Once again Shafiqul Alam Selim revived
the faith that the capacity of human beings is limitless. The way the founder
of Karupannya Rangpur Ltd. overcame his limitations is a highly
motivational story. He has changed his own fortune. The story of changing his
fate has changed the fate of many people in the northern region of Bangladesh.
All the dreams and perseverance of
Selim are surrounded by Shotoronji (Floor mat). Only Shotoronji is produced in
his huge factory. But Shotoronji is not a new thing. For a long time, it was
produced in different regions of Bangladesh. Even it was made in Rangpur. From
that point of view, like many other regions, Shotoronji is also the tradition
of Rangpur. At the beginning, Shotoronjs used to be made by yarn, not jute.
That old Shotoronji has come today’s position through many ups and downs.
BSCIC, Aarong and many others have contributions to it, especially all those
who are involved with handlooms and handicrafts. In the 1980s, BSCIC took a new
initiative called Shotoronji project. That project has a role in the expansion
of Shotoronji. In 1981, I was also associated with Aarong. Since then, I was
interested in Shotoronji.
But as far as Shafiqul Alam Selim has
gone with his initiatives in producing Shotoronji is really praise worthy. His
great achievement is that he has made Shotoronji, which is suitable for the
outside world. Produced from his factory, Shotoronji of Bangladesh is spreading
in different countries of the world. In the last fiscal year, the export value
of it was $30 million. Currently his company, Karupannya’s, export accounts for
80 percent of the country's handicraft export. For this reason, this
organization is getting gold medal of National Export Trophy given by the
Ministry of Commerce.
There are many achievements beside
Karupannya. Selim’s organization has grown up in the way any organization grows
slowly- with intensive love and hard perseverance. I have been closely
observing him for long time. “From zero to Hero” these few words best describe
Selim’s emergence as a successful Storonji entrepreneur.
Earlier in 1986, Selim attended an art
fair in Dhaka making a picture with wheat straw in canvas. That was his
beginning. In 1991, he opened a handicraft shop named Karupannya in his home
town Rangpur. It was a very long and tough journey. He struggled a lot to come
to his current position.
In 2015, Selim wrote about his own
experience. Let’s take some part from there:
‘I took lease of BSCIC’s closed Shotoronji
project on personal initiative and by organizing old craftsmen and training new
workers, started producing and selling Shotoronji in a small scale. My friends
came. Then prominent persons from different classes and professions also come
here. We discussed about this lost tradition of Shotoronji in Rangpur. My goal
was to revive this Shotoronji-industry again by any means necessary. Rangpur’s
lost glory will have to be brought back. And if we want to save
Shotoronji–industry, we will first have to create a market in our country. Then
I did not sit idly. I invested myself completely to implement this dream. My
wife Shila along with my younger brothers, Lenin, Shamim, and my friends stood
beside me as colleagues.’
The story then took a very interesting
turn. The buyers became interested about his Shotoronji. This time, Selim took
Shotoronji out of Rangpur. He organized Shotoronji exhibition in Dhaka,
Chittagong, Khulna, Jessore and many different places.
In 2002, Karupannya’s marketing center
was launched in Dhaka. I was also a guest at the inauguration of that marketing
center. That year, in Germany, he took part in the largest carpet expo named,
DOMOTEX. It changed his fortune forever. Overseas buyers liked his Shotoronji a
lot. Within two years, the number of countries importing his Shotoronji reached
to 33. Shotoronji produced in his factory are now exporting in Europe, North
America and 55 countries of Asia.
Karupannya is making shotoronji
completely by using handloom in local technology, In organic ingredients.
Exportable Shotoronji of varieties of designs and colors are being produced
using garments waste, torn cloth, raw jute, jute yarn and re-used yarn.
Karupannya now has two factories, both
in Rangpur. One is in Robertson Gonj and the other is in Lahiri Hat. 5000
artisans are working in these two factories. 90% of the artisans are women.
Empowering women living in remote areas is one of the main goals of Selim. Many
female workers from neighboring villages come here by riding bicycle. For their
children, there are many facilities including day-care center.
Selim started dreaming about shotoronji
three decades ago. He struggled a lot. The prestige and value of Bangladeshi
shotoronji today in the international market is the
direct outcome of his hard work and enthusiasm.
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