We were taken for a trip in a boat across the river top see the Bengal Groups, Bay of Bengal Jute Carpet Factory. Jute is described as Bangladeshi Gold, not only because it has a beautiful golden sheen during its early stages of processing but also because it is a major export for the country.
We were shown around the factory, seeing the processing of the jute into fibres and then into products, primarily mats and domestic items. Like factories the world over it was a busy, noisy place, with machines constantly moving.
In some of the products the jute is dyed to give different colours, in others the designs are printed.
We returned to Dhaka and met Tapon – the rickshaw painter who will be coming to the UK as part of the project. He is currently working on a project for Mahbub.
The traffic at Hatirpul in Dhaka was not unlike the Jute platting machine in the factory, constantly shifting and somehow, miraculously, not colliding!