— Welcome to Thanapara Swallows Development Society

About Us

Thanpara Swallows Development Society

On April 13, 1971, an unidentified attack by Pakistan invaders killed about 100 unarmed men and injured about 200 in Thanapara village. The village was later declared a widow village after independence. When the new government began working to rebuild the country in 1972, representatives of The Swallows in Sweden came to work for the victims of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. They listened to the barbaric stories of Thanapara village from the government and expressed their interest in working for the affected people. In order to create self-employment opportunities, they first established the weaving and initially started training 13 widows.
1997 The Swallows in Sweden Thanapara project received a society act registration from Joint Stock Company, named Thanapara Swallows Development Society as a local NGO for the socio-economic development of the neglected people in the Charghat and Bagha upazilas of Rajshahi district.
At present Thanapara Swallows Development Society employs about 200 rural backward women through handicraft projects. The women behind these socks are making garments through the work of yarn dyes, weaving fabrics, hand embroidery and sewing, and the garments are exported to almost seven countries of the world.
Thanapara Swallows Development Society is an active member of the World Fair Trade Organization and a Fair Trade Certified Company as on garment manufacturing. Children’s day care and primary education activities are being carried out with productive children, including fair wages, improved working conditions, transparency and accountability, child labor avoidance, gender equality and timely training.