Bangladesh
Five times larger than Belgium, Bangladesh is regularly struck by natural disasters. The country is situated east of India, at the heart of the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. It is an extremely flat country and is subject to violent floods during the Monsoon period (June to October) and cyclones (April-May and September-November). It is following floods that Dominique Pire commenced his work of supporting the development of Gohira in 1962.
Despite the rapid economic development of its neighbours, the South East Asian Tigers, Bangladesh remains to this day, a very poor country of which the principle activities are agriculture and fishing. The production of jute is a major source of income for the households and the country, and represents the main exported material.
The Island of Peace of Gohira (1962-1967)
The context of the action
Gohira is situated 25 km East of Chittagong, an important port town. In 1962, the situation was fragile: the region had just emerged from major floods, sanitary conditions were precarious, the pressure of the population on the lands was high and the productivity of agriculture which was the main source of income remained weak inasmuch as the landlords appropriated half of the harvest from the farmers.
The content of the action
In this difficult context, the main idea of Islands of Peace was to encourage the population to have confidence in their own resources and to become conscience of their responsibilities, by enabling this population to participate in some modest realisations. The first achievements led to new initiatives, therefore setting the population in motion of a progressive process of auto-development. The Island of Peace of Gohira concentrated its action in 2 fields:
- Economically, the improvement of the productivity of agriculture was achieved through new agricultural techniques, the introduction of improved varieties of rice, the use of fodder and insecticides, a better management of irrigation techniques. In this scope, credit played a crucial role. After a few years, the yield of rice rose from 0.5 T/ha to between 4 and 5 T/ha. This achievement was not just limited to rice. The production of chillies, groundnuts and potatoes equally benefited from the innovations. In the beginning, there was some resistance. As it is not easy for a small farmer to imagine the impact of these techniques, as he knows that whatever happens, half of his harvests will go to the landlord. Nevertheless, bit by bit, the contagion touched the region.
- Socially, the project stressed the emancipation of women by leading actions in the fields of health, craft industry, education and co-operative organisation. A number of women co-operatives were founded. Training played an important role here. Two centres trained young women in infant care, hygiene, sewing; young women who, in the future became relays of their community. A small dispensary enabled first aid services, but above all, it enabled to be in contact with women.
In Gohira, the spirit of association was the driving force of development. A network of co-operatives was created. United, the co-operators were better equipped to defend themselves against and to pressure the landlords. The Island of Peace provided technical assistance, the co-operative granted loans and watched over their use, the co-operator did the rest.
Results
After 5 years in Gohira, the landscape had radically changed. Physically, on one hand, the support provided by Islands of Peace enabled the increase of the productivity of the land. In the 1961, the annual yield of an hectare of rice was about 2600 kg. In 1966, through the diffusion of new varieties and the introduction of a spring season cultivation, this yield rose to 3620 kg, which represents an increase of 40%. With the slight increase of cultivated areas, the availability of rice increased by 66%. Five years later, the yield per hectare rose to 4875 kg, doubling the quantity produced. Truck farming also experienced a boom, rising from 49 to 602 Ha. This growth of agricultural production enabled the population to improve their diet, to make reserves and to dispose of liquid assets. Moreover, the poorest also benefited from the decrease of market prices consequently to the higher production.
Beyond the material results, there is the psychological impact which is no doubt more fundamental. Of course, the first years were difficult: weight of traditions, manoeuvres of the big landlords, expectation of "presents". But little by little, a real awakening of the population occurred. The co-operative movement built on the principle of self help, was successful to the extent that, at the end of 1998, the central co-operative grouped 372 primary co-operatives for 10.659 members, which is impressive in comparison to the 37 co-operatives existing at the start of the expatriate team, 30 years earlier. The 56 women co-operatives are particularly dynamic.
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