Sustainable Livelihoods Alleviating poverty in Northern Bangladesh Zoinal Abendin, 35, lives with his wife and two children in a remote village in the district of Mymensingh, Northern Bangladesh. Having started to farm his small piece of land, like many other people in poorer countries, Zoinal had hoped to grow enough vegetables to feed his family and sell the surplus in order to generate a small income. From the outset, Zoinal encountered problems; he knew little about pest management, lacked knowledge about vegetable farming techniques and lacked the financial resources to invest in fertilizer and pesticides. After several bad harvests, Zoinal was forced to give up on this venture.

What are the problems? Bangladesh Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries. Despite steady economic growth in recent years, further development has been hampered by droughts, cyclones and during the monsoon season, severe floods. The shortage of land space means that Bangladesh is heavily over-populated. Many thousands of people are forced to live on and cultivate land prone to flooding. The risk of waterborne diseases in these areas is naturally very high. Across the country, infant mortality stands at six percent and life expectancy at 62 years.   Around 36 per cent of Bangladesh’s population of 147 million live in abject poverty surviving on less than $1 a day. Poverty levels vary by region with the extremely poor living in predominantly rural regions. Northern Bangladesh is one of the poorest parts of the country. In Mymensingh and Netrokona, industrial wealth is concentrated in the state capitals and along the main road to Dhaka. People living in the outlying rural areas are unable to access employment in these industries and opportunities for income generation are limited. Work for these Bangladeshi people is often limited to seasonal labour- poorly paid and exploitative. As a result, the poor in these regions remain trapped in poverty and are becoming increasingly marginalized.

The project Mymensingh and Netrokona There is an urgent need in these areas to reverse this trend by helping to alleviate poverty through the provision of work opportunities to these isolated and disadvantaged groups. One of the means by which this might be achieved is trade, through which the poor can achieve a decent, sustainable income through their own efforts.   Traidcraft has been working in Bangladesh since it was established 30 years ago. The Sustainable Livelihoods project is a five year project that is being jointly delivered with our local partner, Development Wheel. Its focus is on poor producers in the Mymensingh and Netrokona districts of Northern Bangladesh, where poverty is most acute and where livelihood options for the poor are so very limited.

How are we achieving this? Training local organizations to provide vital business support and services to small businesses and by creating a network of local expertise. This will help to protect the livelihoods, and increase incomes of people employed in small enterprise. By giving a voice to poor producers and local organisations to ensure that current legislation is implemented and that new policies are developed which take into account the needs of the poor. Working to build the skills and confidence of poor producers and local organisations to demand their rights to a fair price, a fair wage, decent living and working conditions and access to healthcare and other essential services. Strengthening the ability of small businesses and poor producers to work collectively and collaboratively helping them to access new opportunities, such as sharing costs of buying the things they need to succeed, like raw materials, expert advice, and financial services – improving their ability to access markets.

Progress so far Over 230 input sellers were trained as service providers. (Input sellers provide things like seeds to the farmers 230 of these have been trained to provide additional advice to farmers such as when to sow their seed, how much seed to use, what fertilizers/pesticides they should use.) 60 farmers were also trained as soil testers for the vegetable industry.

A helping hand for Zoinal Several years ago Zonial started to farm his own land hoping to grow enough vegetables to feed his family and sell the surplus in order to generate a small income. However, from the outset Zonial encountered problems and after several bad harvests he was forced to give up. Over the last year, Traidcraft Exchange’s sustainable livelihoods project has encouraged Zoinal to return to vegetable farming, offering practical advice and support to help him get the most from his crop. Zoinal is now learning about a range of farming techniques, from land preparation and fertilizer application to transporting and selling the final product.   Being the only breadwinner of the family, Zoinal’s days are still long and hard. But thanks to the help he has received from Traidcraft Exchange’s project he is getting the opportunities he needs to grow his crops and get a fair price for them at his local market and in Mymensingh town. Zoinal and his family are still in a precarious financial position, but they are now able to buy food, clothes, medicine and school uniforms. It is still a very basic life but with every successful crop he produces, the position of Zoinal’s family gets stronger and more financially resilient. This is a huge improvement to their lives, all thanks to Zoinal’s own hard work and determination and Traidcraft Exchange’s Sustainable Livelihoods project.

Fighting poverty in Bangladesh This case study is suitable for a younger audience What is the problem? Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries.   Many people struggle to earn enough to pay for food, clothes and education for their families. Poor people in Bangladesh need help to find jobs and earn fair wages.

What is Traidcraft Exchange doing? Traidcraft is training poor people so they have the skills and knowledge they need to grow vegetables or farm fish or ducks.   Traidcraft is also helping poor people to work together so they can tackle their problems as a group. By providing training and support we can help poor people to earn a decent income and provide for their families.

Who are we helping? We are training people in Bangladesh who can pass on their training to others. This means that lots more people can benefit from our work.   This project is helping more than 40,000 poor people!

Dulal’s story Dulal is a vegetable farmer in Bangladesh. Dulal lives with his wife and six children in a straw house with two small rooms, a tin roof and no water. They are very poor. They eat two meals of rice a day. Every day is a struggle to survive.   Dulal works with his three eldest sons. They work long hours in the fields but earn just £2 a week to pay for the families’ basic needs – food, clothes and education. Traidcraft is training Dulal so he can grow more vegetables. Traidcraft is also helping him to get better prices for his vegetables. With his increased income Dulal is planning to improve his home, provide a better education for his children and install a well. Over the next three years we hope to help thousands more people like Dulal and his family.

What can you do? You can help us to raise money for Traidcraft Exchange so we can help more people like Dulal and his family.   You might want to give some of your pocket money, or you could do an activity to raise money. Some ideas include a sponsored fast (perhaps you could just eat rice one day like Dulal and his family) or washing cars or perhaps even a dance-a-thon! Thank you!