Artisan Impact - Bangladesh

artisan impact with Bangladesh partners for do good shop

Bangladesh is a small country, about the size of Wisconsin. It is nestled between India and Myanmar and is home to nearly 165 million people. Its capital, Dhaka, is the most densely populated city on the planet. It is still a developing country, having won Independence in 1971 after a bitter war fought over the right to speak their native language, Bangla.

Our partners first met Samantha and her husband, Morshed, at a small Holiday Craft Fair at the International School their boys attended in Dhaka. Over the years, they began consulting with them, amazed at the quality control and scaling their little enterprise was modeling. Samantha began teaching a dozen women how to knit and crochet in 2004, with the hopes of producing products that could be sold on the international market. By the time our partners met her, it had grown to be a job source for more than 2000 women. Today, the once small business provides jobs to more than 12,000 women in over 120 rural centers. The women can walk to work, taking their babies with them. Most of the centers have a nursery and/or preschool for the little ones. These women are being paid a fair wage, which ensures that they can feed their families 3 meals a day, send their children to school and begin saving for the future. This is changing entire communities as the women are now given a voice in traditionally very patriarchal communities. Women in these areas no longer need to leave their children with grandparents and migrate to the cities, where the main source of employment is working long days in a garment factory. Your purchase keeps families together and prevents human trafficking, forced prostitution and unsafe work environments.  Thank you.

artisan impact with Bangladesh partner for do good shop

On A Personal Note

Having spent many years in Bangladesh, Austin and Marita can tell you first hand the difference the dignity of a fairly-paid job makes. They have looked into the eyes of these precious women and been awed at the force being unleashed for positive change in a land long held captive to poverty and natural disasters. They are committed to telling the women's stories and keeping this avenue of change open by bringing their beautiful handmade works of art to your doorstep. Every stitch is made with love, in a happy and safe place where world-changers are being born. We hope you will join us by being part of their freedom story.