She was involved in teaching at a school. Alongside, she also had several tuition students. Juggling between job, tuition, and household, everything was going well. In 2020, she was affected by the global pandemic of Covid-19 like everyone else. She was confined to being a homemaker. Even though she had a job, all the tuition classes got canceled. Despite having a job, she found the path to uplift human life from the misery of a meager income. She searched and finally emerged as a resilient entrepreneur.
I was talking about Israt Jahan, a resident of Mohammadpur in the capital city. Originally from Rajshahi, she started living in the capital in 2016 due to her husband’s job. Israt, who completed her Masters in Home Economics, started working at a non-government school. However, now the job is no more. Driven by a strong desire to do business, she left her job in September last year. She is now running a business named ‘Banglar Aitihya Boutique House’ through a Facebook page.
Recounting the tale of becoming an entrepreneur, she says due to Covid-19, she was also cornered like everyone else. The tuition classes got canceled. Again, regarding the job, it’s a yes and a no. Besides, she was under severe mental stress due to various reasons. She was looking for a path to walk on. Exactly then, she found ‘Wi Platform’.
In Wi Platform, Israt sees thousands of women working to support their families like her. She felt that through this platform, she might strengthen the ground beneath her feet. She can learn and discover the ways to become an entrepreneur by giving a small amount and sitting at home. She can strengthen her education through additional training online.
To share her experience during the Covid era, Israt remarks that when staying at home, you have to fight with life. And if you go out for life, you have to fight with Covid. We used to go out to collect scrap materials by risking our lives. I started my initiative with very little capital. However, collecting scrap materials was the biggest challenge of all.
She says, when going out to collect scrap materials, it felt like living in another world. Empty streets with no one around. We used to collect scrap materials secretly. After returning home, I had to listen to various words from family members. The threat to leave the house was also there. Despite all that, I kept the initiative alive because the whole family was by my side. Because of me, the whole family had to undergo Covid testing 5-6 times and had to stay in isolation.
The same Covid that has devastated the workplaces of thousands of people and shut down many major industries has turned it into an opportunity for her to become an entrepreneur.
She used to collect raw cotton, block-making chemicals, wooden dyes, threads, and worked on blocking at the dining table. Alongside managing household chores all day long, she used to design shades, three-pieces, bed covers, etc., on the dining table. After finishing eating, she would start working on blocking with all the equipment on the dining table.
For about a year and a half, she worked on blocking at her dining table at home. She keeps trying to expand her initiative little by little. When the Covid situation eased a bit, in the mid of 2021, she rented a small shop. She along with three assistants started working on blocking, boutique, and screen printing. And with a little expansion, she employed two more workers for ready-made clothes. As she works with traditional attire, she requires 4-5 employees for handwork. It becomes a small workshop that stands on its feet.
She reveals that they collected thread directly from country’s cotton along with soft silk from Rajshahi and muslin fabric from Rajshahi. They dyed, blocked, screen-printed, and embroidered shawls, three-pieces, sarees, tunics, one-pieces, and kurtis by themselves.
Starting from relatives and family members, everyone gradually became customers of her products. When customers prefer her designed traditional dresses among thousands of foreign glitters in the market, she feels proud of herself.
However, she closed her shop last November along with her teaching job of long seven years. She wants to start afresh. She wants to be a big entrepreneur, wants to create new businesses. Nevertheless, she is still selling products through the factory and ‘Banglar Aitihya Boutique House’.
For those aspiring to be entrepreneurs, Israt says, before starting any work, one must have a good understanding or experience in that work field. It should be done in a way that the work is as beautiful as the products the customers receive. Moreover, training is vital for any task. I am still undergoing various training to expand my initiative. To grow my initiative, I undergo training and provide training to my coworkers.
Encouraging people to incline towards the country’s traditional attire amid the foreign dresses’ rush in the market brings her the most joy, coupled with managing working spaces for 10 people. For this, I would say, instead of running after jobs, let’s become entrepreneurs. Create your working space and contribute to the country’s economy. Establish 10 workplaces alongside yours to help alleviate unemployment in the country
