Ratankandi is a thin, sandy strip of an island that sits in what is known in Bangladesh as the Jamuna river and in India as the Ganges. Every year the island floods and the 100 families living on it know that it is only a matter of time before Ratankandi is washed entirely away. They are among the poorest people in the country.
But 40 women among them now work for a thriving company called Hathay Bunano (translates as hand-made) that sells hand-knitted baby clothes and toys to customers in Europe, Australia and the US.
A nearby primary school is the only regular service that the government provides for them. There is no electricity, no clinic and only one very simple little kiosk-shop.
On average, the several million people living on Bangladesh's river-islands, known as chars, are forced by the destructive power of the river to move home at least five times in their lives.
The work is done in a simple, one-roomed tin building that Hathay Bunano rents from a villager. The women sit on the floor, some with their babies beside them, and knit the different products.
Hathay Bunano employs more than 3,500 women across Bangladesh
Their quirky designs are winning more and more customers abroad. At the moment the women are working on finger puppets of animals, rattles that look like biscuits and large, soft, red-square robots.
The decision to work on Ratankandi island was made by Hathay Bunano's British-Bangladeshi founders, Samantha and Gollum Morshed.
They felt that if we could create export quality products in the middle of nowhere, where there is no electricity and no other services, they could create these products anywhere.
"We have chosen to work in rural areas and some of the hardest areas of Bangladesh in order to provide employment for people who really need it. We believe very strongly that the most effective way of alleviating poverty in this country is by creating employment."
So far, they have been amazingly successful. Hathay Bunano began operations with a tiny investment of $400 and 12 trainees in December 2004.
It now has a healthy and growing turnover and employs more than 3,500 women at 32 sites across Bangladesh.
The Morsheds are confident of weathering the global economic storm as orders are still coming in.
All profits are put back into the company and the women can earn 25% more than the Bangladesh legal minimum. They are also able to spend their earnings in their own villages, where it will really help.
By comparison, most of the five million workers employed in Bangladesh's thriving garment export industry have had to leave their rural homes to work in the factories.
They spend a large chunk on the wages on paying rents, even though most end up in slums.
The Morsheds believe their business model - of taking jobs into the countryside - is a more effective way of tackling poverty. They also think their approach has a more sustainable future than that of non-governmental organisations, which rely on handouts.
"Unless you make a profit I think it is impossible to help people in a long-term sustainable way. The strength of our organisation is that regardless of whether we receive any donations we will sustain and continue to grow," Samantha Morshed says.
But 40 women among them now work for a thriving company called Hathay Bunano (translates as hand-made) that sells hand-knitted baby clothes and toys to customers in Europe, Australia and the US.
A nearby primary school is the only regular service that the government provides for them. There is no electricity, no clinic and only one very simple little kiosk-shop.
On average, the several million people living on Bangladesh's river-islands, known as chars, are forced by the destructive power of the river to move home at least five times in their lives.
The work is done in a simple, one-roomed tin building that Hathay Bunano rents from a villager. The women sit on the floor, some with their babies beside them, and knit the different products.
Hathay Bunano employs more than 3,500 women across Bangladesh
Their quirky designs are winning more and more customers abroad. At the moment the women are working on finger puppets of animals, rattles that look like biscuits and large, soft, red-square robots.
The decision to work on Ratankandi island was made by Hathay Bunano's British-Bangladeshi founders, Samantha and Gollum Morshed.
They felt that if we could create export quality products in the middle of nowhere, where there is no electricity and no other services, they could create these products anywhere.
"We have chosen to work in rural areas and some of the hardest areas of Bangladesh in order to provide employment for people who really need it. We believe very strongly that the most effective way of alleviating poverty in this country is by creating employment."
So far, they have been amazingly successful. Hathay Bunano began operations with a tiny investment of $400 and 12 trainees in December 2004.
It now has a healthy and growing turnover and employs more than 3,500 women at 32 sites across Bangladesh.
The Morsheds are confident of weathering the global economic storm as orders are still coming in.
All profits are put back into the company and the women can earn 25% more than the Bangladesh legal minimum. They are also able to spend their earnings in their own villages, where it will really help.
By comparison, most of the five million workers employed in Bangladesh's thriving garment export industry have had to leave their rural homes to work in the factories.
They spend a large chunk on the wages on paying rents, even though most end up in slums.
The Morsheds believe their business model - of taking jobs into the countryside - is a more effective way of tackling poverty. They also think their approach has a more sustainable future than that of non-governmental organisations, which rely on handouts.
"Unless you make a profit I think it is impossible to help people in a long-term sustainable way. The strength of our organisation is that regardless of whether we receive any donations we will sustain and continue to grow," Samantha Morshed says.
