Decemeber 2023 Updates from UNDP Bnagladesh

Joint Sweden-UNDP Portfolio Dialogues in Bangladesh

DECEMBER 31, 2023

The system and portfolio approaches in the development domain are crucial in addressing complex challenges like climate change, inequality, governance issues, and pandemics. These approaches provide a dynamic framework for continuous learning, adaptation, and the exploration of alternative policy options, steering away from rigid and singular approaches. The Embassy of Sweden and UNDP, recognizing the need for a transformative direction, initiated an exploration of how the Swedish-funded portfolio contributes to Bangladesh's environmental and climate priorities. Earlier in 2023, the Embassy of Sweden and UNDP Bangladesh organized the several portfolio dialogues to set up the priorities and learning agendas of the joint portfolio. 

Both Sida and the UNDP team brainstormed to understand the process going forward to see the portfolio-level outcomes and impacts from national to local levels through their development interventions. They agreed on a systematic way of regular dialogue, follow-up and learning on the results being achieved at the portfolio levels. Both the organizations agreed that they will jointly work on identifying key questions and indicators relevant to both portfolio and project/program levels and follow up through dialogue, monitoring, analysis, learning, and future program design.

In August 2023, UNDP and the Embassy of Sweden organized two and half day long sensemaking workshop aimed at propelling their portfolio development journey in Bangladesh. UNDP’s Strategic Innovation team facilitated the portfolio sensemaking workshop  focusing on a systems design approach, the workshop brought together a diverse group of participants, including officials from the Embassy of Sweden, UNDP representatives, and online participants from various strategic units.

The contemporary context of complex development challenges necessitates a broadening of the approaches used by governments and development agencies. System and portfolio approaches provide a continuous flow of policy options, organizational learning, and commitment to transformative change. These approaches facilitate the generation of new perspectives on complex issues, coherence in interventions, high-frequency insights and adaptation, and a different path to scale.

A diverse group of participants, including representatives from the Embassy of Sweden, UNDP, and online participants, collaborated in the workshop. Facilitators from the UNDP's Strategic Innovation Unit guided the sensemaking exercise. The workshop commenced with a scene-setting by Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP and Maria Stridsman, Head of Development Cooperation, The Embassy of Sweden, providing an overview of the collaborative journey undertaken since February. Maria highlighted the importance of considering individuals perspectives, their aspirations and changes in their lives while shaping development priorities. The presentations on shifts and intent, along with project presentations, shed light on transformative approaches in the proposed portfolio.

At the workshop, the UNDP team presented on nine joint Sweden-UNDP ongoing and completed projects/programmes. The exercise was useful to reflect on the existing Sweden-UNDP portfolio and building coherence with strategic intent, identifying synergies, and exploring spaces for new interventions. Key questions were addressed, such as the relevance and coherence of current projects with the strategic intent, opportunities for synergies, and reframing the understanding of the portfolio.

Systems and portfolio approaches require a shift in monitoring, evaluation, and results measurement. Recognizing the complexity of challenges, the workshop emphasized the need for continuous learning and adaptation, longer time horizons and capturing impact, and focusing on contribution over attribution. The workshop aimed to systematically review and fine-tune the Theory of Change components, identify missing links among social, environmental, and climatic drivers, develop indicators for system measurement, establish a portfolio-level learning agenda, and finalize next steps for portfolio advancement. This exercise also highlighted critical aspects such as strategic partnerships, relationship ecosystems, financial inclusion, long term, and scalable programme designs and inclusion of non-traditional partners.

The sensemaking workshop between the Embassy of Sweden and UNDP marks a significant step towards a more innovative and adaptive approach of portfolio design and implementation in Bangladesh. The UNDP Bangladesh team in association with Sweden has been taking initiatives to harvest portfolio level results from their joint projects/programmes in 2024. In parallel to this initiative, the country office team will design future portfolios that reflect the emerging development needs of Bangladesh and bring in more partners for achieving sustainable development in the country. 

What We Learnt from a Three-Month Long Experiment to Develop a Framework for Identifying and Enabling Grassroots Innovations in Bangladesh

About three months ago, we embarked on an ambitious journey to develop a framework for identifying, supporting, and empowering grassroots innovations in Bangladesh. We consulted the existing literature on the subject, studied relevant works in countries like India, spoke with entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators, teachers, development workers, trade unions, grassroots innovators, and experts, experimented with online calls to ideas, set up temporary local networks, and interviewed stakeholders and innovators. We encountered challenges, learned surprising new insights, and developed new realizations about grassroots innovations. In this post, we try to articulate what we have learned from that journey.

DECEMBER 31, 2023

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What We Learnt from a Three-Month Long Experiment to Develop a Framework for Identifying and Enabling Grassroots Innovations in Bangladesh

About three months ago, we embarked on an ambitious journey to develop a framework for identifying, supporting, and empowering grassroots innovations in Bangladesh. We consulted the existing literature on the subject, studied relevant works in countries like India, spoke with entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerators, teachers, development workers, trade unions, grassroots innovators, and experts, experimented with online calls to ideas, set up temporary local networks, and interviewed stakeholders and innovators. We encountered challenges, learned surprising new insights, and developed new realizations about grassroots innovations. In this post, we try to articulate what we have learned from that journey.

DECEMBER 31, 2023

1.When it comes to development challenges in Bangladesh, one of our default tendencies has been to look to the government, non-government organizations, the private sector, and subject-experts to conjure up solutions. It is a well-established model and has so far produced meaningful results. Problems have been solved. Progress has been made. 

However, it is a top-down model at the end of the day with limitations. Some of these limitations are well documented and have been talked about by proponents of bottom-up solutions. When we design solutions from a distance, we risk approaching certain challenges with superficial understanding. We fail to see important details, missing critical local knowledge in designing solutions for local problems. As such, ideas and realities that come from the affected populations at the grassroots level are likely to be more potent in addressing their challenges.  Hence, empowering local people to solve their own problems can be more effective. It is akin to teaching how to fish instead of the old giving-a-fish approach.

This is often referred to as grassroots innovation. There is no hard and fast definition for grassroots innovation. They can be ideas, products, services, processes, practices, community initiative models, or methods that address a local problem, needs, or a development challenge more effectively and sustainably. These innovations are usually formed by people or communities affected by a problem themselves with limited local resources, are localized, cost-effective, sustainable, and affordable. The UNDP Accelerator Labs and the London School of Economics and Political Science define grassroots innovation as "indigenous solutions, created by actors in civil society and supported by limited resources, which aim to address local situations and often achieve sustainable development”. 

A core hypothesis of this approach is that people who are affected by a challenge, or live closer to a challenge have better understanding and knowledge of the root causes. Listening to them and empowering their initiatives should thus prove effective in solving these problems instead of imposing superficially developed solutions.  

Due to its potency to address many persistent development challenges our world faces today, the idea of grassroots innovations has been gaining growing attention. Unfortunately, there has not been much mainstream discussion and initiatives around grassroots innovations in Bangladesh. 

Sporadic small-scale works have happened and continue to happen. UNDP has been working on empowering a grassroots innovations movement for a while. But concentrated effort to take it to the next level has been missing. This is amiss rather unfortunate given that Bangladesh is known for its grassroots resiliency and frugal innovation. 

That’s how we got into the business of creating a framework, a model for identifying and empowering grassroots innovations in Bangladesh. 

2. We are (the authors of this piece) sold on the efficacy and the power of grassroots innovation to address fundamental development challenges in many communities in Bangladesh. We have witnessed examples of this happening while working on this project. 

The idea of grassroots innovation gives agency back to the people. It assumes humans are inherently creative and capable. They have the agency to solve their problems. Sometimes they just need a little push to make progress. 

We have found that while many people consider a grassroots approach to be effective to tackle development challenges, it is a difficult model to incorporate. It is logistically challenging — finding ways to identify, evaluate, and then integrate these innovations can be hard. There are psychological and perception dilemmas about whether to consider and adopt the knowledge from the poor population. Consequently, many development design approaches leave out this potent tool. The path of least resistance is real. 

We thought a working model for identifying and empowering grassroots innovation across Bangladesh can help bring the grassroots innovation discussion to the mainstream consciousness and encourage other interested organizations to try the approach. 

Thus we began working on a strategy toolkit to develop a comprehensive framework for identifying and enabling grassroots innovations in Bangladesh. We wanted to create a working system for scouting, promoting, and empowering grassroots innovations that could work for anyone interested in using this approach. We reasoned that a functional framework might also help potential partners build institutions and initiatives to accelerate grassroots innovations. 

We also felt that a diversified and locally rooted innovation approach contrary to existing mimetic approaches to problem-solving that exist in many urban knowledge institutions and entrepreneurship scenes in Bangladesh can help change the dynamics of innovation practices across sectors and encourage a more locally rooted approach to experimentation, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In the long run, it can help create an ecosystem to support grassroots innovations to foster bottom‐up development in Bangladesh.

3. We started by looking into the existing work of grassroots innovation in Bangladesh and across other countries. As an obvious starting point, we looked into the work of the Honeybee Network, one of the pioneers in the field, which has done inspirational work in India and Africa. We looked into the existing research in this space to develop a comprehensive understanding of the grassroots innovation approach.

However, we were aware that the most important understanding comes through tacit knowledge of practical action. Formal learning is rarely a match for our lived experience. We decided to get out of the building and find out how to best identify and support grassroots innovators across Bangladesh in practice. 

We started by speaking with various stakeholders including entrepreneurs, incubators and accelerator programs, development sector players, organizations that have been running innovation challenges, trade unions, local development workers, and so on. We spoke with journalists who cover grassroots innovations, discussed with teachers from local universities and colleges, ran an online call to innovation campaign, interviewed stakeholders, entrepreneurs, and innovators, and ran a temporary local network to identify innovations. 

Through these discussions and experiments, we came up with a five-component framework to find and enable grassroots innovation that includes 1) active and open scouting 2) verification and evaluation 3) documentation and promotion 4) support and value addition, and 5) policy advocacy. 

This framework is not new. Organizations such as HoneyBee use somewhat similar frameworks. One difference is that we have put each component into action to see what works and what does not in the realities of Bangladesh. You can call it a map that quite closely resembles the territory.

4. In scouting, we have found that there is not really any concentrated effort to identify grassroots innovations. While many platforms talk about innovations in general, there are not any that specifically focus on grassroots innovations. The government and several development organizations run some regionally focused initiatives, but almost all these initiatives lack enthusiasm, consistency, and rigor. 

We have realized that some of the barriers to finding and documenting local innovations include a lack of platforms that document local innovations and offer incentives for doing it. We think making it easier to document and spread local innovations by creating online and offline platforms can help to some extent address this challenge. Platforms that focus on innovation can also expand their attention to grassroots innovation and engage with these local innovators. 

Call for ideas/hackathons/innovation challenges on specific issues/sectors can help to collect ideas and innovations. We experimented with a call to idea announcement through the digital publication and research platform Future Startup, which one of the authors of this piece runs, and found out that it works. However, an overreliance on such a method alone can leave out many important ideas and initiatives. Moreover, they can be exclusive to those with access. This exclusivity can sometimes benefit the same ideas and groups repeatedly on different platforms. So, such efforts should only be used in conjunction with other methods. 

Similarly, working with teachers and development workers in Rangpur, Barisal, and Cox’s Bazar, we experimented with the idea of a community-led scout network that will actively seek out and identify grassroots innovators. We have found that creating volunteer scout networks at the community levels involving local stakeholders, including NGOs, academia, private sector partners, students, social connectors, entrepreneurs, etc., and tying the whole thing with an appropriate incentive mechanism such as recognition, and small remuneration to document innovations can work. These communities can also become hubs to organize gatherings and events to promote existing initiatives and encourage new ones. 

Nevertheless, our experience says that such networks will only work when there are meaningful incentives in place that everyone buys into. Focused and intentional initiatives should be deployed on a regular basis so that these networks remain active. These initiatives can be grassroots innovations scouting sprints or competitions organized every six months or so in collaboration with stakeholders. 

Regular outreach programs and workshops can be conducted to encourage innovators to come forward and share their solutions. Summer grassroots innovation program/camp can be organized to involve students during their summer break to document grassroots innovations in their hometowns. Although we couldn’t test these two ideas, we believe these ideas have potential. 

We came across a large number of fascinating innovations using our own strategies for scouting. However, the next challenges we encountered were documentation and evaluation. How do you verify a grassroots innovation idea? How do you decide which one to pay attention to and which one to ignore? What should be the criteria for promoting grassroots innovations? 

We have realized that developing a standardized framework for verifying and evaluating grassroots innovations can be useful. These criteria can vary depending on the location, sector, and type of innovation. In our instance, we consider an innovation if it has social or/and economic benefits for the innovator or the community, has long-term local relevance, good for the community and environment, and can be replicated and scaled. We think collaborating with academic institutions, entrepreneurs, and experts can be an approach to validate and verify the impact of innovations. 

However, we are also in favor of making this process less stringent and more optimistic and experimental. Thus, in our initial scouting, we have used a flexible set of criteria to select some 15 grassroots innovations. While speaking with some of these innovators, we have come to realize that promotion can be extremely powerful for grassroots innovations to attract support and mainstream adoption. 

We also think that organizations can create sector-specific platforms to document and feature grassroots innovations in their sectors. Currently, no magazines or media initiatives that we know of dedicatedly cover grassroots innovation stories. While mainstream media platforms do cover grassroots innovation stories, it is not regular. Similarly, we haven’t come across any regular events, conclaves, or gatherings to showcase and promote grassroots innovations. 

Along with the promotion, we have also looked into how best to support grassroots innovation once identified and verified. While promoting some of these innovations can itself be a major support, dedicated strategic support can help many of these initiatives to multiply their impact. Many grassroots innovations fail or languish in obscurity despite their potential purely because of a lack of strategic and financial support.  

We have identified two broad practices to support grassroots innovations: mentorship by connecting grassroots innovators with experienced professionals in their respective fields, and access to finance by collaborating with a range of innovation investors, financial institutions and philanthropic organizations. Other approaches such as connecting with relevant incubators and accelerators and creating new incubator programs targeting these initiatives, connecting them with new types of funding opportunities are also helpful.  

What is still missing but can be game changing forms the final leg of our framework – meaningful policy advocacy to create an enabling environment for grassroots innovation. This is possible through creation of regional hubs, engaging local knowledge systems, leveraging the innovative minds of youths, and utilizing existing institutions and resources to support innovators, create new opportunities for funding, and facilitating scaling up.  

We believe hosting regular events and discussions on grassroots innovations can help build awareness, generate mainstream discussion, and gain attention from relevant policymakers. We have also felt that there should be more research and discussion on grassroots innovation in academia and policy discourse. The final framework/toolkit to identifying and empowering grassroots innovation in Bangladesh supported by the UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab will be ready to share by end of January 2024. So, keep a look out!

5. Ratul Hasan, a young entrepreneur from the small city of Khulna, along with his of 5 friends, are working towards redefining the concept of electronic waste in Bangladesh. Nature Plug, their brainchild, recycles electronic waste to create new, functional, and affordable electronic products. The product line includes low-cost mini-UPS systems made from old laptop batteries, solar inverters for the electricity-scarce Sundarban region, and LED lights created by recycling and improving used ones. Theirs is a movement towards a sustainable future.  They operate from one modest room reflecting the grassroots nature of their endeavour. Their manufacturing process involves using both new and recycled materials, sourced primarily from local markets in Khulna. Despite the humble setup, their efforts have resulted in a growing customer base and high satisfaction rates. 

6. Wasiul Haque Bhuiyan, a telecommunication engineering graduate, has turned his hobby into a pioneering venture, OhmTech Electronics, to address the persistent challenge of load shedding in rural areas of Bangladesh. Frustrated with the poor quality of charger lights available in the market, Wasiul innovatively created 'Magic Light' – an automated charger light that operates without human intervention, lighting up in dark environments and switching off in bright ones. OhmTech's Magic Light stands out with its wireless, portable design, efficient lithium polymer battery, full charge indicator, and overcharge protection, providing bright illumination for medium-sized rooms for 3 hours continuously, and up to 7 days in standby mode. 

7. In Bangladesh, the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) face the common challenge of a lack of financing options and access to formal channels despite contributing significantly to the GDP. Addressing this, Drutoloan, co-founded by Abdul Gaffar Sadi, attempted to streamline financing for MSMEs by blending digital and physical methods and introduced innovation in assessing creditworthiness. Their unique credit scoring engine evaluates over 50 data points including non-traditional ones, encompassing financial habits, business performance, and compliance to assess creditworthiness. It also assists in obtaining legal documents like tax IDs. Initially starting in the capital Dhaka, Drutoloan has expanded, partnering with banks and financial institutions to bring tailored financial solutions to the MSME sector.

In the rural district of Thakurgaon, Bangladesh, a significant change is being spearheaded by Service Emergency for Rural People (SERP), an NGO focused on improving the menstrual health of indigenous Dalit women and girls. Confronted with health risks from using unclean old clothes and limited access to commercial sanitary pads, these women face substantial challenges. SERP's innovative solution involves training them to produce eco-friendly, reusable menstrual pads. These affordable pads, costing about USD 0.18, are sustainable and designed for long-term use, needing just four pieces per cycle and lasting up to six months with proper care. Beyond providing a hygienic solution, SERP's initiative empowers these women to start their own businesses.

8. Recognizing the value of the natural beauty and rich culture defining Bangladesh's rural life, Jafar, a passionate traveler and founder of Taabu Tours, has turned his ancestral village, Ekduaria, into a haven for sustainable tourism. This initiative offers foreign tourists a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the authentic village life of Bangladesh. Guests get to experience the authentic lives of the villager, staying with locals, and engaging in daily village activities like irrigating land, planting paddy, and cooking on soil stoves. There are no additional or curated activities that can interfere with local routines, except english speaking guides. This approach truly embraces the promotion of slow, respectful, and community-based tourism attracting visitors who value cultural immersion and sustainability. 

These are only five of the many initiatives we came across during our journey to designing a system for identifying and empowering grassroots innovation in Bangladesh. One common thread that connects all these stories is the agency and ingenuity of people and their capacity to come up with solutions for the problems in their lives and the lives of people around them. 

We believe there are many more Nature Plug, OhmTech, Druto Loan Socio, SERP and Ekduaria that are doing extraordinarily impactful work. Sadly, many of these initiatives die out or fail to scale because they rarely get mainstream attention or support.

We believe if we can identify them early and support them with resources and connections, it can dramatically change the development landscape in Bangladesh. It will allow us to harness an incredible source of energy to address our social and development challenges that we have so far either overlooked or failed to harness. 

Grassroots innovation can be a powerful driver of sustainable economic and social development for Bangladesh. We hope our toolkit, which we plan to launch in early February, will help at least start a discussion in that direction. Like every great journey, you have to start somewhere. 

By Mohammad Ruhul Kader, Founder of Future Startup, Bangladesh and Sarah Sabin Khan, Head of Solutions Mapping, UNDP Accelerator Lab Bangladesh

UNDP, Economic Relations Division Extend Partnership with Signing of Three Project Agreements

UNDP and Economic Relations Division Extend Collaboration for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh

DECEMBER 11, 2023 

In a step towards sustainable development and continued collaboration, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance marked a milestone by signing three project extension agreements today, 10 December, at the latter's office.

The projects, namely the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC), Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities (SWAPNO), and Aspire to Innovate (a2i), were the focus of the signed agreements. The signing ceremony took place with Stefan Liller, UNDP Bangladesh Resident Representative, and Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Secretary, Economic Relations Division, signed on behalf of their respective organisations.

Stefan Liller, highlighting the collaboration and transformative impact of the projects, said, “We work closely with the Government and development partners for the sustainable development of communities across Bangladesh, including on climate change adaptation, women’s economic empowerment and supporting Digital and SMART Bangladesh.” He acknowledged the support of partners, including the ERD, LGD and ICT division, and extended gratitude to Sweden and Denmark for their generous contributions. Stefan emphasized the need for continued collaboration to achieve impactful development outcomes in the future.

Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division, expressed gratitude for the support received from the development partners. He emphasised the importance of collective efforts to meet the goals set for 2030.

Maria Stridsman, Counsellor/Deputy Head of Mission, Head of Development Cooperation & Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, First Secretary/Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, Environment and Climate Change, Embassy of Sweden, Syed Matiul Ahsan, · Programme Adviser · Embassy of Denmark, were present along with senior officials from the government, UNDP, UNCDF and other development organisation.

The projects have demonstrated tangible results in areas such as climate change, women's empowerment, and innovation, contributing to the broader agenda of sustainable development. The signing of these agreements marks another chapter in the long-standing partnership between UNDP and the Ministry of Finance's Economic Relations Division, showcasing the joint commitment to making a lasting impact on communities.

Bangladesh wins Global Center on Adaptation Award for Local Climate Leadership at COP28

Bangladesh Shines Bright: Pioneering Innovation in Climate Finance and Resilience Building

DECEMBER 6, 2023

During the ongoing climate conference, COP28 In Dubai, Bangladesh has secured the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) championship Award in the category of Innovation in Developing Finance.

The initiative is carried out under the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) Project, a joint endeavor implemented by the Local Government Division, supported by the European Union, Sweden, Denmark, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Awards Ceremony, held at the Resilience Hub on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, marked the recognition of Bangladesh's stellar contributions to local adaptation and resilience building. The GCA LLA Champions Awards, initiated in 2022, aim to spotlight creative, admirable, and scalable locally-led projects addressing the impacts of climate change, with a focus on supporting vulnerable groups and populations dealing with pressing environmental challenges.

The award was for the innovative approach to developing finance. Dr. Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, received the award on behalf of the Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives of Bangladesh.

Nearly 2 million people benefited under the Project, spanning nine major climate-vulnerable districts in Bangladesh, empowering over 400,000 households to better prepare for the effects of climate change. These communities can now invest in livelihoods that are climate-resilient, diversify their sources of income, and access markets and financing to enhance adaptive practices.

“The recognition of the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) Project reflects Bangladesh's steadfast commitment to locally-led adaptation and resilience. This award acknowledges the dedication of the Local Government Division and its development partners and exemplifies the power of innovation in addressing climate challenges. UNDP remains committed to supporting transformative initiatives that empower communities and contribute to a sustainable and resilient future, “said Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh

The GCA Awards not only celebrate the achievements of the winners but also highlight the collective efforts to address climate change at the local level. These initiatives significantly contribute to building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change, embodying the spirit of collaboration and innovation essential for a sustainable future.

Seema Rani, the Name of Inspiration in Munda Society

Resilience and Hope: Seema Rani Munda's Journey Through Adversity

December 1 2023

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Seema Rani, the Name of Inspiration in Munda Society

Resilience and Hope: Seema Rani Munda's Journey Through Adversity

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

The Munda community resides near Shakbaria River. Seema Rani Munda, a member of the community, lives in North Bedkashi Union of Koira Upazila in Khulna near Sundarbans. Every year when floods, cyclones and tidal waves occur, as a result of climate change, it takes with it everything that Seema owns: her home, means of earning, hopes for the future. Amongst the natural disasters that has hit her so far, Seema Rani Munda says that Cyclone Aila in 2009 and Cyclone Amphan in 2020 left her the most devastated.

Seema Rani still remembers the day before Cyclone 'Amphan' hit. Seema recalls, “The road we were about to take to go to the shelter had collapsed. The road leading to our house had collapsed. Houses, dishes, and clothes were swept away by the cyclone. I witnessed the gradual destruction of the home we had built. But there was no time for remorse as I had to save my life and so I headed to the shelter by boat. We did not have enough clothes or food to survive, and then LoGIC Project came to our side. The project’s assistance gradually helped me regain my composure.”

The Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project is a joint initiative supported by UNDP Bangladesh, UNCDF, the European Union, Sweden and Denmark. It aims to build the capacity of affected communities, local government institutions and civil society organizations in climate change adaptation in selected climate-vulnerable areas.

When Seema Rani was selected as a beneficiary for the LoGIC project along with other women, she was trained in vegetable, fish and crab farming along with many others. After the completion of training, thirty thousand taka (BDT) was given to each participant. Seema invested this amount in crab farming and made a profit within a few months.

“I opened a shop in the local market with the profit I made. I started selling various fresh vegetables in the shop. Daily, I earned about five hundred taka (BDT) and was able to invest it on my children's education”, Seema expressed with relief.

Seema's daughter is in college and her son is in primary school.

Seema further adds, “In our Munda community, none of the girls get the opportunity to complete their education due to financial constraints. In the Munda community, only a handful of girls, including my daughter, go to college.”

Education and language barrier is a significant reason behind the slow progress in the Munda society. Seema Munda dreams that her daughter will one day go to university. For this reason, after passing HSC, the girl will be sent to Dhaka for university admission coaching. “No matter how hard it is, I will ensure my daughter’s education. I was not able to complete mine due to lack of money. LoGIC project stood by my side and guided me. Now I want to take my daughter further. I dream that my daughter will finish her studies and work in Dhaka.”

When Seema Rani joined Project LoGIC, Seema faced criticism from her community. Even her parents were hesitant of supporting her. She used to go to get training, go to the bank and talk about it. Seema Rani Munda, “While working with the LoGIC project, initially, we faced many obstacles from the society. But I was determined to stick with LoGIC regardless of the hurdles. If I had succumbed to the pressures of society and given up, I would not have received the benefits I have so far. The Munda society would also have been deprived.”

Today, Seema Rani is a source of pride in the Munda community. "Many girls come to me for advice, inspired by my journey. I support them and share my experiences because the LoGIC Project taught me that real success comes when you share it with everyone else," she concludes.