Heritage Palli is bringing together artisans from all over the country to showcase their stunning work, help them earn a better living all the while preserving the rich textile heritage of Bangladesh.
“Artisans from rural Bangladesh should be encouraged in promoting their goods through local consumption and enabling linkage to the local as well as the global market. Therefore, it is time to ‘buy deshi, wear deshi,'” said Tootli Rahman.
Tootli Rahman, the owner of Heritage Palli — a non-profit foundation formed to support artisans across the country — was speaking at an elegant exhibition of “Branding Bangladesh,” organized in partnership with Prerona Foundation on Saturday.
Heritage Palli began as an online start-up project and became operational during the pandemic. It is designing flagship couture for urban fashionistas where people can purchase traditional handmade saree, kameez, tunic, kurti, jewelry, accessories, handicrafts, show pieces and home decor under one roof, designed by Tootli Rahman herself.
Officially launched in December 2021 with the vision to foster an organizational culture for promoting and empowering the local artisans and reviving crafts and cultures that are extinct or under threat of extinction, Heritage Palli started promotions through digital platforms in May 2021. It received tremendous positive responses both locally and globally.
Over the past six months, the organization has been trying to promote art, craft and culture through designing and showcasing fashion and craft, and the event was organized centering an exclusive fashion show and exhibitions of Bangladeshi heritage opened to a larger audiences.
Courtesy“The Bangladeshi government is trying to do a lot in terms of preserving heritage. But a lot more can be done,” Tootli Rahman told Dhaka Tribune.
“We aim to continue to contribute to the sustainable economic growth of the country through capacity-building programmes and creating display opportunities for art and culture. We thank Prerona, along with all other sponsors for their generous support in the event,” she added.
According to Tootli Rahman, most people do not have access to the arts and crafts of rural artisans and if she can reproduce them on the sarees, many people will be able to buy them. At the same time, it would be possible to uphold the Bangla tradition of wearing sarees.
“Bangladesh is a country with rich history and culture which is spread over different eras of rulership and geographic identities. Preserving that heritage while generating revenue for the artisans is praiseworthy. The country is already known globally to be one of the finest quality garment producers of the world,” the German Ambassador Achim Troster said during the event.
Citing the different initiatives of the government in empowering the economy and the women of the country through digitization, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, speaker of the National Parliament said: “Technology such as e-commerce should be further utilized to empower the small communities of artisans across rural Bangladesh to bring them under financial inclusion.”
It also needs to be ensured that products are not bought at a cheaper rate from the marginalized community and sold at a much higher price in metropolitans or similar markets while depriving them of their fare share, the honourable speaker also said.
Heritage Palli is also a branch of the Bangladesh Heritage Craft Foundation, which is working towards the preservation of Bangladesh's heritage. Bangladesh Heritage Craft Foundation is another brainchild of Tootli Rahman, who is a renowned entrepreneur, fashion designer, and event planner.
The founder of the Bangladesh Heritage And Craft Foundation Tootli Rahman also organized the International Weavers Festival in 2016, established the Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation in 2018 and was elected president of the Women Entrepreneur Association of Bangladesh for 2020-2022.
She also introduced wrought-iron furniture and colour-washed pottery for the first time and opened the country's first wrought-iron furniture store, Xpressions during the early 1980s.
Rahman spearheaded the International Weavers Festival, organized the first-ever International Folk Festival in 2015 and was the first to organize fashion shows at Lalbag Kella And Ahsan Manzil. She is the founder of the design label “By Deshi” and was the first one to experiment with fusion wear, particularly fusion weave sarees in Bangladesh.
Her distinct leadership qualities led her to bring together women from all walks of life, to empower and support them through her social service platforms, as the founder and initiator of organizations such as WINGS, a support group for women, Zonta Greater Dhaka, ALO, a drug awareness program and Bangladesh Heritage Crafts Foundation.
This line of Rahman's sarees is highly different and distinct from the expensive designer wear she otherwise retails.
For the new line, Tootli Rahman got in touch with well-known artists from across the country, such as Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Rokeya Sultana, Zainul Abedin, Kanak Champa. She is printing their paintings on her sarees.
