Surjomukhi is a fair trade organisation that was founded in Bangladesh in 1994 by Ms Stans Stolte. Stans saw the need to improve the working and living standards of the producers of local products in Bangladesh. The organization started with two dynamic young ladies. One of these ladies, Ms. Naznin Ansari is now running the organization. The organization presently has 25 artisans, the majority being women. Surjomukhi has identified three difficulties for gainful employment of the low income and marginalised people in the rural areas. They are:
- Lack of working capital,
- Marketing support and
- Opportunity for skills development.
At Surjomukhi, the artisans have ongoing training to improve their skills and meet the challenges of innovativeness, design, efficiency, and aesthetic taste. In the formative years of Surjomukhi, the organization worked with an ethnic group named Garo, from the Mymonsingh district, about 120 kms north of Dhaka. Some of these ladies still work at Surjomukhi, as well as artisans from Dhaka. All the artisans now live around Dhaka. Some of the artisans work from home and bring their finished products to the organization regularly. There is also a small production unit in Dhaka.
