HAND TOUCH FEATURED IN THE DAILY DHAKA TRIBUNE

Mohammad Ali Khan roams around the capital carrying a handmade jute bag on his shoulder. He looks for places, from where he can buy textiles at a low price. He left his job in a tea garden to chase his dream of doing something in the textile industry.

At the beginning he wasn’t quite sure about what to do and how to go about doing it. He just knew he wanted to have his own business and a he wanted to do something meaningful, and not just to making money.

The 49-year old, ever-smiling Mohammad Ali recalls the very first day of his endeavour back in 2002. With very little money he finally found a place from where he acquired some good-quality fabric and after selling them elsewhere he was able to make a profit of Tk1500.

“Today when I look back, I feel so thrilled recalling how that trivial amount of money gave me a huge ego boost and led me to believe that I had the right skill to start a profitable business,” says Mohammad Ali. Today, he has his own company Hand Touch that works as the mediator of clothing stores in Dhaka and hundreds of weavers across the country. Mohammad Ali himself heads at least a 100 weavers in different districts across Bangladesh who produce hand loom textiles, which he sells to different boutiques in the capital, to regular retailers and exports on the basis of orders as well.

Generally, in any sector we have a stereotypical idea of the profit-hunter and exploiter middlemen who deal with both the parties at producers’ end and retail consumers’ end. This notion has a valid ground as we often see minimally-paid workers and highly-priced products at retail stores. But Mohammad Ali has not only come out of the profit-making-game of the intermediary, rather his idea to supply hand-loom textile to different deshi-styled fashion houses contributes to the sustainability of the lives and professions of the weavers and artisans in different crafts.

Changing lives in crafts
At a village in Panchagarh, Mohammad Ali came across a few weaver families living in utter despair. Most of the hand loom parts were uninstalled and abandoned in their cowsheds. These weavers’ families moved in that area after river erosion in Shirajganj. Some of the families had one member travelling regularly to Shirajganj for weaving work while the rest of the artisans hardly made a few gamchhas and sarees for domestic and local use at best.

Mohammad Ali took an order from a designer’s house in Dhaka to make some pieces of customised textiles. His first attempt was successful and he never had to look back. “After the very first orders by Emdad Haque, the then chief designer of Banglar Mela, I restarted work for the Panchagarh weavers. Later I went to Jatra and Bibi Russel with my samples and their approval not only gave me further scope to produce more, but I also learned to develop new patterns in textiles which was gladly welcomed by the designers,” says Mohammad Ali, “Eventually I expanded my business in Panchagarh by leasing a piece of land and installing hand looms there and set up my own factory.”

In his very first year, Mohammad Ali realised that the textile business cannot run well year-round, as clothing is not a daily need. There often comes an idle period when one has to wait for Eid or some other festival for business to warm up again. Mohammad Ali had to plan his business accordingly. Thus he started contacting jute craftsmen and did the same thing; taking orders from the designers and making the artisans produce interesting jute made household products.

Ali’s way of business
He was always interested in doing business with a good purpose. After completing graduation he studied in Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute on silk. “At that time my purpose was to study something that has practical implications. Later I did another masters programme on silk from China. After graduating I worked in both government and non-government jobs for 16 years,” says Mohammad Ali.

“My specialisation was in silk technology. I started my career in the Sericulture Board. Later I moved to NGOs like BRAC, RDS and Bangladesh Silk Foundation and my expertise in the jobs was also all about silk,” adds Mohammad Ali. “I kept all the contacts that I got in touch during the course of my work as I knew these would be invaluable for me when I started my own business.”

Sustainability of hand loom
Everybody is conscious about their appearance today. Comfort and our climate are also big concerns where cotton, or textile made in an indigenous and environment friendly way are important considerations. “Hand loom textile has that appeal of being fashionable, eco-friendly and affordable and are in high demand. Unlike power loom, hand loom cannot produce hundred pieces of cloth at a time which preserves the possibility of exclusiveness in style and patterns,” says Mohammad Ali.

“The quality of the fabric, the growing demands from designer houses is not only fashionable and affordable but it can also save a big industry that we can be proud of. And above all, wearing deshi clothes is not just fashion, it is contributing to the lives of the artisans who will otherwise be forced to leave the profession of their fore-fathers,” adds Mohammad Ali.

Success yet to be achieved
Businessmen like Mohammad Ali, accompanied with the efforts of the deshi boutiques are helping revive the hand loom textile but that is still done in a very small scale.

While India has a weaving board which centrally develops new designs in fabric, develops hand loom technology and tools to support the new designing effort and has a central dying unit to maintain environment friendly mechanisms, we lie far behind in this arena.

“Our goal should be to revive the handloom industry in a sustainable way and it should be further developed to reach out international markets too,” observes Mohammad Ali whose business, Hand Touch, is already participating in different international fairs and festivals and sending hand loom products abroad.