Real experiences, published anonymously and with permission.
A fisherman and pitha seller at the Charkhali ferry ghat, Bhandaria, Pirojpur
Food processingPirojpur
A fisherman at the Charkhali ferry ghat in Bhandaria, Pirojpur sells chitoi pitha at Tk 5 each to truck drivers at night after fishing by day. Selling pitha from 10 kg of rice flour, he is left with Tk 800 to 1,000 after costs.
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A coffee-seedling grower and fruit collector, and a coffee farmer, in Nalitabari, Sherpur
Agriculture & farmingSherpur
In Nalitabari, Sherpur an agriculturist left his job and began raising coffee seedlings in 2021, giving 50,000 free to farmers over four years. One farmer sold about 500 kg of fruit from 800 plants for Tk 75,000.
A woman quinoa farmer in Madhyarchar, Roumari, Kurigram
Agriculture & farmingKurigram
After repeated losses to floods and river erosion, a woman in Madhyarchar, Roumari, Kurigram took training and grew quinoa. At half the cost of maize she made over Tk 50,000 profit.
A young poultry farmer and hatchery operator from Binoyekpur village, Nesarabad, Pirojpur
Agriculture & farmingPirojpur
A young man in Nesarabad, Pirojpur who could not find a job set up a home poultry farm, then learned from YouTube and bought a Tk 30,000 incubator to hatch chicks. His farm capital is now over Tk 10 lakh.
A nursery owner in Alankarkathi village, Nesarabad, Pirojpur
Agriculture & farmingPirojpur
A nursery owner in Alankarkathi village, Nesarabad, Pirojpur, who has been in the trade 20 years, now runs his own on sharecropped land. He expects over Tk 3 lakh in sales during the November-March flower season.
A batik factory owner in Kamalpur, Cumilla
Light manufacturing & workshopCumilla
About 25 batik factories in Kamalpur, Cumilla work under a few factory owners. One owner says work stops without sun, winter demand drops and paying staff then becomes hard.
A woman watermelon farmer in Ali Akbar Deil, Kutubdia, Cox's Bazar
Agriculture & farmingCox's Bazar
Rice no longer paid in salty Kutubdia, Cox's Bazar, so a woman began growing watermelon five years ago. This year, on 80 decimal, she is netting about Tk 2 lakh after costs.
An arot owner at the Mongla fish landing centre, Bagerhat
Retail & wholesaleBagerhat
A Mongla arot owner bought two rare bhol fish, weighing 63.5 kg together, at an auction at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. They were sent to Chattogram in hope of a higher price, but the report gives no final sale result.
A woman duck farmer in Dhanakusha village, Nakla, Sherpur
Agriculture & farmingSherpur
A woman in Nakla, Sherpur left a garment factory job, took UNDP training and started a duck farm. She now has about 500 ducks giving 90 to 100 eggs a day, and she has given work to three more women.
A woman vermicompost producer in Sukhchhari village, Lohagara, Chattogram
Agriculture & farmingChattogram
A woman in Sukhchhari village, Lohagara, Chattogram started vermicompost in 2017 with 250 g of worms from the agriculture office. From the dung of two cows she now makes 500 kg of compost every 1.5 months, using some on her own plots and selling the rest.
Four sibling entrepreneurs behind Jumghor restaurant in Dighinala, Khagrachhari
Food processingKhagrachhari
In Dighinala, Khagrachhari, four siblings opened a restaurant modelled on a hill jhum house using their savings and a bank loan. They handle shopping, cooking and serving themselves, and keep prices low with tourists in mind.
A pineapple farmer from Lohadi village, Kapasia, Gazipur
Agriculture & farmingGazipur
A farmer in Kapasia, Gazipur, has grown the early Jholdhup pineapple for five years on high fallow land. This year he sold Tk 1 lakh of fruit from two plots, with seedling sales alongside.