The centuries-old tradition of bamboo craft in the northern districts of Bangladesh is fast fading, as modern lifestyles, high prices and declining demand drive artisans away from their ancestral trade.
For generations, bamboo has been an inseparable part of rural life, providing baskets, trays, hand fans, fishing traps, poultry cages, mats and other essentials that once defined the household economy of Bangladesh.
But today, the craft that once flourished in villages across Rangpur and adjoining districts is struggling to survive.
According to the Rangpur Divisional Office of the Department of Small and Cottage Industries, people in 114 villages across eight northern districts were directly engaged in bamboo craft.
Additional Divisional Commissioner of Rangpur, Abu Zafar, points out that nearly 70,000 families once earned their living from this profession, but today only around 12,000 families remain.
"Every day the usage of bamboo products is decreasing, forcing artisans to leave their profession," he said.
In Moniram village, 85-year-old Abdul Wahed still works with bamboo.
His voice carries both pride and pain as he recalls the past, "I learnt this work from my father. He raised our family of 14 siblings only by making bamboo products. In his time, we never faced needs. But nowadays, even though I make the same products, they do not sell like before."
The crisis has been deepened by deforestation and urbanisation, which have made raw bamboo scarce and costly.
A single piece of bamboo, which once cost Tk 50-100, now sells for Tk 300-400.
Another artisan, Kenzul, laments the fall of what was once a thriving livelihood.
"The golden past of bamboo craft is now only a memory. From one bamboo we can make six poultry cages. Each cage sells at Tk 100 to wholesalers. After all the hard work, nothing much remains for us," he said.
For women artisans, the struggle is even harsher. Hasna Begum, who learnt the craft from her mother-in-law and later passed it down to her children and grandchildren, says they are trapped in debt.
"Now the prices of everything, including bamboo, are too high. We borrow money from local moneylenders with interest. If we take Tk 1,000 every month, we pay Tk 100 as profit. On Tk 5,000, we must pay Tk 500. This loan is a huge burden. Sometimes we fail to pay on time and face humiliation. With government help, we can continue this profession," she said.
Another artisan, Dulali, echoed her frustrations, "Even if we buy bamboo at high prices and make products, these do not sell. No one is willing to give us loan nowadays. Government also does not provide us any help."