Around 30 Bede families live in the Kolapara area adjacent to the railway station in Kushtia’s Mirpur upazila, and their main income comes from making household items out of bamboo canes.
The community settled here after the 1971 Liberation War, and initially they earned their living by hunting birds and selling handmade products.
While on a visit to the Kolapara Bede neighbourhood, this correspondent spoke to a few local residents.
Nagin Rani Bede lives with her husband and two children. She didn’t get to study but she’s trying to put her son and daughter through school, which is a struggle with such a low income. “We are poor and, on top of that, we are Bede. This makes us fall under the lowest class of society, so we are neglected; we cannot socialize or blend in with others.
“We make household items out of bamboo canes and my husband sells them in the market for very little profit. My son is studying to become a mechanical engineer and my daughter is in high school,” she added.
Her husband Sukumar Bede said: “I sell handmade household items in a market which only sells items on Tuesdays; although we get a better price if we go door to door. Most families around here are doing the same, but many have switched professions; some of them are now masons, barbers, or van pullers.”
Another local Kabita Rani Bede said: “It is hard to earn a living by making household items. As we belong to a minority community, we do not get any government support and we are not trained to do much else.”
Feroz Ahmed, executive director of the NGO Alo Shangstha, said: “We are trying to improve the lives of these minority communities by encouraging them to receive education and training. However, they seem a bit hesitant in regards to receiving support or training.”
Saiful Islam, credit supervisor of the local Department of Women Affairs, said: “We mainly provide training to women on building skills such as sewing and embroidering. However, we currently do not offer any training on producing handicraft items out of bamboo canes.”
Nurul Islam, an official of the upazila Department of Youth Development, said: “We provide various skill trainings in the cottage industry and handicrafts to those who are interested. However, people from the Bede community are missing out from these trainings as they do not get in touch with us.”