{"id":544,"date":"2025-07-19T12:52:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T12:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/?p=544"},"modified":"2025-07-22T09:41:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T09:41:41","slug":"ek-chilte-jomi-a-piece-of-land-growing-organic-vegetables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/?p=544","title":{"rendered":"Ek Chilte Jomi (A Piece of Land): Growing Organic Vegetables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"440\" src=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18-1024x440.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18-1024x440.png 1024w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18-768x330.png 768w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18-1536x660.png 1536w, https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Picture-18.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Ek-Chilte-Jomi-A-Piece-of-Land-Growing-Organic-Vegetables-.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Problem and Motivation behind:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;For six to seven months of the year, our village is flooded with stagnant water \u2026People said it was impossible to grow vegetables here without pesticides. I wanted to prove them wrong and make my village greener.&#8221;<\/em><strong> <\/strong>\u2013Ashukurta<strong>\u200b<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ashukurta (18-year-old) and her team grew up in in Satkhira<strong>, <\/strong>Bangladesh, where she witnessed firsthand local farmers suffering from increasing soil salinity and stagnant water caused by climate change and poor water management. Due to increasing soil salinity, cultivable land is rapidly decreasing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a daily struggle for them and their families. Living in an area where six to seven months a year are spent surrounded by stagnant water, they witnessed how traditional farming methods that are heavily dependent on pesticides were failing to provide food and income<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Innovative Solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;In the beginning, I was told that organic farming wouldn\u2019t work here, but I refused to believe that \u2026.. They said, \u2018We didn\u2019t believe organic farming was possible here, but you proved us wrong.\u2019 That makes me proud\u2026 Now, they come to us for advice on organic farming!&#8221;<\/em> \u2013 Ashukurta\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Ashukurta and her team joined the Youth Innovation Lab, they chose to address the problem of unsustainable and pesticides-dependent farming methods. They wanted to explore innovative organic farming techniques in areas where traditional farming is failing.&nbsp; Rather than relying on large farmlands, which are often saline and waterlogged, the team focused on utilising small spaces within households. They developed a prototype for their solution that Their solution is based on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cultivating creeping vegetables \u2013 Producing crops like spinach, gourds, beans, and peas, which grow vertically and don\u2019t require much land\u200b.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Utilising small spaces \u2013 Growing vegetables in home courtyards, rooftops, and even bamboo structures\u200b. During the rainy season, when waterlogging is severe, the project introduces floating gardens, which keep crops above the stagnant water\u200b<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Natural Fertilisers \u2013 Using organic manure from poultry and cattle instead of chemical pesticides\u200b.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women Engagement \u2013 Working with 20 women and households to teach organic farming methods and provide seedlings and training.<em> &#8220;I want to show women like me that they can grow food, earn money, and make a difference\u2014not just in Satkhira but across Bangladesh.&#8221;<\/em> \u2013 Ashukurta\u200b adds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Before the Innovation Lab, we didn\u2019t know how to organise our ideas. They helped us think like entrepreneurs and showed us how to make our project sustainable.&#8221;<\/em> \u2013 Ashukurta\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ashukurta and her team received very positive feedback on their innovative organic farming techniques, as the trained women grew their own organic vegetables, reducing dependency on external market. They also sold the extra harvest they had, earning an extra income. Additionally, they reported a higher confidence their&nbsp; organic produce as being <strong>free from <\/strong>pesticides, contributing to healthier life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lessons Leaned and Addressing Challenges:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<em>Never listen to those who say, \u2018it\u2019s impossible.\u2019 If you have an idea, start small, work hard, and show the world what\u2019s possible!\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Ashukurta<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Youth Innovation Lab supportedwitha seed grant that enabled them to buy seeds and materials. They also benefited from training and mentorship support they have received in planning budgeting, and managing the project, that helped them to manage their little resources efficiently\u200b. Moreover, they faced two major challenges that contributed to their learning, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Convincing Farmers to Change<\/strong> \u2013 Many villagers were doubtful about organic farming. They believed pesticides were necessary. To address that, the team demonstrated the benefits by sharing their own success stories and giving free seedlings to encourage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adapting to Climate Challenges through experimenting new solutions<\/strong> \u2013 With flooding and unpredictable weather, finding safe places to grow crops was difficult. To address that, they experimented with vertical farming in bamboo structures and rooftops, maximising limited space\u200b.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next Steps and Future Aspirations:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;We\u2019re just getting started. My dream is to see our whole village\u2014and one day the whole country\u2014free from harmful pesticides.&#8221;<\/em> \u2013 Ashukurta<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ashukurta and her team have a vision to expand organic and free from pesticides farming&nbsp; to more households and villages. They aim to take the following steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expanding to More Households \u2013 Training even more families to grow their own food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selling to Bigger Markets \u2013 Connecting with eco-friendly businesses to sell their organic produce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Acquiring More Land \u2013 Ashukurta dreams of owning a large farm to increase production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Training women to grow organic vegetables in small spaces, using rooftop and vertical farming techniques to adapt to flooding and salinity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"country":[12],"sub-theme":[40,43,51],"pj_theme":[3],"class_list":["post-544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","country-bangladesh","sub-theme-healthy-food","sub-theme-sustainable-agriculture","sub-theme-women-empowerment","pj_theme-environment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":546,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions\/546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcountry&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"sub-theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fsub-theme&post=544"},{"taxonomy":"pj_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yicatalogue.collectiveroutes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpj_theme&post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}