Jute – Golden Fiber of Bangladesh
Jute is a wonderful crop in the world. It is a kind of fiber. It is obtained from the bark of jute plants. It is essential for almost every country. Men have been trying their best to find out substitutes for jute but their efforts have not been so successful. Bangladesh, therefore, remains the unchallenged monopolist of this wonderful crop. It is our pride and our most valuable asset. It is called the golden fiber of Bangladesh.
Jute is a kind of fiber that is termed as a golden fiber. It is a coarse fiber. It is obtained from the bark of jute plants. Generally, jute plants grow up from five to fifteen feet in height. The plant has not branched. Its leaves grow on its stem which is covered with thick bark. It is a kind of long, soft, and lustrous fiber.
Jute mainly grows in Bangladesh. Once Bangladesh enjoyed a monopoly market. But now jute is grown in many other countries of the world such as India, China, Thailand, and Brazil, etc. in Bangladesh it grows well in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Comilla, Noakhali, Faridpur, Dinajpur, Bogra. The land where jute is grown should be fertile, moist, and swampy.
The cultivation of jute is a difficult process. It requires much hard labor and great care. At first, the soil must be well plowed and abundantly manured. When it is ready, the seeds are sown. It is done usually in April after a shower of rain. In a few, days, they germinate. When the plants grow up to one foot or so, the fields are weeded out several times. After three or four months, the plants grow ten to twelve feet high and become ready enough for harvest.
The cultivators cut the nature of jute plants and put them underwater. Jute plants grow by leaps and bounds with the advent of rainfall. If there is no rain, there is a want of water; so the plants can not grow well. There the plant’s rat. After that, the fiber is taken out and washed in water. The crop is reaped in the month of July or August. Cultivators then bind the stalk into bundles. The bundles are kept underwater to be rotten for some days. The fibers gradually become soft and loose. Then the fibers are taken out and washed in clean water and dried in the sun. The fibers look golden at this stage. Then it is spread out in the sun and gets dry. It is tied in bundles and in ready for sale.
Bangladesh earns a lot of foreign exchange by exporting jute. The progress and prosperity of our country mainly depend on it. Jute is useful to us in various ways. First of all, it is one of the main cash crops of Bangladesh and the country earns a lot of foreign exchange every year. It is our national wealth too. So, it is called ‘The Golden Fibre’ of Bangladesh. Secondly, many kinds of things are produced from jute namely carpet, gunny bags, ropes, cloths, mats, painting, brush, false hair, handicrafts, etc. Jute is a very useful thing. It makes the best and cheapest packing materials which are called gunny bags. Besides these mats, ropes coarse cloths, shawls, tarpaulins are made of it.
Finally, it can be said that jute plays a significant role in the economy of Bangladesh. It does not much good for us. Yet the farmers are deprived o their due price. On the other hand, with the advancement of science, jute is threatened by various synthetic yarn. So necessary steps should be taken to save this natural fiber which is the heart of our natural economy. Jute is a great asset for us. So, we should take steps to make proper use of this asset.
