Resilience in action: The art of living in char areas

Our recent research venture at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) led my team and me to travel to some remote char areas in the Kurigram and Jamalpur districts. The visit was an eye-opening experience and impacted my thoughts in a profound way. 

This article attempts to articulate the stark realities faced by the people living in char areas who confront multifaceted socio-economic, political, and environmental challenges. In this article, I aim to shed light on the livelihood strategies taken by the char communities, demonstrating their strength, courage, spirit, empowerment, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Families living in the remote char areas have stories of exceptional significance relating to their lived experiences in the past. Almost everyone living in char areas has embraced multiple instances of displacement, making their journey of life profoundly arduous. They have repeatedly faced the loss of their houses, agriculture, livestock, and lands due to recurrent river erosion and flooding episodes. Their perpetual journey from one place to another resonates like an endless expedition. 

Wherever they relocate, their access to basic education, finance, health, and sanitation is either severely restricted or entirely absent. Nevertheless, their struggles persist, and survival remains their paramount focus. Throughout this iterative process, they are forced to acquire the skills required to survive better and develop an adeptness for anticipating and minimising the impact of disasters.

The bedrock of char communities lies in their agricultural pursuits, serving the dual purposes of ensuring day-to-day food requirements and facilitating financial savings. A fascinating observation includes how they have extended the cultivation of crops and vegetables to every available inch of land. 

They demonstrate a resourceful approach and cultivate vegetables in household areas, on the aisles, and on barren lands that are deemed unsuitable for large-scale cultivation.

It is noteworthy to mention that char communities quickly venture to cultivate newly emerged char areas until the stability of the land is achieved for living. As part of homestead gardening, they cultivate vine vegetables such as gourds and pumpkins atop the tin roofs of their residences. 

On a commercial scale, they have strategically intensified agricultural production by cultivating maise, chillies, groundnuts, flood-tolerant rice, black grams, and jute throughout the year. 

All these agricultural activities are characterised by the collaborative engagement of both men and women throughout the entire cropping process, starting from land preparation to post-harvest processing. Such involvement signifies the integral role of inherent gender-inclusive practices in the agriculture of char areas.

The agricultural landscape in these communities is fundamentally marked by low-cost approaches, enabling families to accrue greater financial savings. The inherently fertile soil due to natural factors has made char land conducive to cultivation with minimal external interventions like the use of fertilisers and chemicals.

 Farmers are not able to adopt modern agricultural tools for cultivation due to the formidable challenge of extremely limited communication infrastructure between char and the mainland. This necessitates them to rely absolutely on manual methods for activities including land preparation, cropping, irrigation, crop processing, and marketing. 

For instance, low-cost shallow pumps and shared irrigation resources underscore the cost-effective nature of their cultivation methods. Since agriculture is their primary source of income, family members, including adolescent girls and boys, contribute round-the-clock labour to agricultural activities, reducing the cost of production substantially. Livestock, including chickens, ducks, cows, goats, and sheep are most commonly free-grazed in char areas, thereby minimising the need for additional feed purchases. 

Such low-cost methods not only provide greater financial savings but also ensure essential nutrition for households. Surplus produce is sold in the nearby market, and cows and goats are strategically sold at higher prices before religious celebrations, further adding to their financial gains.

Our research journey to the remote char areas of Kurigram and Jamalpur has unveiled the struggle, resilience, and resourcefulness of the disadvantaged char communities facing multifaceted challenges. 

Their strengths and determination are remarkable despite the unprecedented challenges posed by recurrent disasters and a lack of adequate political support. Their agricultural practice is a delicate blend of traditional practices and transformative adaptation strategies.

Despite numerous socio-economic, political, and environmental challenges, they demonstrate inclusive and collaborative livelihood strategies. Their stories hold an invaluable lesson for resilience and community empowerment in the face of difficulties for the rest of the world.

Ekhtekharul Islam is a senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science and Management under the School of Environment and Life Sciences at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). He can be reached at ekhtekhar@iub.edu.bd.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.