Sari Weaving

The last place we stopped on our boat tour was Noapara Village where they specialize in Jamdani weaving.  Jamdani weaving is one of the most time and labor intensive forms of hand loom weaving, and it originated in Bangladesh.  According to our guide, it takes two people a month and a half to complete a sari - and that is working every day (and it's probably more than an 8 hour day).  Jamdani weaving is mainly used for saris, but they weave scarves as well.  

When we arrived in the village, we walked through the street toward the 'factory'.  This 'factory' consisted of a couple small huts where about 12 workers per hut were weaving the saris.  Some of the workers were quite young, while others were probably around my age.  These huts had around 6 weaving 'machines' above a dirt floor.  The floor had holes dug out so the workers could sit down with their legs below them (like a normal chair, except without back support - oh yeah, and except for the fact that they were sitting on the ground).  The huts were small, and the lighting was awful.  The guide informed us that the workers tend to go blind by the age of 40 due to the low lighting and labor intensive work.  

The sari weaving huts and machines

A close up of the work in progress

While we were standing outside, a Bangladeshi guy came over to me and gestured toward the hut.  I assumed he wanted me to go inside and see more of the weaving, so I followed.  He pointed toward the machine, and I eventually understood that he wanted me to sit down.  I was quite excited by this, and therefore I attempted to get underneath the machine and sit down.  Well, if you haven't figured out by now, I am a giant compared to Bangladeshis.  I even tower above the men.  So, maneuvering between the machines and trying to stick my legs underneath the machine was quite the ordeal.  Luckily I didn't damage anything in the process.  Once I sat down, the guy showed me how to weave the material.  After 4 or 5 attempts, I was finally able to complete the simplest task of pushing the loom from one side to the other without it falling.  

A friend learning the task

As we left the village, many of the children followed us and said goodbye