Sunday morning we took off for Aguljhara, a rural area in Barisal. Here is the MCC office and guest house where we stayed. We had such a lovely time visiting different projects. These projects have "graduated" from MCC ( if I understand correctly; it is still confusing to me so I won't try to explain it to you) and are able to stand on their own as businesses. There is a large area beside the guest house where women were weaving baskets. They also took us to a nearby sister project where more baskets were being woven.
It was fascinating to watch. How these women sit on the floor all day and weave such beautiful pieces of art out of natural fibers is beyond me. They are working on a large order at the moment and asked the women to work late. They served them rice and alu bhorta ( thick mashed potatoes with mustard oil, onions and chilies) the first evening. It seemed like a couple of our co-workers, who were there as well, were pushing for a bit more for them because when one of the women was asked what they were going to eat the next night, she had a big smile and said they were having fish and vegetables with their rice.
We were presented with flowers at every project we visited. The boys weren't too sure about these garlands but they wore them long enough to have their photo taken. They were, however, pleased to be served sweets and chanachur.
Here are more baskets drying in the sun, before being shipped away.
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