CORR The Jute Works

Artisan Organization: CORR The Jute Works

Country: Bangladesh

About 250 kilometers south of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, lies the small coastal town of Bauphal. Here, a cooperative of 40 talented artisans work on terracotta goods, like the planter in your box. But in recent years, plastic goods have flooded Bangladesh markets, leaving little demand for artisanal methods. With this fall in demand, the livelihoods of many artisans were in peril. Potters who once relied on their skills to feed themselves and their families now found themselves without a job. Luckily, our partner, CORR the Jute Works, began to work with the female artisans of Bauphal to connect them with a global market. They helped form a cooperative led by local female artisans that self-organizes to provide fair wages to their artisans. Marginalized women from rural areas are now able to work from home, and thus take care of their children while earning an income

One of the artisans who was able to benefit from this cooperation was the talented Bijoly Rani, who has been working with pottery for the last 22 years. She is married and has three children. The training that she received from our Fair Trade partner has enabled her to provide a better life for her family. Receiving fair pay for her hard work, while working in comfortable conditions, has made it easier to provide her children with more nutritious meals and a better education