In coastal Bangladesh, where saltwater intrusion steadily poisons farmland and pushes families deeper into poverty, the connection between climate change and livelihood is not abstract, it is felt in every failed harvest. For Archana Sardar, a mother of three from Assasuni, Satkhira, that connection was becoming a trap. Then she found hope in vermicomposting. By converting cow manure into organic fertiliser, she is rejuvenating her salt-damaged soil, cutting emissions, and building a sustainable future for her family, one handful at a time.
There were days when even an additional BDT 2,000 (17 USD) felt out of reach. My daughter would ask for a small thing - a book, or a new dress - and we had to tell her to wait, maybe next month. Now, from the income I earn, I can buy her those little things. Giving my children these small joys - that is my biggest win.”
The struggles of farming in a changing climate
Globally, agriculture remains one of the most climate-sensitive livelihoods. Salinisation of freshwater and soil impacts around 500 million people worldwide. In the south-west coastal region of Bangladesh, the exposure is magnified as saltwater intrusion jeopardises agricultural productivity.
In a country where 45% of the population relies on agriculture, not only for food but also for income, rising salinity is making farming increasingly uncertain.
Many like Archana’s family have long sustained their livelihood through farming, but deteriorating soil fertility, coupled with cyclones and erratic rainfall, made traditional practices harder, leading her to explore new adaptation methods.
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A small business grown at home
Archana's turning point came when she was introduced to vermicomposting by BRAC’s Climate Change Programme. Vermicompost is a nutrient-rich organic fertiliser created with the help of earthworms.
Every morning, Archana collects the manure from her two cows into a semi-enclosed storage pit. She gathers approximately 30 kg of manure per day. After slightly drying out the fresh manure, she adds it to her two composting pits along with a handful of earthworms. The earthworms break down and consume the organic matter, and their castings become high-quality, organic compost, rich in beneficial microbes and nutrients.
First row, from left to right: Archana with her cow, a semi-enclosed storage pit. Second row: Worms being added to the manure. © Anima Ashraf/BRAC 2026
Every 60 days, Archana harvests 200 kg of vermicompost from each pit. She and her husband use half of the compost on their own land for rice cultivation and vegetable farming, and Archana sells the rest. Selling the compost for BDT 20 (USD 0.16) per kg, Archana generates an annual income of around BDT 24,000 (USD 197) from the compost alone.
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Before starting this venture, Archana used to sell some of the raw manure to her neighbours and turn the rest into firewood for cooking. However, much of the manure was left in an open pit, unused and ultimately wasted.
From left to right: Archana and her husband in front of the composting pits, Archana collecting ready compost. © Anima Ashraf/BRAC 2026
BRAC’s input support and hands-on training in vermicompost opened up a new income stream for Archana, enabling her to transition from simply being a farmer to becoming a small-scale business owner. For someone who had seen her land struggle year after year, this felt like a glimmer of hope, a chance to restore what had been slipping away.
All the compost I produce is sold before it's even ready. My production is still small, but I hope to expand, especially now that other women in my neighbourhood are eager to learn the process from me.”
Despite its promise, scaling vermicomposting is limited by a lack of materials, space, technical support, and, for rural women, insufficient capital, time and market access. BRAC’s ecosystem addresses these barriers simultaneously by combining training, input support, community networks and market linkages, enabling vermicomposting to move from a niche local practice to a scalable, adaptive livelihood solution.
Every two months, Archana harvests 200 kg of vermicompost from each pit, generating an annual income of around BDT 24,000 (USD 197). © BRAC 2026
Reviving soil, reducing emissions
Archana's husband farms half an acre of land. Before adopting climate-resilient practices and organic compost, a third of an acre of land yielded just around 160 kg of rice. Now, with vermicompost and resilient seeds, it produces approximately 1000 kg. Vegetables, once impossible to grow in saline soil, now earn the family BDT 60,000 annually (USD 494). The quality and yield of both vegetables and rice have improved, and the once-damaged soil is now healthier and more resilient.
Vermicompost also helps reduce topsoil erosion by improving soil structure and water retention, preventing runoff. It also lowers salinity by displacing toxic sodium, increasing beneficial cations like calcium and potassium, and supporting a healthier microbial community, making the soil more fertile and resilient.
The plants grow faster, stronger, and are less prone to diseases. Even after repeated harvests, the soil has held its strength. I believe vermicompost has stopped our rice fields from losing their fertility.”
Beyond creating an additional income for Archana, the use of vermicompost as the main fertiliser has reduced the family’s annual fertiliser costs by 50% from BDT 6000 (USD 50) to BDT 3000 (USD 25).
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Archana’s efforts extend beyond just adapting to climate change. She is also contributing to mitigating climate change. Today, her method prevents approximately 0.27 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent emissions annually.
Across the country, 172 participants in BRAC’s Climate Change Programme are practising vermicomposting, collectively avoiding approximately 83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year.
Archana’s story resonates with that of thousands of women in coastal Bangladesh. © Anima Ashraf/ BRAC 2026
Livestock is a big deal not just for food, but for the climate. Globally, it produces 14.5% of human-made greenhouse gases. In Bangladesh, by 2035, livestock could contribute over 50 million tCO₂eq as per Bangladesh’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), making it one of the largest sources of emissions. Sustainable farming isn’t just smart, it’s essential.
The 83 tonnes from some of BRAC’s participants may seem modest on a national scale, but for communities living on the frontline of climate impacts, even locally driven small-scale mitigation initiatives can add up to meaningful climate resilience.
The challenge ahead
Bangladesh aims to reduce 4.81 million tonnes of CO₂eq emissions by 2035, and the NDC has also identified vermicomposting as a key solution for cutting emissions. This places the work of women like Archana not only at the heart of local resilience but also within Bangladesh’s commitment to global climate action.
However, the challenge is twofold: Bangladesh must bridge its climate mitigation gap under the NDC, while safeguarding the climate-sensitive coastal livelihoods that millions rely on for survival.
Archana’s story is a triple-win story. It showcases how one solution simultaneously improves soil health on highly saline land, locks carbon back into the soil thus, reducing GHG emissions, and creates an income source that empowers thousands of women.
Anima Ashraf is the Specialist, GHG Emissions Accounting and Reporting, Climate Change Programme, and Kamran Ibne Abdul Qader is the Senior Specialist, Knowledge Management and Communications, Climate Change Programme.
Facts Only
* Saltwater intrusion poisons farmland in coastal Bangladesh.
* The connection between climate change and livelihood is felt in failed harvests.
* 45% of the population in Bangladesh relies on agriculture for food and income.
* Rising salinity jeopardizes agricultural productivity in the south-west coastal region.
* Farming livelihoods have been sustained by farming but are challenged by deteriorating soil fertility, cyclones, and erratic rainfall.
* Vermicompost is an organic fertilizer created with earthworms from cow manure.
* Archana collects approximately 30 kg of manure per day from two cows.
* Archana harvests 200 kg of vermicompost every 60 days from each pit.
* Archana sells vermicompost for BDT 20 (USD 0.16) per kg.
* The family's annual income from compost alone is around BDT 24,000 (USD 197).
* Adopting practices led to an increase in rice yield from 160 kg to approximately 1000 kg on half an acre of land with vermicompost.
* The family's annual vegetable and rice earnings increased to BDT 60,000 (USD 494).
* Using vermicompost reduced annual fertilizer costs by 50%, from BDT 6000 (USD 50) to BDT 3000 (USD 25).
* Vermicompost helps reduce topsoil erosion and runoff.
* The method prevents approximately 0.27 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent emissions annually for Archana's efforts alone.
* 172 participants in BRAC’s Climate Change Programme are practicing vermicomposting, avoiding approximately 83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions annually.
Executive Summary
Coastal Bangladesh faces challenges from saltwater intrusion that poisons farmland and deepens poverty for families dependent on agriculture. Rising salinity threatens agricultural productivity, which is particularly acute in the south-west coastal region where a large portion of the population relies on farming for sustenance and income. Traditional farming practices are complicated by deteriorating soil fertility, cyclones, and erratic rainfall. One family found a path toward resilience by adopting vermicomposting, converting cow manure into organic fertilizer to rejuvenate salt-damaged soil while creating an additional income stream.
The implementation of vermicomposting involves collecting cow manure, adding it with earthworms to composting pits, harvesting the resulting compost, and selling the excess for income. This practice improved agricultural yields, increased potential income, and reduced fertilizer costs for the family. While scaling this practice faces barriers related to materials, space, and capital for rural women, organized support systems are attempting to bridge these gaps by combining training, input support, and market linkages.
The adoption of vermicomposting demonstrated multiple benefits simultaneously: restoring soil health, increasing economic viability through sales, and contributing to climate mitigation by reducing emissions from fertilizer use and livestock. This approach positions local adaptation as a strategy for both immediate livelihood improvement and long-term environmental resilience in a climate-sensitive region.
Full Take
The narrative illustrates a critical intersection where localized adaptation addresses systemic global threats. The transformation from subsistence farming under duress to small-scale entrepreneurial activity highlights how ecological knowledge and novel technology can function as tools for building cognitive sovereignty against environmental instability. The shift is not merely about yield; it involves reclaiming agency—moving from being a passive recipient of climate impact (suffering failed harvests) to an active producer of solutions (managing composting systems).
The pattern observed is the convergence of three distinct vectors: ecological necessity, economic empowerment, and climate mitigation. Salinization creates an existential threat; vermicomposting offers a tangible, localized technological pivot that addresses this threat by simultaneously enhancing soil structure, improving crop resilience against salinity, and providing direct financial returns. This suggests that solutions that are locally embedded—using local waste streams (manure) and natural processes (earthworms)—possess greater sustainability than external interventions.
The tension lies in the scaling challenge versus the demonstrated impact. The story is powerful because it shows a successful microcosm of systemic change, yet it simultaneously underscores the structural barriers preventing this success from becoming ubiquitous. When analyzing the systemic context, it becomes clear that true resilience requires not just technical input (training and materials provided by BRAC), but also addressing macro-level issues: ensuring stable market access for these decentralized businesses, guaranteeing sufficient capital accumulation for expansion, and integrating these localized efforts into broader national climate commitments. The ultimate implication is that empowering marginalized communities through context-specific, multi-benefit innovations is essential for fulfilling global sustainability goals.
BRIDGE QUESTIONS: What are the specific institutional mechanisms required to ensure that successful local innovations like vermicomposting are scaled beyond pilot projects without relying solely on external support? How can policymakers integrate localized, women-led climate mitigation efforts into national NDC frameworks while ensuring equitable access to necessary capital and market infrastructure for these small enterprises? What non-monetary forms of knowledge transfer are most effective in transitioning community practices into resilient, self-sustaining systems?
Sentinel — Human
This analysis functions as a compelling human-centric feature story that uses factual data to illustrate a specific intervention, displaying the hallmarks of engaged journalism.