Families meeting nutritional needs through climate-resilient homestead gardening

In the Itna upazila of Kishoreganj, a village named Shimla has turned into a piece of green land in the middle of the ​wetlands.

Swapna Akhter is a trained household gardener of Shimla village. She is an expert in the village in climate-tolerant farming methods, and is using this skill to meet her family’s nutritional needs as well as of the people of the area even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Swapna’s yard is decorated with vegetables.

Using easy climate-resilient techniques, improved quality seeds, early vegetable cultivation and regular monitoring, Swapna has built herself up as a successful vegetable grower. She cultivates vegetables in her backyard, which she consumes with her family, and sells the rest in the local market.

Swapna has already taken a lease on a new piece of land to start growing more vegetables. In the next five years, she wants to see herself cultivating vegetables on a large scale and developing modern agriculture.

Swapna’s neighbours are inspired. They are also learning about homestead gardening, to their own path of success.