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.

Bisheswar Mritshilpa Samity
In the coastal village of Madanpura, south of Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bisheswar Paal made a living as a traditional potter, producing weights for fishing nets and rough pitchers for domestic use. As his skills developed, he started selling his wares in markets outside his village, and in 1982 he came across CORR – The Jute Works, who gave him access to up-to-date technologies, allowing him to develop his techniques and improve his lifestyle ‘from the rock-bottom to decent level’. Back in the village, the neighbouring women were able to learn from Bisheswar, and now fifty potters, including 45 women, are making terracotta crafts in a cooperative society called Bisheswar Mritshilpa Samity, and exporting through CORR.

Jotchna, one of the women potters says, “I have benefited immensely from joining the group. I have educated my children and married one daughter. One of my sons is studying class 8, one class 9. We have better living conditions like sanitation. It is far, far better. I have learned after joining the group. We are thankful to Bisheswar dada as he taught us a skilled job”.

Terracotta Production
Clay is generally collected from the river bed, usually at the confluences, and then put in a tank and washed to get rid of foreign objects. It is filtered through a net and put out to dry under the sun in a flat bed. Trainee artisans use moulds supplied by the master craftsman to produce the products, which are then brought back to the workshop for further drying in the shade, while expert potters use wheels. The dried products are then put into a kiln for the first firing, which the potters call a biscuit fire. Each terracotta product requires up to 5-12 hours to produce, followed by firing for two days. Mostly the men prepare the clay and do the firing, while the women make the products and do finishing, which can be one of several types:

Open/sealed Kiln
Potters used an open kiln (with air holes around the covering roof) to make the pots a natural terracotta colour, or a kiln with no hole to keep the smoke inside to make the crafts black.

Silvery Black
Catechu, mangosteen extract and charcoal are used to impart a shiny finish to the crafts. The crafts are washed with a juice extract made from these ingredients and then fired inside a sealed kiln. The potter then creates a smoke using incense, rice husk and wood dust. To create the final silvery effect, they coat the pot with mangosteen juice and fire it again at a higher temperature.

Whitewash
The crafts are washed with a mix of natural lime and zinc oxide to give a whitewash effect.

Smoky
After biscuit firing the craft is placed inside a tin box with small holes all around it for smoke toasting. Smoke is created inside the kiln with incense, rice husk and wood dust.

Lacquer
Lacquer is used to make vases water-resistant. Lacquers are generally mixtures of resins, mangosteen, catechu and red soil. Mangosteen (gaab in Bangla), a fruit somewhat like an orange in shape, is widely grown in Bangladesh. Very hard and green at early stages, it becomes soft and yellowish when ripe. The unripe green juice is used by villagers and potters to colour their terracotta products and to strengthen their fishing nets. After soaking the terracotta piece in the juice it is again baked in a kiln to give the required colour.