Tamara Hasan Abed, Managing Director of BRAC’s social enterprises, explains how Aarong’s mission-driven model and the world’s largest craft store in Dhanmondi showcase sustainable fashion, ethical sourcing, and community empowerment.
Tamara Hasan Abed is a visionary social entrepreneur whose work spans innovation, education, and women’s empowerment. As Managing Director of BRAC’s eleven social enterprises, including Aarong, BRAC Dairy, BRAC Seed & Agro, and BRAC Healthcare Ltd., she has empowered thousands of artisans, especially women, by preserving traditional crafts and creating sustainable economic opportunities. Tamara Abed was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010, received the Exceptional Women of Excellence Award in 2021, and was recognised as CEO/MD of the Year at the Bangladesh C-Suite Awards in 2022. A passionate advocate for ethical innovation, inclusive growth, and cultural preservation, she remains an influential role model in global social entrepreneurship.
In this conversation, we explore the pivotal role Aarong has played as a social enterprise, discuss the recent unveiling of the world’s largest craft store in Dhanmondi, and examine how Aarong has positioned Bangladesh as a beacon of sustainability, fair-trade principles, ethical sourcing, decent work conditions, and an ongoing commitment to deeper environmental and social impact.
Managing Director
BRAC Enterprises
How did Aarong’s early history shape its founding vision as a pioneering social enterprise?
To understand Aarong’s early history, we need to go back to the early days of BRAC. After the liberation war, BRAC started working on relief and rehabilitation, then gradually shifted toward long-term development. The work started in Sullah, then moved into other underserved regions like Manikgang and Jamalpur, where BRAC sought ways to bring gainful employment to women and infuse work into the rural economy.
BRAC began training women in a range of craft skills. Some women already knew sewing and embroidery, but BRAC also introduced techniques like block printing. Around this time, BRAC was also working on employing rural women in sericulture – the rearing of mulberry silkworms for silk thread, spinning that into yarn and weaving it into fabric. BRAC also provided training in quality control and facilitated the supply of finished products to stores in Dhaka.
But there was a problem. Stores in Dhaka would only pay for the goods after they were sold, not upon delivery. This meant that BRAC, in turn, could not pay the women immediately, often needing to wait several months. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC’s founder, recognised that this arrangement simply was not sustainable. That realisation led to the idea of BRAC opening its own shops, giving it better control over the entire supply chain and ensuring timely payments to its producers.
As BRAC developed this concept, it realised that it needed to expand its product range beyond the few it was working on with the women. So, BRAC began scouring the country for master craftsmen. However, many had left their craft during the war since they lost their primary market of affluent consumers in West Pakistan, and had shifted to other professions. BRAC saw an opportunity to support these artisans by reconnecting them with their craft and a new market through Aarong, BRAC’s retail outlet.
So, that’s how Aarong came to be. It was a platform designed to bring together rural women producers and master craftsmen and link them to urban markets in order to sustain their work.
When Aarong was launched, BRAC didn’t yet fully anticipate the role it would play in defining something we now call social enterprise. By its very nature, a social enterprise exists to solve a social issue and serve a social purpose, with profits reinvested into the community. That is exactly what Aarong does. The surplus it generates is ploughed back into BRAC’s broader development programs, continuing the cycle of empowerment and community development.
What does launching the world’s largest craft store signify for Aarong?
Launching the world’s largest craft store is a milestone for Aarong and for Bangladesh. It shows how far we have come from a small pilot project to becoming a beloved lifestyle brand in Bangladesh.
On one hand, Aarong is flourishing, and there is a lot of demand and appeal for local, handmade, artisanal, sustainable craftwork. On the other hand, we have stiff competition from mass-produced goods coming out of mechanised production lines that are cheap and fast to make.
By opening the world’s largest craft store, Aarong wants to send a clear message that our artisans and craftspeople have limitless potential and that handmade items are truly more valuable than machine-made products. These pieces bring together communities and people, represent our tradition, carry a legacy, and have the depth and richness that mechanised production simply can’t match.
Today, the world is grappling with environmental crises, climate change, and the rise of AI and automation. The livelihood of entire communities is threatened, their people forced to change their way of life, and move to cities for a chance of survival. That only compounds urban challenges. It’s therefore more important than ever to preserve and hold on to our artisanal traditions, to let them grow, and make them relevant to the younger generation. All that the new generation has witnessed are mass-produced items; they have not experienced what craft can offer.
We wanted to show that Bangladeshi crafts are not relics of the past or something you use only on special or traditional occasions. They belong in everyday life, fitting seamlessly into modern lifestyles. Crafts are unique, they support communities, and they sustain livelihoods. By launching this store, we are saying that handcrafted items have a global appeal and that Aarong will continue to champion the artisans who make it possible.
How does Aarong demonstrate its leadership in sustainable fashion and ethical sourcing?
From the very beginning, Aarong has championed slow fashion. It has worked exclusively with biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials like cotton, silk, wood, bamboo, leather, and clay. Beyond that, we are trying to bring recycled material back into the production process. Just last year, we did a collection for Taaga Man showcasing clothes made using recycled fabrics.
Ethical sourcing is equally important to Aarong. Every Aarong product adheres to fair trade principles, and we conduct regular social-compliance audits to ensure safe and healthy working environments. That means clean drinking water, proper bathroom facilities, and strict health and safety standards. Our audits also ensure that all our producers are paying their artisans on time.
So, for Aarong, sustainability is not a response or a reaction, but rather, it has always been at the core of what we do. Having said that, we continuously seek to improve. We are constantly reviewing every aspect of our operations to further reduce our already minimal carbon footprint and to become more sustainable every day.
What does “stepping boldly into the future” represent for Aarong?
Aarong has steadily expanded its footprint across Bangladesh, growing its network of stores and diversifying its product lines. Now, “stepping boldly into the future” means looking beyond our borders.
The Aarong flagship outlet marks a milestone, and we are now looking into the global sphere. We want to take Aarong’s craftsmanship to new geographies as well as source artisanal crafts from other countries.
There are very few Bangladeshi brands which have ventured outside of Bangladesh, and even fewer carry a name that is so intrinsically tied to our heritage, crafts, culture, and art. We believe the world is ready to discover what makes Aarong and Bangladesh unique.
As a nation, we should take pride in our innovations. Microcredit originated here, as did BRAC’s ultra-poor graduation program, both now models for global development. It’s time for a Bangladeshi brand to make its mark internationally, showcasing our creativity and ingenuity on the global stage.
AARONG HAS STEADILY EXPANDED ITS FOOTPRINT ACROSS BANGLADESH, GROWING ITS NETWORK OF STORES AND DIVERSIFYING ITS PRODUCT LINES. NOW, “STEPPING BOLDLY INTO THE FUTURE” MEANS LOOKING BEYOND OUR BORDERS.
How is Aarong adapting to future fashion trends while maintaining its commitment to sustainability and innovation?
Aarong has always been making handmade artisanal products with natural materials. We have been sustainable from the ground up, and fortunately, the future of fashion is moving in the same direction, with increasing emphasis on sustainable, slow fashion over mass-produced, irresponsible production and consumption. While mechanisation offers scale, it often comes at the expense of environmental damage. Today’s consumers, especially Gen Z, are rejecting overconsumption and irresponsible production. They are very conscious of the planet and the environment and want to make informed purchase decisions – where the products are coming from, whether they’re ethically sourced, and how they impact communities. This shift already aligns perfectly with Aarong’s longstanding practices, meaning we are already well-positioned for future fashion trends.
What lessons from Aarong’s journey would you share to inspire other social enterprises?
For social enterprises, it’s vital to have a purpose beyond self-interest. When that purpose is clear, you can ask yourself at every step whether you’re serving it. Your decision-making becomes straightforward, and you avoid directions that don’t align with your mission. Often, we are pulled by business or profitability targets, but sticking to our purpose creates consistency and clarity. Customers notice that clarity and place their trust in your work. If social enterprises remain authentic to their purpose, always focusing on caring for people and the communities they serve, the rest will fall into place automatically.
