Action Bag Handicrafts

Bangladesh

Omeda, an artisan at Action Bags in Bangladesh

Purpose

To create long-term job opportunities for poor destitute women and provide them with a regular income
To develop leadership and business skills among the employees
To produce high quality product, using labour-intensive production methods and ecologically sound materials.

Producers

Action Bag works with very disadvantaged people from the Bihari community who lost their houses and jobs after the War of Liberation; of the original members, 30% were widows, and still today most live in camps, have no land and depend on the income from handcrafts. There are about 100 regular members and some more produce on a casual basis. All are women.

Over the years more than 1500 women have been employed in Action Bag Handicrafts - many have left to start their own small businesses.

Benefits

The project provides as much training as it can afford in production and management skills, health and nutrition, legal aid, leadership development, educational development and women in society.

There is a savings' scheme for producers, and they can take loans to build a house, purchase land, and send their children for higher education.

Wages paid are higher than a local labourer's wage or wages paid by other organisations.