OUR FACTORY
To start Ekmattra Handicraft factory, we recruited women who wanted to work in this area.
Out of the 50 women who gathered, eight were selected through a rigorous interview process and workshop.
We interviewed several women whose husband had married another person leading them to carry their own children alone with no source of income, and some even have suffered from domestic violence....
We encountered many women with the same problems and pasts.
We then visited homes and conducted surveys, focusing first on the poorest families, who had no work or income at all.
We wanted to focus on the poorest, because our primary goal is to help women who have less opportunities than others to escape their difficult circumstances, and to take back their lives by their own hands.
We then selected women who were recognized during the workshops for their drive and passion towards their work, and these women eventually became our members.
That is how Ekmattra Handicraft factory began, but it was full of difficulties in the beginning.
The women had never worked or gone to school in the first place, so we had to teach them many things that are taken for granted before working.
However, what we felt in common with these women as we taught them the job was their strong will to make the most of this opportunity, to learn this job and to change their lives.
No matter how many mistakes they made, they never gave up and they finally succeeded in producing a product of Japanese quality.
We want the women in Bangladesh to be proud of themselves and work with a smile on their faces.
We want them to LIVE.
Ekmattra Handicraft factory, which began with such a desire, has become a happy future for the 22 mothers, and their children who are currently working there.
We will continue our activities to bright hope for the next generation of the women.
Protect and nurture these women.
”Mother's Working Community"
MOTHER'S STORY
Hawa Begun
While a single mother,
mother of three children.
An early member of the workshop
Bright and cheerful, she always brings a smile to the face of the workshop.
She is a mood maker who brings smiles to the faces of the workshop at all times.
One day, my husband suddenly left me and our three children.
At the time I had no income, my two daughters were still in need of help, and there was no work in this village for a woman to do while carrying children, so I was at my wits' end.
I had managed to get my son to continue his studies, and thanks to his hard work, he had even reached the point where he wanted to take the SSC exam (the Bangladesh central exam), but without an income, I would not be able to send him to school or take the exam.
At that time, there was an opening at the workshop,
I had an interview only with that thought in mind: “I want my son to somehow be able to go on to higher education.
Since I started working, I have been able to earn a decent salary every month and send my children to school with it. My son also successfully passed the SSC exam.
Life with three children is difficult, but as a parent, I am really happy that I am able to give my children
I am really happy and proud that I am able to give them opportunities.
Until I started working at this workshop, I could not make any decisions for myself.
I did not know when my husband would come home or when he would bring his salary. Even if I wanted to feed or buy something for my children, I had no authority to do so even though I was their mother.
But now it is different. With the money I earn, I can decide what to make for dinner or what to buy for my children! I can think and decide how I want to spend my money. That makes me very happy.
I used to spend my days at home just putting up with things. From those days
Since I got the courage to take the first step and start working
I have learned to make my own decisions and the joy of working.
And I am very happy when I am making beautiful products with my friends who are also working hard while raising their children. This workshop is a place where I can smile from the bottom of my heart.
Laboni Akter
Mother raising two children
Second-term member of the workshop
Works with the workshop and everyone in mind,
attentive, kind and hardworking
Protect and nurture these women.
”Mother's Working Community"