21,600 weavers to get training in fashion & design ... .by Kamaluddin Ahmed

DHAKA, Aug 11 (BSS) - Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB) plans to impart training to 21,600 handloom weavers in modern fashion and design of handlooms and textile products to increase their productivity, officials said today.

The BHB has undertaken a Taka 35.55 crore project titled 'Setting Up Fashion Design and Training Institute and Basic Centre for the Development of Handloom Fabrics', which would be financed by Japan Debt Cancellation Fund (JDCF).

"We will provide the handloom weavers with training in their
own looms so that they can produce high-end products," Chief
(Monitoring and Evaluation) of the board told BSS today.

Sharif said under the project, fashion and design and
training institute will be set up at the city's Mirpur and three
training sub-centers in loom-intensive districts -- Belkuchi
(Sirajganj), Kalihati (Tangail) and Kumarkhali (Kushtia).

Land accusation process of Tangail has been completed while
three others would come to an end by this yearend, he said.

BHB Chairman Mostafa Kamal Haider said the main objective of
the project is to boost the level of skill of handloom weavers
and develop new designs so they can survive in the competitive
world.

"The three-year project is aimed at regaining the century-
old glory of handloom industry," he said.

Referring to the accumulated grievances of handloom workers,
Haider said they are deprived of getting fair price for their
produce and displaying products.

Experts say the handloom industry doesn't have specialized
industrial units to sustain the growth of the potential handloom
like Readymade Garment (RMG), the main attraction for foreign
investors.

According to the last handloom census, the country has some
505,556 looms and of them, 313,245 looms are now operational,
while 192,311 looms remain inoperative.

There are 888,115 handloom weavers, mostly male, in the
country and they have 1,283 associations, says the census.