Ashrakun Nahar’s tin roof is in full bloom; she points up and says, “The pumpkins are my favorite because they are little specks of gold. The crops’ green, yellow, and red are bits of color across our roof and courtyard.” The agricultural entrepreneur from Satkhira first started cultivating in her own home. Today, she is sharing that success with women in her village. She states, “Saving the cucumber plants in our courtyard made me want to see what else I could garden.”
Ek Chilte Jomi (A Piece of Land) is Ashrakun's passion project. It successfully elevates vegetable cultivation to higher grounds—quite literally. She explains how the farming community has become 150 families strong, “Our roofs are proof that innovation always has space to grow against climate change. Many women now add a touch of color to their homes.” Women comprise 58% of the agricultural workforce, employing more than 18.4 million women*. Satkhira is increasingly affected by climate change, salinity, and waterlogging, making rooftop gardens a viable option for women to feed their families and generate a profit. “Every family meal is now from the roof to the table. Our ‘garden entrepreneurs’ have saved up to Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) 60,000 together.”
Growing a business from her green thumb was not a part of Ashrakun’s plans. She reflects on how training has set her roots in this venture: “The employment hub’s business training included entrepreneurship training, business group formation support, mentorship on business plan development and business growth, but I still didn’t realize how it could translate to a business venture.” She was then guided to a practical demonstration on vegetable cultivation by the Department of Agriculture, which made her realize that community-based agriculture and organic kitchen gardening can be profitable for women in rural areas.
Ashrakun’s community of farmers is sprouting across her village. She states, “You’ll walk through our village and see gourds hanging across some roofs. It's life growing right above our green entrepreneurs' roofs.”
Approximately 1.94 million youths** are unemployed, with more than 80% of them living in rural areas and are NEET. We provide the right skills, mentorship, and access to technology and climate-smart entrepreneurship opportunities for youths to contribute to national economic growth. Our integrated and community-led approaches focus on promoting the economic growth of marginalized women and youth through inclusion and the development of climate-resilient livelihood skills.
