Bonsai nurturing turns into good business

Despite having a full-time job, Md Shamiul Islam’s love for nursing Bonsai trees has now turned his hobby into a lucrative and profitable business.

Shamiul received 10 to 12 Bonsai trees from a friend of his brother in 2005. With no idea on how to take care of these trees, he enrolled himself in a bonsai nursing training course.

Slowly, his interest in nursing Bonsai trees started to grow.

By 2006, he joined a Bonsai exhibition organised by Rajshahi Bonsai Society (RBS) with his 12 trees. The exhibition opened his eyes to a new world of bonsai trees of different types and species.

Later, he started collecting the various types of bonsai from different areas of the country. 

“I have some trees in my collection that are over a half-century old and around 28 inches tall. As I have a full-time job, I only get time in the morning and the evening to give time to my bonsai trees.”

When most people in the country were facing a hard time due to the pandemic, Shamiul came up with a brilliant idea and turned his Bonsai nursing hobby into a profitable business by selling his collections online. 

“I have sold Bonsai trees worth Tk 4.25 lakh during the entire pandemic period,” Shamiul told The Business Post. 

Bonsai trees cost depends on their age and size. Shamiul sells four years old and six-to-eight-inch trees for around Tk1,500. More than 15 years old trees and 20 to 22 inches cost nearly Tk 30,000. 

Now he has Chain bot, Foken tree, Jade, Pakur, Tetul, Banglabilash, Juniper, Ficus, Vitence, Kamini Flower in his firm. 

In 2019, Shamiul participated in a three-day bonsai exhibition in Dhaka where he sold trees worth Tk1.25

lakh and was awarded as the second best seller.

With this success, he expanded his bonsai business further.

“Now, I have around 550 to 600 bonsai trees in my farm under 16 to 18 categories,” said Shamiul.

“Only a person with love, basic knowledge and patience to nurture bonsai plants regularly can become a successful bonsai seller,” he added.

Talking to The Business Post, Muhammad Anisul Haque, general secretary of Bangladesh Bonsai Society, ‘‘If anyone is interested about bonsai trees, they should gain detail knowledge about bonsai, have sufficient space, and patience to be successful.’’

He also said that in South Asian countries, like India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, most people allocate some space for bonsai or trees when they build homes but Bangladeshi people do not have such practices.

“There is a huge scope to earn foreign currency through bonsai exporting,” he added. 

Md Shah Newaz Chowdhury, assistant professor for Agricultural Botany at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said, “It is high time to expand bonsai business as the demand is high in the urban areas of the country. This is because it enhances the beauty of our house and gives us oxygen in the closed-door areas or offices.”

At present, most of the nursery owners are keeping bonsai trees in their nurseries as per the demand of their customers.