Forty-year-old Nargis Nahar is a small-scale farmer who lives in the Gabura Union with her two daughters. An absent husband and a merciless disaster-prone habitat meant that a secure livelihood was uncertain.

During monsoon, Nargis cultivated Aman paddy using traditional farming techniques, digging small, shallow canals next to her paddy field to collect rainwater for irrigation. The collected water was inadequate for a profitable yield and thus, production was far less than she desired. To put food on the table, Nargis had to go through the grueling process of foraging fish from the Kholpetua river every midnight.

Gabura like most of the coastal areas of Bangladesh suffers from annual disasters, leading to rise in salinity levels, rendering farmlands unusable. Nargis, and many more, faced difficulty in cultivating crops and fish. Unreliable sources of income meant a lack of social mobility and financial security.

It was through SAJIDA’s Climate Change and Disaster Management’s community officers, that Nargis got to learn about climate-smart farming system through Nature Based Solutions (NbS).

Through utilizing fast-growing climate resistant seeds, excavation of ponds for rainwater storage, and raising dykes for vegetable and fruit production, Nargis is now able to store more rainwater for farming and fishing in the re-excavated pond on her land throughout the year. Furthermore, by utilizing the knowledge gained from the project training, Nargis will be able to cultivate both Aman and Boro paddy in the winter season. Now, Nargis and 24 other program participants are being trained in how to utilize their limited resources and reap greater benefits.

“I always wanted to make a living through farming. But due to lack of innovative farming techniques, I started incurring losses. With NbS, I can now cultivate different types of crop and fish throughout the year.”

She added, “I want more people to be interested in NbS because it is good for our environment.”

Nargis Nahar, is a member of SAJIDA’s Climate Change and Disaster Management (CCDM) program, who is receiving training and support under the Nature Based Solutions (NbS) intervention. With NbS, Nargis can now cultivate different types of crop and fish throughout the year, even in a merciless disaster-prone area like Gabura. She believes that her success will encourage other farmers of her locality to adopt climate resilient smart farming and increase their household income.