Bangladesh sari weaving tradition hangs by a thread

The practice has suffered from a market slump that began during the Covid-19 pandemic and never recovered. Read more at straitstimes.com.

TANGAIL, Bangladesh – Bangladesh’s Tangail sari is fighting for survival as weavers warn that automation and economic pressures are pushing the centuries-old craft to the brink despite its global acclaim.

The detailed designs and fine textures of the garments made in the central Tangail city won UNESCO recognition in December 2025 as intangible cultural heritage reflecting “local social and cultural practices”.

But it has brought little relief to crowded local workshops where a shift to automated looms, evolving fashion choices, unstable yarn prices and a lack of government support have squeezed weavers at every turn.

Mr Ajit Kumar Roy, who spends the day interlacing warp and weft threads while paddling the shuttle back and forth, says the honour has done little to ease his daily hardship.

“It’s all hard work,” the 35-year-old weaver told AFP as he worked the handloom he has operated for nearly two decades.

“Hands, legs and eyes must move together. If I make a mistake, then there is a problem.”