By Shayamel Hasda, from Ghior, Manikganj

BARCIK recently organized an experience-sharing visit at the Notakhola Agroecology Learning Center and Shatobari initiative in Notakhola and Patgram Char villages of Lechraganj Union in the char area of Harirampur Upazila. BARCIK’s officials Subir Kumar Sarkar, Shayamel Hasda, and Alpana Sarkar of Ghior region along with Mukhtar Hossain from BARCIK Harirampur participated in the event.

Notakhola Learning Center is surrounded by a spacious courtyard, flanked by a variety of flower and medicinal plant gardens on both sides of the entrance. The members of the centre rear livestock such as cows, goats, sheep, pigeons, and two types of ducks. They practice agroecology and farm different types of vegetable that include: Malabar spinach, hyacinth beans, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, sweet pumpkin, eggplant, and tomatoes. Additionally, red spinach is cultivated using a wicking bed system. The farm also has a seed conservation facility, and the surroundings are enriched with fruit-bearing, timber, and medicinal plants, making it a self-sustaining mini-farm.

While interacting with farmer Ershad Munshi he said, “I produce vegetables year-round without using chemical fertilizers. I conserve my own seeds, exchange them with neighboring farmers, produce organic fertilizers, and prepare bio-pesticides from plant leaves and vines. Many farmers in my village come to me for advice, and we often gather at my house to discuss and solve agricultural problems together.”

Khaleda Begum, a farmer practicing the Shatobari model, stated, “We rear cows and goats and cultivate three to four types of crops on the same land without irrigation. At home, we grow eggplants, chilies, tomatoes, Malabar spinach, bottle gourd, and sweet pumpkin. We also have fruit trees such as mango, jackfruit, guava, and jujube. As a result, we buy fewer vegetables from the market.”

However, the land in the char region is flourishing with diverse and mixed crops. Due to the efforts of farmers and the support from BARCIK, significant positive changes are visible in the area. Every household in the char region is on the verge of turning to a Shatobari, a model developed by BARCIK to ensure nutrition and self-produced safe food for all. This Shotobari is well known as Nutrition Bank to the communities. Through this model farmers are cultivating vegetables, planting fruit and medicinal trees, conserving seeds, and practicing mixed farming. Many families are also raising livestock such as cows, goats, ducks, and poultry.

It is worth mentioning that Lechraganj Union is a disaster-prone area where floods, droughts, and river erosion cause annual damage to farmland, crops, trees, vegetables, and infrastructure. BARCIK has long been working in the char region to promote safe and diverse crop cultivation, local seed conservation, farmer dialogues, experience-sharing sessions, and community-based sustainable agricultural initiatives that help farmers to cope to this climate induced disasters.