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Team

Team

zaterdag 27 november 2010

Batexpo


The past few days we were at the Batexpo. This is a world fair for fabrics and everything around fabric. Here we collected a lot of business cards of people that would like to do business with us. We also were invited to visit a few factories. One of those factories is the Bangladeshi leading yarn maker. So this is interesting for us to visit, since here we can see how the process, from cotton plant to yarn, would look like.  

Some facts[source: Batexpo]
Principal crops of Bangladesh: Rice, Jute, Wheat, Tea, Tobacco, Sugarcane
Major import of Bangladesh: Wheat, Oil seeds, Crude petroleum, Raw cotton, Edible oil, Petroleum products, Fertilizer, Stable fibers, Yarn, Iron, Steel

We also figured out that such kind of fair is very corrupt. We were not invited to the Batexpo night program, but since we were foreigners, we could get in. There were only rich people inside that were invited to this program. Plus, the enjoyed free drinks and snacks during the performances of India’s best pop artists. We asked someone why there were no Bengali performances. He answered that they were too cheap and the buyers, investors and partners who exhibited the fair have a lot of money, so they had to have the most expensive artists.

Ghior


In Ghior is also a day centre from Niketan. We visited this place to do some user research. We also visited the Ghior market. This is a very big market where they have all kind of things. You name it, and they have it! 

zaterdag 20 november 2010

Progressing

Niketan has 4 projects: 3 daycare center (one in Baniajuri, one in Tepra and one in Ghoir) and one permanent home called Afroza's place in Jabra. In future, Niketan will build another permanent home for the female disabled children, a home for the employees and a new home for the daycare center of Baniajuri. 

At the moment it is quiet here at Afroza's place - our home is for the next three months. This in fact there is a Muslim vacation going on called Eid. But tomorrow the 7 disabled kids that live here, will come back. These children live here since they want to and most of the parents are too old to take care of them.
Previous days we performed a lot of project work. Mainly material research and user research. We already know that the children here need a product and we figured out a certain design direction.
Next week we hope we can go to the Batexpo: a world fair for fabrics. This is a great opportunity to meet possible stakeholders and investors. Besides, it is a good place for researching the fabric innovations in Bangladesh.

We looking forward to the 3rd of December; World Disability Day. This is a great festivity in the environment we live in right now. Since Niketan is a leading project for whole Bangladesh some of the children will do a dancing and singing performance for the prime minister. We are invited to and would love to experience the event.

As you can see, there are many things going on right now, and we will keep in touch!

maandag 15 november 2010

Hartel

On Sunday 14th of November 2010 there was a Hartel in Bangladesh. A Hartel can be described as a country wide strike and results in no traffic in Dhaka or on the other roads in the country.
The government pronounced the Hartel in the newspaper and on the radio. A Hartel can be compared to a ‘car free Sunday’ in the Netherlands. The difference is in the fact that people stick to the idea of no traffic in fact they are afraid that there car will be set on fire.
The reason for this Hartel was that the old government gave one of the (old) ministers a second house for just one taka. So actually he gave himself a second house for just one taka. This house is built a very big piece of land. The new government would like to build apartments on this piece of land since there is a housing shortage in Dhaka. But the old minister won’t give up his second house and that is why there is a Hartel. To convince the old minister that he needs to give up his second house.

Eid



Eid is one of the most important festivities in Bangladesh. Family from all over the country and from outside the country will join each other during Eid. Although the Eid is just for one day, it is a whole week of festivities and a whole week of joy. This all because of the many marriages that will take place in this week.
When family is in town, it is a great opportunity for forced marriage and to marry in front of your whole family. And since the forced marriages are done during the Eid week, it is common that you will marry a family member.

Hierarchy

Small aspects of the high hierarchy in Bangladesh are already noticeable. This can be illustrated the best within a situation in Old Dhaka. Old Dhaka can be seen as an overwhelming intense neighborhood in the capital city in Bangladesh. Project managers and volunteers went out there for shopping traditional clothes. For basically every article you want to buy it is normal to try to reduce the price by bargaining. Set prices are not common. By bargaining a price was set for which one of the shoppers did not agree with. The volunteer did not want to buy the garments and walked away.
Suddenly an assistant ran after her and begged to come back to continue bargaining. In this situation it can be seen as interesting that the shop owner which tried to make a deal with the volunteer sent an assistant to get her back. In the Netherlands the one who would try to make a deal also would try to get the customer back and would not send an assistant. Hierarchy shows that the shop owner is standing on a higher grade than the assistant. Silly jobs are not solved by people with a high level of respect.

vrijdag 12 november 2010

Infrastructure

Transport

In Dhaka you have got several ways for transporting yourself, we tested them all. You have got the boat, car, bus, riksja and car riksja. In Dhaka there is a 24/7 traffic jam all over the city. So it is hard to transport things and yourself inside Dhaka. And since there is no sidewalk, as a western, you prefer not to walk.
The rules are simple: the bigger the better. The larger you car, the more you got priority in traffic. In general drivers  prefer to move out of the way instead of bring their car to a standstill.
In and around Dhaka there are asphalted roads, outside Dhaka there are just 5 highways. The other roads outside Dhaka are small and it is almost impossible for two cars to pass each other. Though there are a few asphalted highways in Bangladesh, it is still difficult to reach each other. For example, it takes approximately 2 hours to travel from Dhaka to Baniajuri (80 km) with a bigger car. And inside Dhaka, by car, it is possible that it takes 1 hour for 2 km.
A good alternative is transport by boat. Bangladesh already has some import product from India. These product come by boat.

Communication

There has been a mobile revolution in Bangladesh. This means that almost everybody has a mobile phone. Though the communication is not that good. The Bengali people may have a mobile phone, but use them for other purposes as Western people do. Phones are largely used for games and when they call, they barley exchange information.

Electricity & water

There are few places in Bangladesh that do not have electricity. Though, it will not work all of the time. It switches on-off-on and off again. It is not reliable. This makes the water facility also not reliable since that water needs to be pumped up.
Besides, the Bengali electricity net is not built in a save way. Electricity cables with a voltage of 220 are hanging every where without any protection. Most of the time they are hanging at the height of the head, but the team already have seen them at even knee height. There are a lot of children who have injured themselves at the these cables.