KIT Blog

Like most of the artisans of Torulota Handicrafts, Nilufer Begum comes from a very poor family and never had the chance to go to school.

Nilufer’s parents arranged her marriage to a local man at a very young age. Nilufer’s husband had a small tea stall in the village and didn’t earn enough to support a family. It became really difficult for Nilufer to provide the basic needs for her family as she became the mother of a son and three daughters.

Nilufer realised that she needed to find a job to support her family and send her children to school.

In 2011, Nilufer started working as a producer in Torulota Handicrafts and has been working there ever since.  Currently, she earns enough to provide the basic needs for her family and send her children to school. One of her daughters is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree and her son is in 12th grade.  Her other daughters are now married and have families of their own.

Nilufer is grateful to Torulota Handicraft for providing her the opportunity to support her family and she wishes to work with the project as long as she is capable of working.

Torulota Handicrafts supply Prokritee fair trade in Bangladesh.  The Leprosy Mission Australia sources products from Prokritee for the gift catalogue and online shop, like these handcrafted greeting cards below.