• by IPS Correspondents
• Wednesday, July 04, 2012
• Inter Press Service

Jul 04 (IPS) - DHAKA, Jul 3 2012 (IPS) - At first glance the smart young women in white overcoats, black rubber boots and protective face masks seem out of place in impoverished Bangladesh’s dirtiest industry – brick making.

But this factory in Savar, 35 km outside Dhaka, is no ordinary brick kiln. It is a Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK) which uses modified German technology that drastically cuts down the smoke and soot associated with firing blocks of clay into bricks.

Shumi attends school and does shifts at a brick factory. Credit: Naimul Haq/IPS

HHKs also use semi-automatic machines that do away with heavy manual labour, allowing women to be employed in brick-making in large numbers.   Since production started at this demonstration unit last year, many of the women in nearby villages  have switched from being low-paid farm labourers to skilled brick makers.

Says Salma Begum, 34, from the nearby Bhatiakandi village: “I used to toil nine hours at a stretch daily on a potato farm just to earn about 1,400 Bangladeshi taka (17 dollars) a month. “Now, working six hours daily as a supervisor at the loading section of this modern brick factory, I earn 64 dollars as monthly salary.”

Rehana Begum, 42, a former labourer at a nearby vegetable farm, says her life changed after she took a five-month training stint at the same brick field.

About six months ago, Rehana and her husband, Motin, signed on as regular workers. “My husband and I together make about 120 dollars a month, enough for my family of six that includes my mother-in-law,” she tells IPS.

It was in 2010 that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh introduced new brick making technologies to replace the polluting fixed chimney kilns (FCK) that release large  amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Traditionally, the brick industry in Bangladesh was unregulated, ran  during the six dry months of the year and depended heavily on male bonded labour.

Md Hisham Uddin Chisty, research officer of Clean Energy Alternatives (CEA), consultants for HHK technology, told IPS: “The new design allows women to participate in production as the heavy work is mechanised.”  The women are happy to learn new skills. “I joined as an apprentice three months ago after five days of training at the factory. I learnt how to operate some of latest machines and make good quality bricks,” says Shahera Begum, 27.

Md Murtoja Ali, marketing manager of CEA, told IPS: “Women are preferred in certain sections where heavy work is not involved and where they perform far better than their males because they have more patience.

“We give opportunities to all the women living in the nearby villages so that they get some experience. About 82 of the women are on short-term contracts which allow them to take time off to attend to family matters and return when they can.”

“Because I get a one-hour lunch break I can go to my home in nearby Ganakpara village to cook for the family and be back at work on time,” she tells IPS.  Shumi, 16, a school girl from Ganakpara village, says she works at the production line and attend school between shifts. The youngest worker at the factory, Shumi earns 56 dollars a month and plans to continue with her education.

“My supervisors have been very generous. Because of such worker-friendly atmosphere we enjoy working here,” she says.  The factory, built at a cost of 841,575 dollars, has modern facilities like changing rooms, clean toilets and rest rooms

© Inter Press Service (2012) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

Where next?

Advertisement