PATUAKHALI: The Rakhaine weavers living at Rakhaine Palli near the coasts in Patuakhali and Barguna districts are in trouble as they are losing markets for their products. The handloom products produced in the traditional way cannot stand in competition with clothes manufactured in textile mills.

The weavers in such a situation are giving up their profession for tother ones that would bring income for them. Thus their number is decreasing alarmingly. Their number has come down to 35 from about 400.

According to local sources, many Rakhaine women who worked at handlooms got fair price of their products just a few years ago. There was a time when their products had good demand and they earned much profit from the handloom units.

But with the arrival of clothes of textile mills, their handloom products have started losing markets, because of high quality of the former. As such the demand for handloom products has started decreasing in the markets. The increase in prices of raw materials used in handloom units has increased the production cost of handloom products. The high production cost and low quality of handloom products compared with those of textile goods are the main reason for loss of markets.

According to Myentthein Promila, Project in charge of Intergraded Community Development Project (ICDP), Cartitas, Barisal region the Rakhine women are skilled in weaving. But in competitive markets these women can not make any profit producing clothes in their traditional handlooms. But the clothes produced by Rakhine women have demands in market. These women need mechanized handlooms (auto and semi auto) to produce a bulk amount of cloths which would give them good profit. Nusue Mong a Rakhine youth said, its difficult to maintain family with the earning from the sale of handloom products.

About 150 women of 30 to 50 Rakhine families are engaged in peoducts like bed-sheet, wrapper, sweater, shirt, lungi, pillow cover, baby dress tumid, towel, handkerchief, tablecloth and other varieties they themselves design their commodities with their own technique and intelligence. They have not special training for this.

Conscious people feel that the Rakhine weavers need patronage from the government so that they can carry on their business of manufacturing handloom products.

Though the handloom products have not much demand in the local markets, there is a great demand of them to the foreigners and tourists. But winter cloths have great demand to the local makkets. Many men, women and youths buy Rakhine commodities out of fancy.