Mukundo Gosh, Shyamnagar, Satkhirta
Fifty eight-year-old Morsheda Begum is a mother of one son and a daughter lives in a remote village Gabura of Shyamnagar upazila under Satkhra district of Bangladesh. In order to get to Gabura one has to cross the river Kholpetua by boat which is located next to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. One also has to face the fury of nature as it is hit-hard by cyclone almost every year and thereby saline water destroys the entire land, leaving the villagers in a state of dire poverty and misery. Drinking water is a precious thing causing persistent crisis of safe drinking water and farming is quite difficult due to fresh water crisis in Gabura.
Morshida’s husband Montaz Ali (68) owns 11 decimal of lands adjacent to house which once lying idle, not being used for cropping now has turned into green kitchen garden. Marsheda is now enthusiastic and passionate farmer after receiving training on climate resilient agriculture offered by PORIBESH project where different techniques of agro-ecological farming were practically taught to them that enabled Morsheda to curb the growing cost of farming. About a year ago, she was involved with ‘Kalagachia’ CSO formed by BARCIK– a partner NGO of NETZ-Bangaldesh. As part of livelihood support, she received 2 goats, 6 chickens, two saplings and 6 types of seeds worth of BDT 13500.
Inspired by that hands-on training Morsheda Begum has started small-kitchen gardening with the hope of ensuring safe vegetable for her family and becoming self-sufficient by selling excessive production in view of supplement to her husband’s income.
Morsheda’s small courtyard has turned into a green garden with different vegetables. She cultivates different vegetables including red amaranth, radish, cabbage, potato, Indian spinach, beet, gourd, sweet pumpkin, cabbage, beans etc. round the year. Being instructed adverse impact of pesticides from CSO meeting, she has been practicing agro-ecological farming that reduced her farming costs. Her small courtyard now is full with crops for the household’s consumption, and sold the surplus at the local market worth of BDT 15000 in last winter.
This is how BARCIK’s PORIBESH project helped Morsheda to get a new direction of farming as well as implementing new methods of farming.
Translated By
ABM Touhidul Alam
