I am feeling honored to be a farmer today. Since childhood I have passed a miserable life. I don’t have father. We were 3 brothers and 2 sisters. My mother fed us by begging from other neighbors. Because of poverty, my mother married off me such a younger age when I was 10. I came to my husband’s house. But my husband was very idle, he couldn’t work hard. Usually he passed time by dong nothing but sleeping. We were struggling to support our family. I fed my children by selling dry cow dug collected from the field. Some of our neighbors helped me very much by giving me their additional and waste food so that I could feed my children.
Sandha Rani Sarkar is a 46 Years old women living in Khutikata village of Kashimari union, Shyamnagar upazila, Satkhira district. She has a family with 5 members including 3 daughters and one son. She is a farmer. She is practicing farming from 2014 to still now. She has 90 decimal land of her own for cultivation. She is a successful farmer and become pioneer to the women of Khutikata Village. Women of other villages come to visit her to see her success and learn from her.
In 2013, LEDARS came to our village and established a climate resilient committee. I joint there as a general member. In meeting, they taught us how to produce vegetable in small land. The facilitation inspired me. As we had about 30 decimal land with the share of my husband’s three brothers, I decided to cultivate in our own share.
I started to cultivate in 10 decimal land of our own portion. LEDARS provided me training on vegetable cultivation and seed preservation. I started to produce vegetable and sell the vegetable to local market. I could earn money for the first time and I could satisfy the food demand of my family as well. I have started to save some money. At the mean time, LEDARS arranged a training of compost fertilizer. After this training I decided to produce compost fertilizer and I borrow a cow from my younger sister. After six months, when the cow gave birth of a calf then I gave back the cow to my younger sister. I started to produce compost fertilizer as well as after two year, I sold one of my cows and I bought another 10 decimal land of my brother in law and at the same time, took lease rest 10 decimal land of my elder brother in law.
I started to produce vegetable in 30 decimal land and earned about 500 taka per day and this motivate me to save more money. In 2017, I bought 60 decimal land adjacent to my land. LEDARS suggest me to cut a pond and practice aquaculture. I agreed on them and LEDARS assist me to cut the pond and now I am cultivating various fish in my pond.
Just after five years, my family was the poorest family in this village but now we are one of the richest family. Now I have 8 cows in my cow hut and I have already sold 7 cows within last five year. I am producing compost fertilized that is used in my own land as well as I sell addition fertilizer to the villager. Now I am cultivating all kind of vegetables all the year round and now my family income is about 1500 taka per day. Moreover, now I have the capacity to keep two labors in my field. I think every body can be succeeded, if they work hard and use every inch of land in productive way.
