Economic Empowerment of Rural Women and Food and Nutrition Security: a case of CBRMP-LGED

Introduction Community Based Resource management Project (CBRMP) of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) with funding from IFAD has been being implemented for the period of January 2003 to June 2014 in nine upazilas ( Sunamganj Sadar, South Sunamganj, Bishwambarpur, Jamalganj, Derai, Sullah, Tahirpur, Dowarabazar and Dharmapasha) of Sunamganj district. The development objective of the project is to poverty reduction of around 90,000 poor households holding land below 2.5 acre, and it is aligned with the general objectives of Bangladeshs National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction II (NSAPR II) and National Food Policy (NFP). The project has five major components to realize the objective. These are: Group based savings and Credit (microfinance); Labour intensive infrastructure development; Fisheries development; Agriculture and Livestock production improvement; and Institutional support services. All components are being implemented through group approach. The women are in priority focus of the project and 61543 numbers of rural women from Sunamganj are being directly supported by the project through the activities of: Employment creation; Generating scope for self-employment through skill development and microcredit services; Ensuring access to resources and technologies; and Building human and social capacity through different trainings and interactions.

The project intervention has evidently come up with good results in terms of economic & social empowerment, increased food availability, and nutrition improvement of the poor, particularly the targeted women. In the following sections the women attainments along with the fellow men, and the testimonies of women success in economic empowerment and enabling increased food security are being briefly highlighted. Women attainments 1. Employment Under labour Intensive Infrastructure component through building 260km rural road; constructing 28 multi-purpose village centers; re-excavation of 136 numbers of water-bodies, 25 .26 km of canal, 52 numbers of ponds; engaging women in road maintenance as length-person; and through others social works 174781 numbers of women have directly been employed along with the men and raised their income and thereby empowered economically. The following table shows the status of employment created by the different activities of the project for the women alongside the men as of June 2011.
Activities Project Target Wome n 17479 total Men 14958 Achieved 2011 Women 169650 as of Men 130000 June

Labour intensive infrastructure

development ( No) Water-body/canal/pond re-excavation ( No) Road maintenance (length persons) No. Professional Social Organizer/Facilitators /Leaders (No)

0 326 4400

0 3600

487 312 4332

9992 1757

2. Self-employment Investing improved skill and credit in small trade, homestead and agriculture farming, backyard livestock and poultry rearing, pond fish culture etc. a large number of women have improved their economic condition and thereby increased the food availability. The following table projects the status of investment in self-employment of the women along with the men as of June 2011.
Activities Savings group members (No) Savings (Tk.Lk) Micro loan taken (No) Micro credit delivered (Tk. Lk) Advance farmer developed (No) Farmers adopted improved technologies ( agriculture and livestock) Fish culture ( No) Project total target Women Men 62579 37421 1272 848 39200 27800 4030.00 2730.00 450 950 4774 3182 750 Achieved as of June 2011 Women Men 61543 25194
787.58 351.08

30279 2374.18 418 4123 390

13709 1102.88 956 2612 -

3. Accessed to resources Scoping the access to natural resources the project has ensured poor fisher womens users rights on 162 open water-bodies ensuring equal benefit with men fishers. Besides, around 52 ponds have been given solely to 390 women. The project has a target of accessing 300 water bodies and 150 ponds where the women rights to use are ensured. The women are getting good financial benefit through this access. The projects applied community based fisheries management system has opened the scope of accessing to water-bodies for subsistence fishing over the year and that has of immense impact on availability of fish protein in poor peoples diet. The following table shows the status of the access by women along with the men to natural resources as of June 2011.
Activities Accessed to water-body (beel) No. Accessed to pond (No) Project total target Women Men 2375 7125 750 Achieved as of June 2011 Women Men 1569 4667 390 -

4. Human and social capital building Building the human and social capital of poor rural people CBRMP has mobilized them in small group and provided different kinds of trainings. That has largely impacted on emerging women leaders in the society who are playing significant roles to establishing the rights and scope of women for economic emancipation and access to different facilities and services such as health, education, market, technologies and so on. The following table shows

the core status of the human and social capital of women comparing with men as of June 2011.
Activities Building Credit Organization (No) Enrolled in Credit Organization (hh No.) Leadership (No) Enrolled in Beel User Group (hh No.) Project total target Women Men 2800 1100 62579 37421 4400 2375 2600 7125 Achieved as of June 2011 Women Men 2145 850 61543 25194 4290 1569 1700 4667

Testimonies All the project efforts resulted largely in economic empowerment of the women, and the improvement in food and nutrition security. A recent evaluation done by IMED in May 2011has highlighted the project success in empowering women and recommended to replicate the project learning to others rural areas of Bangladesh. The following case-studies are the evidences of some successful efforts of the women who have brought solvency in the family through their economic empowerment. They are the examples of hundreds of others who have improved their situation similarly by the integrated supports of CBRMP.
Case study 1: Integrated homestead farming concept done well to make the poor rural family financially solvent and secured with food availability Shabikun Nahar lives at chalband village of Solukabad union of Bishwambarpur Upazila. Until 2004 the family hardly could meet the essential needs of living of five members husband and three children, with irregular income from seasonal trading, some production from 27 decimal land, and other irregular income. In late 2004 Shabikun joined CBRMP programme and became member of a Credit Group (CO). That brings a big change in her life. She receives basic training, starts small savings and taking further training becomes a local vaccinator. Later she get oriented on integrated homestead farming concept and taking credit primarily Tk. 4,000 and further 14,000 build on her 27 decimal homestead an integrated farm house including a fish nursery pond of 15 decimal, garden of different improved vegetables varieties producing over the season, backyard rearing of improved layer hen of sonaly variety, fruit garden of varieties of trees such as Mango, Black berry, Jackfruit, Guava Litchi, Coconut, Latkan and Olive along with some medicinal plants. Out of all efforts now she has an income of total Tk. 1,32,000 a year receiving from vaccination Tk. 42,000, from fish pond Tk. 48,000 from poultry 22,000. The one house one farm approach has made her family financially stable. The family has no food crisis and enjoys good diet three times a day comprising egg, vegetable fish and meat quite regularly. The nutrition status of the family members thereby has increased. She has renovated her house

Case study 2: Rokeya: a ro le mod e l o f e co no mic e mp o we rme nt Rokeya and her family, live in Dowarabazar, Sunamganj, were deeply plunged into poverty. Though her husband, Salim, had some tailoring skill, he could not invest that skill due to lack of necessary financial ability. He used to do other works but his income was inadequate for maintaining a family of 5 members. In that dire situation Rokeya came to know about CBRMP activities. She took interested in that and formed a Female Credit organization in January, 2008 and became the Manager of that Samity. From the project Rokeya received training in Accounts & Book keeping and technical training in income generating activitiess. Later, she took a loan of Tk. 6,000 from CBRMP and bought two sewing machines and started tailoring at home. From her income within 3 years of time she bought 6 additional sewing machines to increase her own income and provide a source of income employing 60 other women in her tailoring shop. At present her six sewing machines are working non-stop. Her running capital is Tk.50,000 and monthly income is Tk.7,000 to 8,000. Last year Rokeya bought 100 decimals of land and built a house. There were uncertainty and Case study 3 : Chandramal has made her family secured with basic needs acquit food crisis in her family, but that days are over. She can now arrange necessary quality food (40), mother Chandramala for her family.ofRokeya dreams that soonlivingwill Rajanagar union with 20 five children has been she in run her business in Derai, Sunamganj. Though they have 2 acres of land, it has no such potential being located at low haor region. Poverty was the persistent companion to her family. In September 2006, Chandramala joined Kalinagar Pashimpara Mohila Samity of CBRMP-LGED. After joining the samity, she received training on swamp tree nursery development and an loan of Tk.4,000 from the project for raising a nursery. She established a nursery on 2 decimal of land in her courtyard. Chandramala planted seeds of swamp trees such as Hijal, Karach, and timber plant such as Mahogany, Rain tree, and other plants. One year later, she got about 10,000 matured saplings. She started selling this sapling from n u r s e r y and local market. In 2010, CBRMP itself bought 2,000 sw amp tr ee saplings from Chandramala a mo un ti n g to Tk.40,000 for promoting swamp forestry in haor areas. In 2011, CBRMP again bought 2,600 saplings for Tk.65,000 towards the same cause. At the same time she sold saplings of Tk. 20,000 in local market. The technology has empowered her and made her family solvent financially. Now, she sends her children to school, there is no shortage of food and any uncertainty as such. She has bought a

Contact:
Sk.Md. Mohsin Project Director Community Based Resource Management Project Local Government Engineering Department LGED Bhaban ( level 11), Agargaon, Shere-E- Banglanagar, Dhaka 1207 Tel: 8802 8151387, 8802 8155581 Email: mohsin300964@yahoo.com