Today is international mother language day, honoring those who died following West Pakistan's (as it was then) attempt to impose Urdu on the population of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). A huge celebration with crowds so deep that we had to give up trying to get to the monument where people had been putting millions of flowers since midnight.

Getting rehydrated with the trendiest health drink -coconut water!

I am in the process of uploading all my pictures to https://goo.gl/photos/7uex5wkohFWRX5Mt6

Can you guess what is happening in this picture? Indigo is an important natural source of blue dye and has been since the 1700s. The textile industry in Europe was booming and the huge demand for Indigo led to it being called “blue gold”. The British established the cultivation of Indigo in Bengal, but did so in part by forcing growers to purchase land using borrowed funds. Unable to repay the loans, many lost their lands and their livelihood.Thousands refused to grow Indigo and in 1859 revolted in what is now Bangladesh.

Indigo is difficult to handle because it has to oxidize to produce the familiar deep blue colour. In the picture, the dye workers are folding yarn over and over in the dye to maximize the oxidation. It is then dried and used mainly as the blue thread in jeans and other garments.

Even Wordsworth got involved in the plight of indigo dye workers in his hometown of Cockermouth:

Doubtless, I should have then made common cause

With some who perished; haply perished too

A poor mistaken and bewildered offering

Unknown to those bare souls of miller blue 

I have just returned from a trip to Rangpur and Nilphamari to visit two of the larger CHP factories. We flew from Dhaka to Saidpur, about an hour’s flight north, close to the border with Bhutan and stayed overnight in Nilphamari. The factories are in the midst of meeting an order for 720,000 rugs (no, that’s not a misprint) made from rags and recycled materials. The picture below will give you an idea of the scale of the factories.

While driving near Rangpur we came across a large crowd in the middle of the road. There was a large elephant blocking the road and as we approached, it brought its trunk to the driver’s door. The driver wound down his window and held some money out – the elephant scooped it up, transferred the money to the owner sitting on top and moved out of the way. No transponder needed for this toll!

Hard to believe, but its five days since I arrived in Dhaka and am almost used to the crazy traffic and near 30C weather. After an initial orientation in the VSO offices I was able to meet with the owner of Classical Handmade Products (CHP), the company I am here to help.  CHP was established in 2008 and makes rugs, baskets and baskets from natural products such as jute and bamboo as well as from recycled materials , and exports them to KIK, H&M, Walmart, Zara and other major retailers in the US and Europe. Of their 2,600 employees most are rural women located in over 20 plants, one with almost 1,000 employees. You can read more about them at www.rugsbd.com – some of their products are shown in the picture below.

I am staying in a VSO apartment with two other guys in the Banani area of Dhaka, right opposite the police station– power seems reliable, there’s hot water and wifi, so no complaints. The VSO Country Director hosted a lunch for the new arrivals yesterday – many different skills represented as VSO has some large projects in rural areas, mainly working to improve farmers’ livelihoods.

CHP is looking after me very well, driving me to and from their offices and serving me lunch, always concerned to know if the food is to my liking. It usually is, but I have no idea what I’m eating.