By Shimul Kumar Biswas
BARCIK has been working in Manikganj to facilitate the marginal communities improving their the life and livelihood status since 2010. In this regard, the organization supports the Farmers’ organizations (FO) so that they could voice for their rights and have access to different services and facilities provided by the state and private sectors.
Among those farmers’ organizations BARCIK mainly prioritizes women farmer’s organizations to help the women getting united and organized to fights for their rights as well as against the injustices and discrimination towards them. As part of facilitation by BARCIK the women formed their own association where 40 members are women. These members of the organization being facilitated and supported by BARCIK has learned the technique and method to prepare organic manure, organic vermin fertilizer farm in their village. They all used this fertilizer in their agriculture land. They also created a way to earn money by marketing these organic fertilizers. Since the demand of the organic manure is high in the area that is why women sell their produced organic fertilizer regularly to the Manikgnaj sadar sub-assistant agriculture officer, the fruits gardens owners, non-government organizations, banana garden owners and others who use the organic manure to have good yields. So far, 17 women sold 200 mounds of fertilizer that earns them BDT 80,000 (eighty thousand taka). The earned cash helps women and women to bear family additional cost, educational cost of their kids, treatment and dress purchase etc.
Thus, it has been seen that preparing organic manure and Vermin compost helps the women and men to farm in environment friendly way and it also provides them the window to earn additional cash that makes them economically solvent.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
