. Some 200 to 300 fans can be made using yarn and accessories.
The artisans do not have to go anywhere to sell these fans. Wholesalers come from different parts of the country including Dhaka, Sylhet, Bhairab and Bogura and buy them at wholesale prices.
Artisan Sultana said, basically they make three types of fans. Printed designs, needlework and accessorised designs.
“Per 100 printed design fans are sold for Tk 1,500, per 100 needlework fans are sold for Tk 2,500 and per 100 accessorised fans are sold for Tk 3,000-3,500.
Razia Begum, a fan craftsman, said previously she used to work on paddy processing. But for the last 15 years, she had been working as a crafter due to this being more profitable. “Many were able to buy a property and ensure their children’s education through working as hand fan craftsman,” she said.
Another craftsman Abdul Karim said he is doing very well after leaving the profession of a day labourer and becoming a hand fan crafter. “The production cost of a hand fan is about Tk 8 and they sell for Tk 15. But if we received easy-term loans, we could expand our work.”
Iswarganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Hafiza Jasmine told The Business Post that loans on easy terms will be arranged for them from Karmasangsthan Bank, Department of Women Affairs, Department of Youth Development and other means if required.
