Over 2,500 women have been offered job opportunities

The journey so far

‘’Friendship Colours of the Chars’’ is a fashion and lifestyle brand of Friendship Enterprise. Being a subsidiary of Friendship NGO, we work with the most remote and marginalized women of the chars (riverine islands) in Gaibandha and Kurigram Districts in Bangladesh.

Working with char women

Friendship NGO began by working with vulnerable women from remote communities in river islands (chars). The women from these marginalized communities embrace our free training programs to learn how to weave and produce handmade, natural dyed clothing and handcrafted jewelry. The artisans we work with are passionate about creating the products, and the customers till date highly appreciate the purity and ethical manufacturing practices behind the products.

These charwomen are provided a first chance to learn technical skills and earn enough to provide for their families in underdeveloped areas. The process is eco-friendly, keeping emissions as low as possible while preserving culture, promoting inclusive citizenship as well as sustainable economic development. Moreover, the products are exclusively (read contemporarily) designed and packaged with care; each representing positive change impacting everyone along the way.

“ The handicrafts displayed here are made with the skills of the women from the remotest, most isolated riverine islands (chars) in Bangladesh. We give them the opportunity and skill while they give you their skill, creativity and manual dexterity. They are helping us protect and preserve the culture and tradition of Bangladesh, whilst at the same time empowering themselves to build their own social identities in their own communities ”

- Runa Khan, Founder, and Executive Director, Friendship NGO