Agargaon, Dhaka
Handwork by women who are paid for it.
We train women from low-income households in Dhaka to sew, embroider, and build small handicraft businesses, then help them sell what they make.
Where the money goes
Every bag, block-printed cloth, and piece of nakshi kantha embroidery you buy from us pays a woman directly for her work and keeps a training seat open for the next one.
We are a non-profit. Nothing is taken out for shareholders, and the women who stitch are members of the samity, not staff on a line.
How it works
Train, make, sell.
She learns the craft
A woman joins a course at our centre in Agargaon. She learns on real cloth in a small group, sitting with women who already know the stitch.
She takes the work home
Once she can finish a piece cleanly she takes orders from us. She works at the centre or at home, whichever fits her day.
We find the buyer
We sell to shops and individual buyers in Dhaka and to buyers abroad, and we carry the sample-making and the packing so she does not have to.
What we run
Four things, done properly.
Nakshi Kantha Embroidery Training
Layering, marking a motif, and filling it with running stitch until the cloth holds together.
Tailoring and Sewing Courses
Measuring, cutting, and finishing on a machine. Enough to take paid orders in your own neighbourhood.
Handmade Bags and Textile Sales
Jute and cotton bags, kantha throws, and printed cloth. Single pieces or repeat orders.
Block Printing Workshops
Short sessions on wooden block printing: loading the block, placing the repeat, setting the colour.
Three ways to work with us.
You want to buy
Tell us the piece and the quantity. We will send photographs and a price, and we can make a sample first.
Ask for a price →You want to learn
Come to the centre in Taltola, Agargaon, or call and ask when the next course starts. Bring nothing.
See the courses →You want to fund a seat
Donors and partner organisations can pay for training places. We report back on who filled them and what they went on to make.
Talk to the manager →