Revitalization of Handloom Communities for Preserving the Craft Heritage of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh there is a huge possibility in the sector of low cost industry and handloom is the prominent one of them. The Handloom Industry is one of the oldest cultural heritages of Bangladesh, which is mostly accomplished as a home based industry involving traditional crafts like muslin, jamdani, tanter saree that they have inherited from their ancestors. These products are the major part of our low cost industry and also a part of history and heritage of our country. Handloom industries, once dominated in the apparel sector of the subcontinent are on the verge of disappearance due to a couple of reasons like lack of preservation, dedicated space, manpower crisis, breaking down of communities, product competitiveness, lack of marketing skill etc. Some communities nearby Dhaka such as Tangail, Mymensign, Kishoreganj, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, Kaliakoir has been working in the sector of handloom for a long period of time. But because of the breaking the bonding of those community and lack of preservation of their heritage this sector is now losing their interest. For restoring the community bonding and preserving the heritage there could be created a common interconnected space. Gazipur Sadar is such a place which resides in between all those six districts. There are a good national, regional and local linkage through infrastructure between those areas and Gazipur Sadar. As there are no specific spaces of those communities to exhibit and sell their products; an area in Gazipur Sadar near Chilai Khal, could be proposed as an expo area for reviving the heritage of those handlooms communities. This study recommends developing a heritage hub to revitalize these communities as well as promoting their handloom industries both nationally and internationally.