Sheuli Akhter Juthi, 35, a woman entrepreneur of the northwestern district, has turned into successful entrepreneurs by producing jute goods instead of pursuing traditional jobs.
She is producing and marketing various jute products, including eco-friendly bags as an alternative to polythene.
Talking to BSS, Juthi said that she started working in 2017 after receiving training on jute goods production from the Youth Development Center.
She started making jute products with just two machines and a capital of Tk 20,000. Initially, there was not much response.
But now this woman entrepreneur earns more than Taka 50,000 to Taka 60,000 per month. Her jute products are also being sent outside the country.
She is supplying products to government and private institutions as per demand. These include various types of bags, showpieces, wall hangers, mobile set storage bags, lamps, pen holders, flower pots and table runner sets.
She said that now 35 women craftsmen are making different types of products every day in her company through eight machines. These women are also becoming financially self-reliant by working in her factory.
Juthi said due to financial hardship, she could not study much. As per her father鈥檚 wish, she got married at an early age in 2005. After the marriage, a daughter was born. When her daughter was three-year-old, she returned to her father鈥檚 house due to divorce. Since then, her life of struggle began, she noted.
鈥楳y daughter and I became a burden on my father鈥檚 family. Then I started thinking about doing something for living. From that thought, I started working as a tailor. Even though I was working as a tailor, I developed a special affection for jute products. I took training on jute products from the Youth Development Center in Savar. After that, I didn鈥檛 have to look back,鈥� she added.
She returned to Dinajpur in 2017 and started making various jute products at her own home using two machines. Slowly, its scale started to increase. She started the work with two to four unemployed women in the village. Now she has started receiving orders offline and online.
Shiuli Akhter said she is giving training to women as a trainer by going to different parts of the country, including Dinajpur at the invitation of the Youth Development Training Center.
Through this, she is creating new entrepreneurs and the scope of her work is also increasing, she added.
