Five sheep for 17,000 taka became 90, and 30,000 taka a month

Rice from three acres no longer covered this farmer’s household and his children’s schooling in Bamandighi village, Taraganj, Rangpur; he was borrowing every month and at one point mortgaged cultivable land to repay debt. In February 2017 he watched a video on his nephew’s phone about becoming self-reliant through sheep, and that same month used money from selling rice to buy five sheep for 17,000 taka. He grazed them in the fields and along the roadside, so feed cost him almost nothing. The five became 13 in the first year and have grown every year since; he now has 90 sheep. After all costs he keeps about 30,000 taka a month, and has bought land with his savings. Sheep lamb every five months, two or three at a time, and neighbours who copied him have built their own flocks - one turned two sheep into 30 in four years, another went from four to 20 and earns 10,000 taka a month.