How 20,000 homes in North turn into mini-factories
Entrepreneurs say the textiles produced in this region cater to the winterwear requirements of around 70% of the country's low-income population with an annual turnover of around Tk1,000 crore
Standing before his impoverished community in Gaibandha in the '50s, Abdur Rahim had a vision: a transformation powered by loom machines.
This was much before the country's readymade garment sector boom, the main driving force of the economy today.
What stood before Rahim at the time, however, were straw and mud homes, and a local economy still searching for a spark.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Abdur Rahim, from Kochashahar union in Gobindaganj upazila of the district, travelled to Dhaka and started working in a sweater factory.
For 10 years, he learned the ins and outs of the trade.
Around 1960, he brought some people from the union to Dhaka, trained them to weave sweaters, socks, and mufflers, and sent them to Gaibandha.
He also helped them purchase handlooms from Kolkata to start their own factories.
After 1971, this small garment industry spread to three other neighbouring unions of the district.
The fuse was lit. The industry has steadily expanded since then.
A manifestation complete
The Gaibandha of today looks nothing like what Abdur Rahim saw before him almost a century ago.
If you venture into any neighbourhood along the winding road leading to some of the villages, you will be greeted by a rhythmic clack-clack sound.
For any newcomer traversing these roads, it evokes a distinct sensation.
You will swiftly grasp the source of this noise and activity upon spotting large and small-sized looms in the verandas of the houses.
The looms are diligently crafting various types of winter clothing, each imbued with the essence of the community's industrious spirit.
Within these households, women can be seen engaged in different tasks. Some meticulously cut threads, others carefully package the finished garments, while still others refine the woven fabric.
Approach any residence in around 50 villages in Kochashahar, Mahimganj, and Shalmara unions in Gobindaganj and Syedpur union of Shivganj upazila, and the curious whirring noise will instantly fill in the air.
Some residences also house larger factory units within their boundaries.
The operations of these factories typically span from July through February. Some factories also operate year-round, collectively employing over 1 lakh people.
Aside from the facelift it gave Gaibandha, the transformation has also been felt in people's fortunes.
Meet Hamidul Haque, the owner of Nasima Hosiery.
Standing outside his factory on a crisp February morning, Hamidul's words are initially drowned out by six automatic electronic power looms churning out cardigans for women and sweaters for school students in the village of Chhaighoria, within the Kochashahar union.
"Once, I had nothing except the house and a small piece of land. Now, I own about 10 bighas of arable land. This factory has been built in a 3,000-square-foot large brick house in the village. Additionally, there is a two-storey house on 8 acres of land in Gobindaganj," he says proudly.
Hamidul told The Business Standard that during the Pakistan period, his father used to produce socks and mufflers on a hand-operated loom.
Following production, his father would travel to various markets across the country to sell wholesale and retail.
"Nowadays, with the changing times, the business has expanded. Wholesalers from every region of the country now come to this area to purchase winter clothes."
He further mentioned that his factory, with some 20 workers, produces around Tk50 lakh worth of cloth annually.
Entrepreneurs say the textiles produced in this region cater to the winterwear requirements of around 70% of the country's low-income population with an annual turnover of around Tk1,000 crore.
If only Abdur Rahim were here to see it
The transformation that the industry has triggered in the economic, educational, health, and employment sectors within the areas is remarkable.
Unemployment rates in the area have plummeted, paralleled by a significant decrease in crime rates.
Women, too, have been empowered through active participation in this sector.
The standard of living in these villages far surpasses that of neighbouring areas, drawing workers from nearby villages to partake in the burgeoning industries.
Previously, many residents sought employment as wage labourers in distant areas during paddy and sugarcane seasons. However, such migration has now stopped, with ample opportunities available locally.
Currently, almost every household in these villages has either a pucca or semi-pucca structure. Every village has several public and private educational institutions.
A significant number of agent banking branches and private clinics have been established in the markets adjacent to the villages. Moreover, there are also some mobile phone sales centres and broadband internet service providers in the areas.
However, local entrepreneurs point out that the industry is not progressing at the expected rate due to the lack of support or assistance from the government.
Desired success is hindered by the absence of government loan assistance, modern training for artisans, and proper market management.
Entrepreneurs in the area suggest that if the country's prominent entrepreneurs invest in this region, it is possible to transform this industry into an export-oriented sector beyond the domestic market by producing high-quality textiles at a low cost.
The ambience of change
Local people say the number of these small factories is highest in Pepulia village next to Chhaigharia.
Amjad Mia, a 36-year-old from Pepulia village, manufactures hand and foot socks with three handlooms.
Reflecting on his journey, Amjad said, "In 2011, I bought an old hand-operated loom by taking a loan. For the first two years, I sold my own products by visiting different markets. I bought two more machines after that.
"Now, my family is doing very well relying on these three machines. I can deposit a significant amount of money in the bank every year."
Around 900 of the 1,100 families in the village are making a good living like Amzad by operating small factories with one or two such machines.
Arif Hossain, an assistant teacher at Pepulia Government Primary School, said the number of students in the schools of this area is much higher compared to schools in other areas, and the dropout rate is very low.
Saghata upazila is situated northeast of Gobindaganj upazila.
Around 10,000 workers from Saghata are employed in these areas. Moshiur Rahman, from Balua village in Saghata, works in a factory in Kochashahar.
"Not only for employment, but we also visit the markets of this area for various purchases, covering a distance of about 20km. Every day, several MBBS doctors from Bogura, Gaibandha, and Rangpur come to provide medical services at various clinics in the area. We also visit here to avail ourselves of these services," he said.
These textile factories in these 50 villages are now considered small and cottage industries.
According to local government officials, there are around 7,600 small and cottage industries producing winter clothes with a trade licence from the union parishad in Kochashahar, 5,100 factories in Mahimganj, 4,300 in Shalmara, and 1,480 in Sayedpur union.
Zahurul Islam, chairman of Kochashahar Union Parishad, said besides having a trade licence, many small entrepreneurs are producing textiles in these areas, and the number of such factories will exceed 20,000.
There are several large factories in the area where the owners have invested crores of taka.
Sarkar Hosiery in the Mukudpur area began production of mufflers and socks in 1986 with a handloom.
Now, the factory boasts 600 jacquard machines, with around 800 workers employed.
Abdul Al Sarkar, the owner of Sarkar Hosiery, said there are more than 20 large factories in the area, each employing over 500 workers.
These large factories collaborate with many renowned garment companies from the capital to manufacture and export winter clothes, through subcontracts.
Most of the yarn used for all the garments made in these areas is collected from fabric scraps, locally known as "jhut".
The majority of the yarn in this area comes from Shaolpara in Dupchachia of Bogura.
Entrepreneurs say there are more than a thousand businessmen in Shaolpara who collect jhut and abandoned yarn from various garment factories in Dhaka and repurpose it into yarn suitable for textile production. Around 90% of the yarn from Shaolpara is used in the Gobindaganj area.
How the industry empowered women
Gobindganj Upazila Parishad Chairman Abdul Latif said about 30,000 women in these areas are directly involved in this industry. Many own their own factories, while others work as employees in factories owned by others.
Sophia Begum, a woman in her 50s from Pantamari village in Mahimaganj union, operates six machines in her factory. The annual sales of the products produced by her factory amount to about Tk40 lakh. Following the death of her husband Ahsan Uddin about 15 years ago, Sophia took over the business herself.
"I have a family of six members, and I manage everything. Four boys and girls are studying with the income from the factory. One of my daughters is in the last semester of her BBA programme at a private university in Dhaka. With my own earnings, I built a two-storey house on 10 kathas of land. I have also purchased four acres of land in Gaibandha town, where I plan to build a four-storey house by 2025," she said.
"Not only me, but many women run their own factories, all of them are self-employed," she added.
The name of Sophia's factory is Sophia Hosiery. All 20 technicians working in this factory are women.
One of them, Umme Kulsum, said, "I have been working in this factory for 10 years. Work lasts for 6-7 months in a year. My house is in Balua village of the neighbouring Saghata upazila.
"I commute 10 kilometres daily. My husband is a van driver. We have two children. The income I earn here is used for family expenses as well as the education expenses of my son and daughter. Now we are doing quite well."
Kulsum's daughter is the elder of the two children. The proud mother said, "She is the first girl in her class. She wants to be a doctor. I will save the money needed to fulfil my daughter's dream of becoming a doctor, and I will support her in her studies as necessary."
Transformation of a village
A village beside Majhpara in the north of Shibganj upazila, Bogura, had been known as "Benne Para" since the British period. Locals dubbed the villagers as low-caste people, hence the name Benne Para in the local language. The village is located in Kochshahar union along with the southernmost village of Chhaigharia.
Khairuzzaman, a 64-year-old resident of Chhaigharia, told TBS that the people of Benne Para had been making a living by engaging in various low-class jobs for many years. Some individuals were involved in petty theft and pickpocketing. However, over time, the village earned the name "Karigar Para" as its residents became involved in small garment industries.
Asir Uddin, a small garment entrepreneur from Karigar Para, said, "When the condition weaving factory industry in the Kochashahar area was at its peak around 1990, I sold 1 bigha of land and purchased two hand-operated weaving machines. I installed them at home and began working myself after receiving two weeks of training from local artisans in the Nayarhat area. Later, I taught my son the techniques.
"Most of the people in my village were impoverished and low-minded. They were engaged in undesirable and low-quality work. After me, two other weavers started working in the sector. I have assisted many individuals in advancing in this field."
"Gradually, this industry developed in the homes of about 300 families in this village. In 2004, with the assistance of the chairman of the union parishad and the local MP, the name of the village was changed to Karigar Para."
"There are no needy people in this village now. Even those who cannot afford to own a factory earn well by working in other factories," he added.
Sabuj Mia, a resident of this village, said, "I do not own a machine, but I can earn around Tk2 lakh-Tk2.5 lakh annually by working in factories. My wife also earns around Tk1 lakh to Tk1.5 lakh annually. With this income, my son and daughter continue their studies, and the family runs well. Currently, my son is studying in the third year honours programme in the management department at Govt Azizul Haque College, Bogura."
He said, "Now, the people of this village dream of achieving something great. Forgetting the past, we are all working together to create a better, self-reliant village. Once, people in the area were reluctant to marry boys and girls from our village, but this problem no longer exists. The village now has a government primary school, private high school, and a kindergarten. We are planning to establish a higher secondary college in the future."
Local union parishad member Hasibur Rahman said around 80% of the people in this village are now educated, with many having sons and daughters studying in public and private universities. Fifteen years ago, there were no university students in this village, but now there are nine public university students residing in the village.
Origin story: After Abdur Rahim came Naya Mia and Tota Mia
Iqbal Hossain, general secretary of the local Hosiery Industry Owners Association, said in 1960s after providing training to some local individuals from Gaibandha to weave sweaters, mufflers, and socks, Abdur Rahim also assisted them in contacting various banks to secure loans for purchasing loom machines.
He also established a large factory named Madona Fashion in the Mirpur area of the capital. It evolved into a major export-oriented factory in the capital during the 1990s.
Meanwhile, his two sons immigrated to the United States. One of them has already passed away. Abdur Rahim himself passed away around 2009, after which Madona Fashion ceased operations, said Iqbal.
After the initial efforts of Abdur Rahim in establishing the small garment factories in Gaibandha, two cousins from Kochashahar named Naya Mia and Tota Mia pushed it forward to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs.
Having completed their education up to SSC, both of them ventured into the cloth business together in the area soon after the country gained independence.
Hossain Mia, son of Tota Mia, said, "In 1982, two friends went to Dhaka to buy cloth and stumbled upon about 30 tonnes of foreign yarn abandoned in a textile mill. They purchased the yarn at a very low price and sold it in the area."
They encouraged the people of the area to acquire both new and old looms and announced that all the yarn would be sold to them. Payment would only be required after the goods made from the yarns were sold.
"At that time, around 40 new entrepreneurs began producing socks and mufflers. This marked the beginning of the burgeoning small garment industry in the area," added Hossain Mia.
Nayarhat, named after Naya Mia, is now the biggest hub for selling winter clothes in the country, boasting around 400 shops dedicated to wholesale selling of winter garments.
In addition to Nayarhat, 15 other local markets in the area have emerged as wholesale hubs for winter clothing, including Bunatala Bazar, Bairagi Bazar, and Dakumara Hat in Kochashahar. Shalmara union hosts around 500 more shops across various markets, such as Mirarpara Bazar, Shalmara Bazaar, and Kalakata Haat, serving as wholesale centres for clothing.
Abul Hossain, president of the Shalmara Small Garments Entrepreneurs Association, told TBS that the factories in the villages of Shalmara union sold clothes worth about Tk300 crore last year. Production was even higher in Kochashahar union, with a market value of about Tk500 crore. Additionally, in Mahimaganj and Syedpur areas, another Tk500 crore worth of clothing was produced in the last season.
Shafiqul Islam is an experienced craftsman from Kochshahar Hosiery Village. He said that as factory owners have benefited financially from the winter clothing factories, workers involved in this industry have also found employment. People no longer have to worry about meeting the daily needs of their families.
However, there is a shortage of skilled workers due to a lack of institutionalised advanced training facilities, he said.
He further said in recent years, sophisticated computer-controlled automatic machines have been introduced in the hosiery village. All these machines are imported from abroad.
A man for all solutions
Ismail Hossain Sabu, from the Kochashahar area, is the owner of two companies named Shamima Hosiery and Shamima Machinery.
He operates a textile industry with 15 workers, in addition to selling all types of new and used machinery and parts for the textile industry. His name is quite renowned in the area for resolving any issues with machinery in one's factory.
He told TBS that he used to work in a lathe factory in Dholaikhal, Dhaka, 20 years ago. Later, he moved to Gaibandha and purchased three looms to start a textile business. With his expertise in machinery repair, he initially focused on repairing handloom machines and electric loom machines.
Subsequently, he began buying and selling used machinery. Currently, he imports modern machines for cloth production and supplies them in the area, he said.
Ismail Hossain said most of the 20,000 households involved in the sector in these four unions purchase various machine parts from him. He has a business turnover of about Tk5 crore a year. Apart from him, there are three other businessmen engaged in similar work and machinery business.
There are no designers employed in any of the factories in this area. Here, everyone is an entrepreneur, a businessman, and a craftsman themselves.
Zahidul Islam, a factory owner in Mahimaganj, told TBS, "Sweaters are made in my factory. I create designs by combining different yarn colours. Workers follow those designs while working. Often, I work alongside the machines and provide instructions to the workers."
"All the factories in these 50 villages follow the same manufacturing process," he added.
Lack of govt support
Iqbal Hossain, general secretary of the Nayarhat Hosiery Industry Owners Association, said the SME Foundation's loan programme in these areas is very limited, with nothing noteworthy. There is no initiative from anyone to modernise the handloom industry. However, the government is collecting tax revenue properly.
Furthermore, the roads of the wholesale markets in remote areas are not suitable for smooth traffic flow and movement of wholesalers coming from different districts. There are hardly any skill development activities for weavers in this area, he said.
Shahadul Islam, a factory owner in Nayarhat, said local banks do not provide loans to all these developing small and cottage industries. As a result, they have to borrow from traders at high interest rates to run their factories.
Besides, they have to commence production in the winter season by taking advance payments from buyers, significantly reducing their profit margins. Moreover, if the business does not perform well, they will fall into debt, he added.
Plans for Tant Palli in limbo
The Bangladesh Handloom Board to>(ok the initiative to establish "Kochashahar Tant Palli" on three acres of land in the Kochashahar area, but the project has been stalled for a long time.
Additional Secretary Mahmud Hossain, chairman of the Handloom Board, told TBS that this project will be discussed very soon. "People of this area are contributing well to the country's economy and trade; we will proceed with this as soon as possible."
Gobindaganj MP (Member of Parliament) Abul Kalam Azad said, "Textiles produced in this area are meeting a large part of the demand for winter clothing of the people of the country. Now the people here are very advanced. I will talk to those concerned to establish the tantpalli."
He said that the work of the Rangpur EPZ project will start in the Bagda Farm area of Gobindaganj. "We are looking at whether something can be done about the industry in this area."
Gobindganj Upazila Parishad Chairman Abdul Latif Pradhan said that everything possible will be done to modernise the hosiery village developed in the area and produce high-quality winter clothes so that they can be exported abroad.
Afsar Ali, an elderly entrepreneur from the Shalmara area in his eighties, expressed concerns about the sustainability of the industry. He mentioned that due to climate change, the winter period in Bangladesh is not as long as it used to be, which could potentially reduce the scope of this industry.
Textile and Jute Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak told TBS, "I have heard about this area. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is determined to realise a self-reliant Bangladesh. In line with this vision, plans for sustainable development in this area and initiatives to create more employment opportunities will be formulated and implemented in collaboration with relevant stakeholders."
