Munima Sultana

Hathey Bunano, a local social enterprise, aims to grab a good portion of the billion dollar world market of handmade toys and create employment for rural women in Bangladesh.

A blend of the local resources and foreign expertise, it has already generated jobs for 3,500 rural women throughout the country, including in the 'char' areas.

Within three years of its inception with a personal investment of US$ 500, Hathey Bunano has increased its annual turnover to US 0.4 million in 2008. The production capacity is now 35,000 pieces a month, CEO Samantha Morshed said at her lone urban centre in the city's Notun Bazar on Tuesday.

Hathey Bunano, first infant toy company of its kind in the country, now produces certified hand-crocheted and hand knitted toys for infants of one to six years of age and sells those to the world famous retail shops in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. It is now trying to popularise its own brand 'Pebble' in the $100 billion toy market.

The experience of Hathey Bunano was shared in the Global Philanthropy Forum held in Washington of the Unites States last April and generated interest from institutions like ICICI Foundation, Thermaz India and IMFR in India.

British born Samantha said 96 per cent of the products are now exported to the US, UK and Australia, which has been possible due to ensuring quality. She said due to high overseas demand the enterprise cannot now enter into the local market.

Educated in physics and economics, Samantha uses the locally available raw materials and human resources to give value addition to the products.

The success behind this social enterprise as a profitable business entity has been the prevention of economic migration, which has contributed to family ties. This is unlike the readymade garment sector that has lured people to migrate to the urban areas.

Samantha Morshed earned an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), accorded by the Queen of England for her services in creating rural employment.

Some 3,500 women, mainly hardcore poor, make the export quality toys under a network of 34 rural cooperatives. Factories of these products have been set up within the community using locally available resources like bamboo, mud, tins etc. It consumes minimum electricity and gives flexible time for work, and provides scope to cope with different crisis like monga, cyclone, the CEO said claiming that the women effected in the recent cyclone Aila have been identified within the Hathey Bunano network and given assistance to help them survive the economic losses.