Chana chur
Practical Action
He supplies his product to shops in Rajoir. He sells his product for 40 Taka per kg on average
(information collected in 1992). He also sells some of his Chana chur directly to the public in the
street. His daily profit is 200-250 Taka.
Sandwip Island
Sandwip Island is a low lying island in the Jamuna/Ganges delta. It was one of the worst effected
places in Bangladesh by Hurricane Gorky in 1991. Thousands of people were killed, most of the
houses destroyed and most landless people's livelihoods ruined since the rice fields, where they
worked as day labourers, were flooded with salt water. There were reports of wages falling as low
as 10 Taka a day which is not enough to live off.
At the time of the cyclone no one was making Chana chur on the island. It was made in
Chinagong and Noakhali and transported by boat to the island. The quality of this Chana chur was
poor.
Two years later 6 Women are making a living by producing Chana chur. They all received training
from Tahming Chowdhury of Nari Progroti (a women's development organization), who attended
the first Practical Action food processing training course. Tahmina Chowdhury has been so
successful, that she became the Chana chur trainer on the Practical Action course.
Rohima Begum
Rohima Begum was a widow with two children at the time of the cyclone. Her mother Hazera also
lives with her. She had no fixed work. Life was difficult and she barely had enough money to keep
her family alive. She was one of the twelve women that received training from Tahmina
Chowdhury on Chana chur production.
Rohima and Hazera (who also received training from Tahmina Chowdhury) make 2 - 3 kg of Chana
chur every day. They produce a high quality Chana chur with 5 different ingredients including
fried noodles, peanuts and pulses. They package this in 250g polythene packages with a colourful
label. Her son Ibrahim Mohammad markets the packaged product in the shops of the local village.
They make 12 Taka profit on each kilogram produced and make between 24 and 36 Taka a day.
This is equivalent to the average daily labourer's wage. However in Sandwip (a very poor area),
this is regarded as very good. She has expanded the business and now also produces "Moa/Mola"
puffed rice and gur balls which she sells to labourers in the paddy fields. She is sometimes paid
in paddy which she processes and sells for a profit.
This has had a very big impact on her family. They have for the first time a regular supply of food.
They feel secure. Their position has improved so much that her son Ibrahim Mohammad can now
attend the Junior High school regularly which will greatly improve his chances of getting a good
job.
Madaripur
Madaripur is in the centre of the country. Mokbul Hossain of the Rural Employment Sector
Programme works in this region. He attended the 4th Practical Action food processing course.
After attending the course, he has worked with many groups of disadvantaged people on food
processing enterprise development. Fifteen businesses have been set up and nearly 200 people
are benefitting from this work.
Sarwar Hossain
Ten years ago due to a lack of work in this area, Sarwar Hossain left his village and went to Dhaka
to find work. The only work he could find was as a rickshaw puller. This is hard and difficult work
and he often only made 30 Taka a day, which does not go very far in Dhaka. He was often tired
and exhausted and became sick.
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