DanChurchAid
Bangladesh
Joss stick production
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| Roksana Begum (in the middle) with her familiy making joss sticks |
Although things are improving for her generation, in the legal and political sense, Roksana and Ibrahim still struggle to survive on his wage (between 150-300 Tk) as a casual labourer at the local railway station. Until recently, this was supplemented by Roksana who earned 7 Tk for each 1,000 joss sticks she made at home for a local businessman.
But once she joined an RDRS Group, Roksana realised that she could make more money, by setting-up her own joss stick- making business. Supported by her friend, Sabana, she applied for a loan of 5,000 (USD 73.52) Tk to purchase the raw materials. In a short space of time, the family has become much better off as she can earn 100 Tk profit on 160,000 joss sticks – wages and material cost 160 Tk but she sells them for 260 Tk. “Before,” she says while working in her congested house, “I made joss sticks for others, but now I do it for myself and even employ three other people. I now earn enough money so my family no longer suffers,” said Roksana.
Though she now puts food on the table every day and pays the children’s school fees, she wants to expand her business, in part to earn more but also because she is ambitious. But she doesn’t know how to add the scent - the last part of the manufacturing process, done by the company which markets the product – nor how to by-pass the middleman and sell the sticks direct to city traders. Roksana intends to learn, however. Until then, she tries to save as much as she can for the future, although she is confident that there will always be a market for her produce. “After all,” she reasons, “although I have a goat and I’m going to buy a cow soon to sell milk, they could die and I will be poor again. But people will always want joss sticks and I’ll always have an income.”
By RDRS , DanChurchAid partner in Bangladesh
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