CORR - The Jute Works is an organization of women handicraft producers that was established in 1973 to rehabilitate the war-widowed and war-affected poor rural women of Bangladesh. The aim was to provide income generation for these women through producing handicraft items made out of locally available raw materials such as jute, grass, cane, bamboo and clay.

Nowadays there are over 200 cooperative groups throughout Bangladesh producing a diverse range of handmade jute, grass, leaf and terra-cotta products for the export market. In the field, volunteer supervision of production by group leaders and regular visits by the staff of CORR ensure that the women receive a fair distribution of job orders and fair wages for their work.

Bhavani’s Dream
After marrying a landless sharecropper at fifteen Bhavani Rani Das had three children, but the family could barely earn enough to feed themselves. Bhavani joined a local group making jute products for CORR, and started to earn regular income from producing bags, cradles, curtains and other items for CORR’s orders. Her regular income not only ensured the family got enough food to eat, but allowed her to send her three children to school, and to plan for the future.

Bhavani also benefited from an interest free loan offered by CORR, with which she bought a cow and two calves. The calves became plough-bullocks for her husband, who was then able to get more share-cropping work, while Bhavani sold the milk and expanded into poultry rearing and gardening to feed the family. From her savings she has also repaired their hut to make it weatherproof, and installed a well for safe drinking water and a toilet.

In a few short years, with diligent work and the help of CORR, Bhavani has turned her family’s fortunes completely around, and now they look forward to a life of happiness and prosperity – a life she once dared not dream about.

Jute Facts
Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable.
Jute is a rain-fed crop with little need for fertilizer or pesticides.
It is the cheapest vegetable fibre procured from the bast or skin of the plant's stem.
It is the second most important vegetable fibre after cotton, in terms of usage, global consumption, production, and availability.
It has high tensile strength, low extensibility, and ensures better breathability of fabrics.
It is one of the most versatile natural fibres that has been used in raw materials for packaging, textiles, non-textile, construction, and agricultural sectors.
It is a relative of Hemp but is totally free from narcotic elements and odour.
The varieties of Jute are: Tossa Jute - Corchorus olitorius (Golden shine) & White Jute - Corchorus capsularis (Silvery Shine).
The best source of Jute in the world is the Bengal Delta Plain in the Ganges Delta, most of which is occupied by Bangladesh.