BOGURA, Feb 11: Bamboo artisans, who have no cropland of their own, are passing hardship time with the ancestral profession for last few years.
The consumers preferred to use "duli" for storing paddy a couple of years ago, but now they use plastic baskets as those last longer.
According to District Craftsman Samitee (DCS) around 400 craftsmen's families in the district were involved in producing items made of bamboo before a decade.
Now, only 100 craftsmen's families are engaged in the work of their ancestral profession, DCS added.
They have already started to leave their forefather's profession and take up agriculture and other professions as the demand of the bamboo-based item is losing their appeal to the common people.
A few female members from the craftsmen's families are engaged in their ancestral profession to earn their livelihood and maintain their families with assistance of adolescent across the district.
Almost all the male craftsmen in the area have changed their ancestral trade and engaged themselves in various alternative jobs to maintain the family expenditure.
Aruna Rany Das, a female bamboo artisan, under Dupchanchia upazila said she usually makes different bamboo made items like winnowing-fans, Chalun and baskets round the year and her husband helps.
She said, families of many bamboo craftsmen in Bogura are passing days in hardship as use of bamboo made items is gradually declining with the entry of plastic made items.
"Although I was engaged with bamboo craft before two year back, I am now engaged as a farm labourer at others' cropland," said Amulla Kumar under Kahaloo upazila.
"The price of bamboo is gradually getting costlier, while demand for bamboo made items is witnessing sharp fall day by day." he added.
Bamboo craftsman Arun Kumar said he can produce 12 pieces of small baskets every day spending Tk 240 to pay bamboo and yarn cost. He sells those at Tk 400 and makes some Tk 160 a day.
Another craftsman Dhononjoy under Shibjanj upazila said consumers now-a-days prefer to use plastic items as those are much cheaper.
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