The
sale of jute is one of the few incomes of the Government of Bangladesh.
Also the farmer sowing it is expecting to receive from it a small capital
to invest.
Unfortunately the price of the jute changes every year, following the
market request.
If this year a lot of jute is available on the market, the price is low.
Next year the farmer will sow something else.
So the price of jute will come up again.
Bangladesh
is exporting a lot of raw jute, just as it comes from the fields.
But also the products of the many existing Jute Mills are exported:
- Bags for the green coffee beans or for anything else
- C.B.C. (Carpeting Backing Cloth), which is the base for industrial carpeting.
The women of the handicrafts cooperatives have to arrange for their
stock of jute every year, choosing it from the best available and paying
the farmer a better price than what he is expecting to receive from the
Jute Mills dealers.
Jute
a.a - Photos of jute fields, seen from the road.
a.b - The plant of jute, from nearby.
a.c - Still more near.
a.d - Stems of jute, growing up.
Jute b. Fields - Jute can reach even 4 meters of height.
Jute c. Cutting - Farmers cutting jute and preparing bundles
to transport it.
Jute d. Macerate - Jute under water to macerate. It will take
two or three weeks, until the skin (the jute fibre) will be easily freed
from the hard part of the stem. To keep the jute under water, farmers
have to put weight on it: they use water hyacinth, banana trees, or even
soil.
Jute e. Skinning - Skinning of the jute stem. The jute fibre
(skin) is easily taken away from the hard part of the stem. Women and
girls, at the roadsides, near the canals, do this job. Professionals are
working in the water at the edge of a canal. You can see the jute skeins
still wet and the "patkuti" put aside to dry.
Jute f. Patkuti - The left over of the jute stem, the inside
hard part, called "patkuti". It looks like a fragile cane. Dried up, will
be used for temporary fences, and eventually will be used as kitchen fuel,
often enriched with cow-dung.
Jute g. Drying - Jute drying in the wind.
Jute h. Ready – Jute bales in the Women Cooperative store.
The
farmer cuts the mature jute stems and he keeps it in water to macerate.
After about three weeks, the farmer takes away the skin of the jute (this
is the actual jute fibre), he washes it, he makes it dry and he prepares
it in bales, ready for sale.
The internal part of the jute stems will be utilized for temporary fences
and for cooking fires
End of the message.
