The Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB; ) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute responsible for the development of Bangladesh's handloom sector and for measures relating to the welfare and support of handloom weavers. Its activities include training, technical and material support, credit and marketing assistance, and programmes intended to improve the productivity and economic conditions of handloom workers.
The Board was established in January 1978 following the promulgation of the Bangladesh Handloom Board Ordinance, 1977. The 1977 ordinance was repealed and replaced by the Bangladesh Handloom Board Act, 2013, which re-established the Board under the current statutory framework.
History
Before the establishment of the Board, government support for the handloom sector was handled through organisations including cooperative societies and the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation. The Bangladesh Handloom Board Ordinance was promulgated on 31 December 1977 to create a specialised body for the development of the handloom industry and the welfare of people engaged in it. The Board began operating in January 1978.
The original ordinance gave the Board responsibilities including surveys and statistics, promotion of handloom production, credit support, arrangements for supplying yarn and other materials, training, research and marketing assistance. Its head office was established in Dhaka, while operational and service units were developed in other parts of the country.
In 1981, the Board established a training institute at Saheprotab in Narsingdi District for the professional development of handloom workers. The institution later developed into the Bangladesh Handloom Education and Training Institute and has been the subject of infrastructure and diploma-level education expansion projects.
The Bangladesh Handloom Board Act, 2013 was enacted as Act No. 64 of 2013 on 27 November 2013. It repealed the 1977 ordinance and continued the Board under a revised statutory framework for the development and expansion of the handloom industry and the welfare of weavers.
Functions
The Board's statutory and administrative responsibilities cover both industry development and support to individual weavers. Its functions include collecting information on the handloom sector, assisting the supply of yarn and other production inputs, arranging access to credit, supporting training and technical development, and assisting with the marketing of handloom products.
The Board also operates or supports training, processing and service facilities. Banglapedia records activities including surveys, credit arrangements, supply of machinery and yarn, technical assistance and the organisation of training and fairs. The Board's website also provides services including electronic loan applications and information for handloom producers and entrepreneurs.
Handloom sector
The Board operates within a large but declining traditional handloom sector. The 2018 Handloom Census recorded about 290,282 handlooms in more than 100,000 handloom units across Bangladesh. Annual handloom production was reported at approximately 474.74 million metres of cloth, equivalent to about 28 percent of the country's clothing requirements.
Government social-protection planning documents have also used the 2018 census to describe the handloom sector as an important source of rural employment, with around 900,000 people directly engaged and about 1.5 million people associated with the sector when indirect employment is included.
The number of handloom units has fallen over time, while weavers have faced competition from power looms, rising production costs and difficulties obtaining working capital. These conditions have shaped many of the Board's credit, training and modernisation programmes.
Training and development programmes
The government has undertaken several development projects through the Board to expand training and market-support infrastructure. A project beginning in 2018 provided for five training centres, a fashion design institute and two market-promotion centres at Board facilities in Narayanganj, Tangail, Sirajganj, Bogura and Kushtia.
A new Handloom Board training centre in Sirajganj was inaugurated in July 2026 as part of this expansion programme.
The 2025-26 Annual Development Programme also included projects for establishing a Jamdani Village and constructing a Bangladesh Handloom Board complex in Dhaka. In addition, the Board continued a second phase of a government project to revive technologies associated with muslin yarn and fabric production.
See also Textile arts of Bangladesh Textile industry in Bangladesh Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board Jamdani
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