Craft first
We name the skill before anything else. No diagnosis appears on these pages unless a maker chose to put it there.
The Change Makers
Skill over stigma.
Always.
Every profile here is a real Moner Kaj maker, written in their own words. We lead with the craft, because that is what they want to be known for.
Their own words
Every story below is written or dictated by the maker. Nothing is rewritten into a more moving version of itself.
Paid directly
Sales go to the maker's own account. A profile here is a shopfront, not a donation appeal.
5
Makers on this page
0
Products listed
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Pieces sold
9
Years of trading
Tamannah Paints · Old Dhaka
Tamannah
“I paint loud colours on the days I feel least like talking.”
Before
I had a job I could not keep and a reputation for being unreliable that followed me from one workshop to the next.
Finding craft
Rickshaw art is not quiet work and it is not subtle, and that suited me. Nobody asks a painter to be calm.
Now
I take panel commissions and painted signage. My name goes on the back of every piece, which I insisted on from the first one.
0
products
0
pieces sold
11
months trading
Monira Textiles · Jamalpur
Monira
“The needle and thread keep my hands and my mind steady.”
Before
My moods moved faster than I could follow. Work that needed me to be the same person for six months at a time was never going to hold.
Finding craft
Kantha is forgiving. You can put it down for a week and pick it up exactly where the thread stopped, and nobody has lost anything.
Now
I work to my own calendar and sell finished pieces rather than promises. That one change is why I have kept going for two years.
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products
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pieces sold
19
months trading
Sathi Weaves · Sylhet
Sathi
“People here waited for me to be well before they were kind. Not the other way round.”
Before
I was told what I could not do so many times that I started repeating it myself before anyone else got the chance.
Finding craft
Weaving is counting. On the days my thoughts are loud, the count is the only thing in the room I can hold on to.
Now
My mats go to buyers in Dhaka now. I am paid into my own bKash account, which took longer to arrange than learning the weave did.
0
products
0
pieces sold
22
months trading
Munni Jewellery · Korail, Dhaka
Munni
“When someone buys what I made, I know I am being seen.”
Before
For a long time I did not leave the room I slept in. My family did not know what to do with me, and I did not have the words to explain it either.
Finding craft
A neighbour brought me a box of loose beads to sort. Sorting turned into stringing, and stringing turned into a first necklace I was not embarrassed to show anyone.
Now
I take custom orders now and keep my own accounts. The work pays for itself and for my treatment, and I decide what I make and what I charge for it.
0
products
0
pieces sold
26
months trading
Shahinur Tailors · Mirpur, Dhaka
Shahinur
“Every stitch is a step toward the life I am rebuilding.”
Before
I had learned to sew years earlier but stopped when the panic attacks started. A machine in the corner of the room went untouched for three years.
Finding craft
The hub asked me to hem a few pieces, nothing more. The rhythm of the pedal turned out to be the one thing that slowed my breathing down.
Now
I fit and finish garments for regular customers, and I train two younger tailors at the hub one afternoon a week.
0
products
0
pieces sold
31
months trading
Back their work
Buying is the point.
The most useful thing you can do on this page is order something. It pays the maker directly and it is the reason the work continues.