Traditional broom making helps them lead decent life

Making of broom, a simple but essential household item, serves as the means of livelihood for many families in Trishal upazila under the district.

Some 50 families of Biara Dakkhinpara village are engaged in the traditional trade, earning enough for living a moderate life in the rural area.

"The income from broom making supports our eight-member family. One can earn Tk 250 to Tk 300 per day by working as a broom maker," said Sufia Khatun, a broom maker for 30 years.

Some 4000 brooms are made in the village every day and this production is sold to buyers from different areas of the country including Mymensingh, Narsingdi and Dhaka, said the makers.

For making brooms, they have to collect date leaves, bamboo, plastic cane and rope, they said, adding that the wholesale rate of a broom is Tk 6 per piece and the cost is less than Tk 5.

"I learnt broom making from my father and grandfather and got involved with this work in my boyhood. My five sons are also involved with this profession and the income is sufficient to lead a happy life for people like us," said Afaz Uddin, 55.

His daughter Asma Khatun, a fifth grader, also assists in the work.

Habiqul Islam of the same village said he has been involved in broom making since his youth and now maintains his six-member family including wife and four daughters with the earning from the trade.

After gathering experience of broom making from his in-laws' house at Biara Dakkhinpara, Rafiqul Islam started this business at his Kutubpur village home in Nandail upazila of Mymensingh.

"Earlier I used to pull rickshaw but now I produce brooms involving labourers," Rafiq said.

Golam Mohammad Badal, chairman of local Balipara union parishad, said the raw materials for broom making are available and so, it could develop as a more popular cottage industry involving hundreds of people, especially women, if proper financial support is provided.