A whistle-stop tour of lessons learned through KE4CAP
Vso poster presentation climate change new version
1. VSO Bangladesh: Climate Change Community Adaptation
Securing livelihoods through Model Village Approach
I. Challenge Rangpur: 1. Chicken & goat
rearing, fruit trees, compost IV. Discussion
The rural communities in Bangladesh mainly rely on agriculture and livestock fertilizer Using simple methods to multiply the (financial or natural) sources of
for their livelihoods, supplemented with other sources of income. The 2. Dairy cooperative, Napier income turned out to be successful and sustainable forms of
grass, compost fertilizer
food that is produced offers the basic nutritional needs and income for development in rural communities. These interventions means a
the family. However, due to climate change people’s livelihoods are Dinajpur: 1. drought tolerant second or even third source of income for the households. They
rice 2. goat and chicken
threatened. In the North people are confronted with severe droughts, strengthen the sources for food, economic capabilities as well as
rearing
while in the South people are facing salinity, causing in both areas crop adapt to challenges of climate change. This also corresponds with the
Bogra: Biogas plant
failures. In order to survive, Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) first pillar of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan
Bangladesh supported the most poor and vulnerable people with the Rampal: 1. Saline tolerant rice 2008. Most often, local knowledge and local materials were shared
development of alternative livelihoods. International volunteers 2. Goat and crab rearing among poor and vulnerable people, therefore consistent with the
together with the national volunteers and people’s organizations, play a Chitalmari: integrated fish local needs and opportunities. International and national volunteers
key role in sharing knowledge and skills from which local communities farming, goat rearing, dairy played a key role to share knowledge and support people to develop
benefit. cooperative their capacities. Specifically local youth volunteers got chances to
Mongla: chicken& duck develop their talents. Not only the partner organizations and local
rearing volunteers profit from the projects, but also their families and the
Ramnagar: goat rearing, communities of which they are part of. VSO Bangladesh advocates to
compost fertilizer use the good practices and other learning from local level up to
Shamnagar: selective goat national level through the Ministry of Disaster Management and
and duck rearing Climate Change and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Figure 3. Map of Bangladesh showing where VSO Bangladesh
and partner organizations work together with international
and national volunteers on alternative livelihoods projects
III. Methodology
VSO Bangladesh included the following stakeholders in each of the activities:
local partner organisations, local volunteers and people in the
Figure 1. Cooking on biogas based on cow dung communities.
The sharing of technical skills of international volunteers, local
II. Activities
volunteers and communities among each other
The involvement of local service providers and government officers to
In order to adapt to the challenges that are caused by climate change, the
strengthen the governmental institutional linkages
following activities were introduced: Peer to peer learning
Using farm and animal waste to make compost fertilizer
Sharing good practices and learning from others through the Horizontal
Promoting dairy cooperatives
Integrating Napier grass (drought tolerant) and dairy
Learning Platform (HLP) Figure 5. Supporting the establishment of dairy cooperatives
Action research
Promoting the use of biogas plants
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
Combining goat rearing with fruit and vegetable cultivation in dry areas
Duck, goat and chicken rearing in saline areas for commercial aims
Integrating duck and crab rearing IV. Results IV. Recommendations
Adapting to drought tolerant rice and/or saline tolerant rice VSO Bangladesh has shared the following alternative income sources as a pilot Ensure the usage of local materials
Shrimp farming in ponds affected with salinity project in different regions of Bangladesh. As the map above shows, 10 Adopting existing locally developed technologies
Adapting handicraft production using local materials partner organization were involved to implement small and bigger Include CBO’s to reach many community people, like groups of
income generating activities with help of international and national active citizens, youth and/or senior volunteers, farmer groups
volunteers. The next figure shows the number of households reached Collaborating with local government officials and other service
with other interventions: providers (where possible) to strengthen the local institutional
linkages
Crab and duck rearing
Adapting to saline tolerant rice Acknowledgments
Producing compost fertilizers This results of VSO’s programs on this poster was made possible with help
of VSO’s international volunteers: Evelyne Ekisa (Kenya), Ramon Martinez
Promoting dairy cooperatives (Philippines), Elvira Maria Duka (Philippines), Collins Mugumya (Uganda),
Adapting to drought tolerant
Lule Peter Lajul (Uganda), Puff Ray Mukwaya (Uganda), Fyrn Sadava
rice (Philippines), Carolien Pronk (The Netherlands). More information:
Address: VSO Bangladesh, House 2/7, Block C, Lalmatia, Dhaka
Fruit cultivation
Phone: (0088) 0291185411
Duck, goat and chicken rearing Email: Mohammed Rashid (PD VSO) Mohammed.Rashid@vsoint.org
Rumana Begum (PD VSO) Rumana.Begum@vsoin.org
Number of HH 0 50 100 150 200 250
Lule Peter Lajul (Advisor on Climate Change and Alternative
Figure 4. Number of households (HH) reached by Livelihood) LulePeter@ymail.com
Figure 2. Organic compost from cow dung Carolien Pronk (Health Rights Advisor) ccpronk@outlook.com
alternative livelihood interventions