Rohingya women, especially widows or divorcees, have made jute bags worth around Tk5 crore in one year.
As part of Rohingya women's livelihood and skill development, the UNHCR is operating six centers at Cox's Bazar.
These centers produce jute bags, sanitary napkins, undergarments and some clothing.
The UNHCR annually needs 600,000 jute bags. In 2020 almost 1,200 Rohingya women produced around 1,000,000 bags in the centers inside the Rohingya camps worth Tk5 crore.
Rohingya women have been participating in the initiative to earn money by adhering to the volunteer guidelines set by the Bangladesh government and receiving Tk50 per hour.
Currently, the cost of producing each jute bag is Tk50, as this work is non-commercial and non-profitable.
The UNHCR's objective is to involve a larger number of women in this program to enhance their skills. Hence the participants are only working four hours a day.
With the aim of discouraging plastic use and rolling back pollution in the camps, the jute center was established in July 2020.
The target was to manufacture jute bags to distribute non-food items among the Rohingya community.
Later, demand for the jute bags and products increased on the part of non-government workers inside the camps as jute is pollution free, non-toxic and eco-friendly.
In addition to promoting manufacturing jute bags, the initiative has expanded to include the production of sanitary napkins, women's undergarments, souvenirs, lunch boxes, and vests for guests and NGO workers.
In this regard, Subarata Kumar Chakrabarty, livelihoods officer, UNHCR, said: “Currently we are operating six centres. Four of them are for manufacturing sanitary napkins, undergarments for women.”
The government and international organizations have highly praised this initiative, as it has enabled Rohingya women to enhance their skills and earn income.
The initiative has also reduced the sense of misery and helplessness Rohingya women have felt in the camps.
