RANGAMATI — Pinon-hadi, the traditional dress of Indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, is no longer just a cultural symbol — it has become the main means by which hill women are gaining financial independence. Demand has spread beyond Bangladesh to Dhaka, Chattogram and overseas, fueling a rapid expansion of the trade. But small women entrepreneurs say they face a capital crunch because they receive no government loans or other support.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is home to several Indigenous communities, each with its own language, traditions and culture. Pinon-hadi is the principal traditional dress for women across these communities. Hill women favor the garment, which carries each community’s identity, for religious and social ceremonies and for the main hill festivals of Biju, Baisu, Sangrai and Bihu. Demand for the traditional women’s garment is rising day by day.
A bustling pinon-hadi market is held twice a week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays, at the Banarupa bazaar in Rangamati city, with sellers offering the garment at retail and wholesale prices. On market days, sellers arrive at dawn from far-flung areas with a variety of designs. As demand grows, the garment is moving beyond Dhaka and Chattogram to foreign markets, helping hill women become self-reliant.
On a recent visit to the Banarupa bazaar, women sellers were displaying rows of pinon-hadi in various designs. A pair sells for between 5,000 and 20,000 taka.
Buyers Shatabdi Chakma and Paheli Chakma said they had come from Ghagra in the morning. “We came here to buy because pinon-hadi is available at lower prices,” they said.
Seller Tisha Chakma said the price depended on the design and the quality of the fabric. “A pinon-hadi runs from a minimum of 5,000 taka to a maximum of 20,000 taka,” she said.
Seller Shyamoli Chakma said the garments were woven by hill women artisans and brought to market twice a week. Sales are reasonably good, she said, and many buyers purchase in wholesale lots to take to Dhaka, Chattogram, India and other countries — particularly those with Chakma communities.
Nirmala Chakma said selling pinon-hadi was making the women self-reliant financially and helping to preserve their tradition. “Demand is highest at Biju, weddings and other social festivals,” she said. “But running this business takes a lot of money. We do not get any government support or loans. We have to run the business on our own savings and money borrowed from various people.”
Ismail Hossain, assistant general manager of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation’s Rangamati district office, said an interest-free incentive loan program for such small entrepreneurs has been suspended. “That is why we are unable to lend to them,” he said. “But if they wish, we can recommend them for loans from the Employment Bank.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report