Coastal women turning climate challenges into livelihood opportunities
Staff Reporter :
Residents of Bangladesh’s southwest coastal region are turning the tide of climate adversity by building sustainable livelihoods through small-scale farming, livestock rearing, and organic compost production. Once among the country’s most climate-vulnerable communities, they are now finding pathways to economic self-reliance.
In the saline-prone village of Mathurapur under Munshiganj Union of Shyamnagar upazila, 45-year-old Nurunnahar Parvin and her husband spend their days turning damp, decayed soil inside a concrete enclosure into nutrient-rich vermicompost. Using the compost, they grow vegetables such as spinach, bottle gourd, long beans, and okra in their homestead garden.
“We meet our family’s needs and sell the surplus in the market,” said Parvin. “I received a goat from Friendship. If I can buy a few more, I’ll sell them and eventually buy a cow. That’s my dream.”
Women like Fazila, Sharifa, Khadija, and Puja Rani Mondol are also following similar ventures – raising goats and sheep, producing organic fertilizer, and cultivating vegetables in their backyards. The leftover grass and leaves from vegetable gardens are being used as animal feed, creating a circular and sustainable system.
“Most of my day goes into taking care of the small farm in my yard,” said Sharifa Khatun, 35, another resident of Mathurapur. “Now, my income supports my family. We are doing much better than before.”
Behind this quiet transformation is the development organization Friendship, which has been working in coastal Satkhira for over two years under its Transitional Fund – Assistance for Sustainable Development (ASD) project.
“Our goal is to make local residents self-reliant through home-based vegetable cultivation, vermicompost production, and small livestock rearing,” said Jewel Hasan, project manager at Friendship. “We provide goats and sheep to selected families and guide them through the process. Many participants are already seeing visible improvements in their livelihoods.”
He added that the organization is expanding its programs under the ASD initiative to introduce new sustainable livelihood options for the coastal poor.
Local authorities have welcomed the effort. Dr. Subrata Kumar Biswas, Livestock Officer of Shyamnagar upazila, praised the collaboration between the government and NGOs like Friendship. “We are providing technical support to such income-generating activities,” he said. “These environmentally friendly initiatives are proving highly effective in helping coastal communities recover from the impacts of climate change.”
Dr. Biswas expressed optimism that such community-based, climate-resilient livelihood programs will enable coastal residents to build stronger, more sustainable futures despite recurring natural disasters.