Innovision Consulting’s Digest 6 analyses the COVID-19 impact on vulnerable groups, focusing on Jamdani Artisans in Bangladesh. UNESCO-recognised Jamdani weaving, centred in Narayanganj district, engages around 250,000 people in an informal, family-based value chain. For most artisan households, weaving is the only source of income.
The pandemic struck right before the peak sales seasons of Pohela Boishakh and Eid-ul-Fitr. A rapid survey found that 93% of Jamdani artisans had no income since the lockdown began in March 2020. Female artisans were hit harder, earning less than their male counterparts even before the crisis. Households now face severe challenges: average outstanding loans of BDT 34,071, almost no cash reserves, and critical food shortages, with 68% having no food stock at home.
Innovision Consulting stresses the need for both immediate relief through cash and food assistance and long-term measures such as special safety net programmes and community disaster funds to protect these vulnerable Jamdani Artisans and safeguard Bangladesh’s cultural heritage.
Read the full report here: Link
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