Small Boat Building in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has a long traditional history of Boats. It is here not only a mere traditional instrument of transportation rather it carries the heritage of Bangladesh with its sail. Geographically Bangladesh is a floodplain country with more than 700 river sand numerous oxbow lakes (locally known as haor).
Shipbuilding Industry an important economic and industrial sector in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a maritime nation with 9,000 sq km of territorial waters, 720 km long coastline. It has 700 rivers that come down from the surrounding countries and which provide 24000 km long inland waterways. At present about 10,000 inland and coastal ships have been plying all over the country, which carry more than 90% of total oil product, 70% of cargo and 35% of passengers. More than 150,000 skilled and semi-skilled workers are employed in this labour intensive sector. Two million people are related directly or indirectly with shipbuilding industry.
So people of this part heretically involved with different types of boats of shape and design. They naturally became master of boat making and made it the important instrument of livelihood.
River and boat are central to traditional Bengali culture and they fascinated generations of Bengali artists and poets. And accordingly boats have influenced our literature and culture.
There are different types of boats in Bangladesh and they vary in design, size and construction materials. Most of these can be classified into four types: dingi, large boats, bainkata, and kosha. Wood is the most commonly used material. Traditionally, boats are made by carpenters who learned their skill through an apprenticeship. Seasoning of timber is important in boat making.
While wooden boats are still frequently used in Bangladeshi country life, they are often mechanized and the intricate craftsmanship in making these boats is, for the most part, underutilized. At one time, people carved fat logs to get a solid contour with blank rounded space inside and floated them in the water as boats. Later, boats were made of bundled cane and bamboo, leather and wood.
Up until now, the Government of Bangladesh has done very little to prevent boat-making industry from declining rapidly. Instead, it is private individuals and organizations who have taken it upon themselves to bring awareness to the masses and promote the industry to the wider audience, even internationally. We should come forward to save the heretical art from decay as it holds the root of Bangladesh.
Source:
http://www.thepages.com.bd/2016/09/22/boats-of-bangladesh/
http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Shipbuilding_Industry
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-06/02/c_136334559.htm
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Preserving Bangladesh's boat-building heritage | Friendship NGO
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