Under the Banana Tree

7/27/2019 Under the Banana Tree

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Drowning Sand

And the Holy Banana Tree

The tale of people with disability and their neighbors coping with

Sharbanasha floods in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna Chars of Bangladesh

By

Khurshid AlamAshekur Rahman

Omar Farok

Fazlul Kabir and

Naureen Fatema

March 2007

Dhaka

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Table of Contents

Drowning Sand ..................................................................................................................1

And the Holy Banana Tree...............................................................................................1

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Prologue

This document is not an in-depth analysis of the char peoples local knowledge and coping

mechanism on recurrent flooding. Rather, the reports major contribution to the existing disaster

reduction knowledge in Bangladesh is an analysis of how and whether people with disabilities are

included when communities define and apply various strategies to deal with flood. Thisknowledge is critical in implementing at least two priorities in the Hyogo Framework for Action

2005-2015, adopted in the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Japan in 2005: a).

Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning and b). Reduce the

underlying risk factors as one of the five priorities for action. This report offers knowledge to fill

the missing link between strategy for disaster reduction in Bangladesh and beyond and advancing

rights of the people with disabilities in disasters. This missing link is contracted various

manageable factors often overlooked by the community, NGO and public policy and practices on

disaster reduction.

This document is prepared based on char people experience dealing with floods. Therefore, my

warmest thanks are due for the people in Mollar Char and Sonatoni Char who have spent timewith the research team to share their experiences during the busy winter when day light does not

last long. The report has been prepared with active technical, financial and intellectual support

from Handicap International. I am grateful to my friends at HI offices in Bangladesh and France,

who have strong humane perspective, deep passion and conviction for the people with

disabilities, for their involvement from design to making the language of this report politically

correct for People with disabilities. Many colleagues and friends have generously encouraged and

assisted me over a long period when the drowning sand and the holy banana tree was in the

making. First, the team of authors who helped me in designing, training the field research team

and finally writing this up. They have answered many questions and commented on the draft.

Second the field research team comprised of young and energetic researchers, who have done

remarkable work under difficult circumstances. The political unrest, particularly during the cold

spell in the winter of 2006, put the study team in a situation where they had to start their travel

very early in the morning. My congratulations should go to the dedication of Md. Abdur Rahman,

Md. Jahangir Alam, Ms. Farzana Mustahid, Md. Kamal Hossain, Md. Mazedul Islam Limon andMs. Shamsi Ara Happy.

It is also important to write a few words about the naming of the report. Chars are large pieces of

land in the river where sand has deposited layer by layer over years. Bhanga and gora (whichroughly translated means destruction and reconstruction) is the rule of the game for such chars,

used in many folk songs in Bangla music, to explain its nature. The sandy char is eroded by the

river, sinks down and rises again somewhere else. Life of char people also moves with such

bhanga and gora phenomena. This drowning sand is the most important characteristic of chars

that has shaped char peoples life throughout the generations. In contrast, the banana tree is the

holy rescuer at any cost. It has many uses for char people, both during their normal and flooding

life. People make raft out of this. Banana trees provide fruits for consumption as well as a source

of regular income. Many char people can be seen going to the rural market with a bunch ofbananas to sell. During the seasonal food crisis, people also eat part of the plant as curry. It serves

as a barrier around the house, giving privacy to the women during flood and can also be used by

them as a floating toilet. Banana leaves are also fed to goats when grazing land goes under water.

Thus, the entire life of char people is centered on drowning sand and the holy banana tree.

I feel that I have been preparing myself to write this report on char for the last ten years. During

this time I visited different chars of the northern Bangladesh several times. But after completing

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this study, I realised that my observations on char people have always been partial. I and many of

my fellow researchers did not see how people with different disabilities have been missed by our

past researches, as well as many of the well designed studies done by respected researchers. Its

surprising how professionalized assignment can divide a researchers view towards life!

The deeper I go to understand char peoples vulnerability, the more I come back with questions.

This report is no exception; it addressed few of the gaps in existing collective knowledge ondisaster reduction in Bangladesh in general and char livelihood in particular; but highlights more

issues for further research.

Finally, on behalf of the authors team I would like to conclude by saying that the Char people

have shared their views and experiences with us with an untold expectation that institutionsresponsible for bringing forward their right will listen to their voices. Our effort will be success if

this report contributes towards changing perspective and knowledge of the key policy makers

engaged in disaster reduction.

Khurshid Alam

Banani, Dhaka

www.khurshidalam.org

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http://www.khurshidalam.org/http://www.khurshidalam.org/


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Introduction

Background

This report is the story of people with disability and their communities, living in two of the most

vulnerable chars of Bangladesh - Mollar Char in Gaibandha and Sonatoni Char in Sirajganjdistrict. Both the chars are located in the Jamuna-Brahmaputra river system. One would find the

names of these chars as targets to even the mildest floods in Bangladesh and they prove to be the

worst sufferers if the rivers get angry, which they quite often do. Beside their chronic poverty and

hunger, frequent natural disasters - particularly flood, river erosion and northwester further add to

the uncertainties in their life. Yet, the char people have developed their local knowledge to

predict flood and mechanisms to cope with exceptional circumstances caused by the floods.

The way people deal with such flooding may change over time. Various factors influence their

ability to cope. Then the vital question for Bangladesh remains unanswered: whether any public

and private policy contributes to this coping mechanism? Why do they remain poor even when

the media comments that Bangladeshi poor have the ability to cope with flood? This report also

goes into a deeper analysis of such questions.

The research questions and their relevance to Bangladesh

The study tried to understand how char people as communities, where many people with

disability live, understand the probability of occurrence of a flood, its scale and potential impact,

with little or no help from modern flood early warning information. How the local science and

arts, developed and practiced over hundreds of years, maintained its relevance in the life of char

people when flooding itself is changing its pattern due to climate change and other developmental

processes. It also designed to explore core issues in peoples coping mechanism when they sense

an imminent flood, manage their livelihood during a flood and recover from the losses after the

disaster.

This study reassessed all of these questions based on the experiences of char people, particularly

people with disabilities, engaging in each of the above processes.

Four research questions:

a) What are the indigenous knowledge used by the char people and People with disabilities to

get early warning on floods? What is the effectiveness of such knowledge in predicting

floods? How is this knowledge transmitted to the next generation? How do close family

members and community leaders and neighbor share prediction information with People with

disabilities? To what extent does that knowledge generate action at the community level?

What are the factors that can explain action or inaction in the community?

b) How do char people cope with regular flood disaster in terms of preparedness, rescue, takingshelter, maintaining livelihoods and accessing critical services including external assistance?

What type of preparation do households take before a flood? Whether and how, if at all, the

external factors (availability of job, food etc) influence communities coping mechanism?

c) To what extent does community coping strategy incorporate the special need of People with

disabilities?d) Is there any special coping strategy that People with disabilities develop and adapt in dealing

with similar circumstances (or different ones)?

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Why are the answers to these questions necessary? First, they are important in the search for a

caring Bangladesh that reduces vulnerability of all members irrespective of their identity and

ability. Second, newer inquiries are needed on how local knowledge can be strengthen in the

context of new social and political environment where increasing disasters are taking place in

Bangladesh and in the world. This new environment can be characterized by a sharp decline ofdemand and supply of public goods as a result of neo-liberal policies and peoples increasing

dependency on formal institutions, rather than social network. There are two ways to deal withthe global disaster problems: a) strengthening peoples coping strategies and b) responsive

governance for disaster reduction. The study contributes toward limiting knowledge gap of the

first way.

The study framework: Defining coping mechanism and indigenous knowledge

Vulnerable communities collectively and its members individually develop their own ways to

deal with exceptional circumstances caused by disasters, which is generally called coping

mechanism or strategy1. Coping is the manner in which people act within the limits of existing

resources and range of expectations to achieve various ends (At risk 2004). Coping with disaster

means the way in which people or organizations use available resources and abilities to mitigate

adverse consequences that could lead to a disaster. Coping mechanism/strategy is a dynamic

process, which adapt to external changes and can be weakened or strengthened by wider policy

and institutional action. The strengthening of coping capacities usually builds resilience to

withstand the effects of natural and human-induced hazards (UNISDR).

Coping strategies are very specific to culture and are governed by a range of available resources,

experiences and value system2.

While there are specific forms of collective strategies constructed by leadership, skills, available

resources, knowledge and power and value system of the community, not all individual or

households follow similar strategy. Individuals fit into the collective strategy based on their

ability, knowledge and experience. The key question that remains as a knowledge gap is whether

such collective strategies acknowledge, consider and address specific needs of the vulnerablegroups such as people with disabilities (People with disabilities). For example, while planning a

rescue by boat or increase of plinth level of tube-wells or houses, the community may or may not

consider mobility and accessibility constraints of the People with disabilities.

Distinction between coping mechanism and adaptation in relation to overall life and livelihood

strategy of a community is an important issue to factor into a coping study. In a given disaster

context, communitys regular life and livelihood strategy may or may not be effective to deal

with the existing or likely disasters; they may need new or revised strategy to deal with such

context. Coping is the temporary form of strategy used by the community until disaster

circumstances become normal. When recurrent nature of disasters impact can not be withstood

by existing coping mechanism and community or individual needs to change their regular life and

livelihood strategy for a longer term, we call it adaptation. However, this study does not separateadaptation from coping rather combines them under the coping strategy conceptualframework.

1Alam, Khurshid. 2006. Why should community coping mechanism be the centre of disaster reduction policy and

practices? Key note paper for CCDB south Asia conference on Community Coping Mechanism.

www.khurshidalam.org

2 ibid

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A coping mechanism may affect overall livelihood system. For example, shifting houses to cope

with flood may cost in terms of increased distance for child education. Such cost can vary for

different groups of vulnerable people, such as People with disabilities. Therefore, they also

develop and apply various other mechanisms to deal with such effect, which can be understood as

direct, indirect and opportunity cost of coping.

To sum it up, Community Coping Strategy (CCS) was used to refer a set of actions that thecommunity adapts, to:

avoid (an anticipated) disaster: these actions are mostly related with preparedness and

mitigation measures

manage an exceptional circumstance and

bring about a normalcy in life and livelihoods (after a disaster).

The fieldwork

Methodology

The conclusions in the report were drawn based on char peoples experience in dealing with

floods. In order to document these experiences following methodological framework was used:

A cause-effect analysis, designed to understand peoples experiences on changing pattern

of flood and their perceived causes. A 30 year time span was used to understand such a

change in the flood pattern.

Considering dynamic nature of coping mechanism and indigenous knowledge, a set of

questions were designed to facilitate dialogue and discussion with people.

In order to understand how concerns of People with disabilities are considered in

developing and applying various strategies at households and community level, the

research included views from many different categories of people including People with

disabilities. The key informants were chosen from the range of decision makers at

household and community level.

Both individual interview and group discussions were conducted and the conclusions are

validated at various levels, including one final discussion organized in Gaibandha.

Following are the tools applied to collect information:

Focus Group Discussion (FGD): an average number of 10-12 people participated in each

of the FGDs. Cause effect analysis was part of the FGDs, which made an entry point to

the discussion on household and community level coping mechanism.

Key Informant Interview: these interviews were carried out to collect more collectiveinformation from local knowledgeable person such as school headmasters, community

leaders, member of union council etc.

In-depth Interview: individual and household level experience dealing with the most

recent flood was gathered through this exercise. The care taker or family members wereinterviewed for people having speech and hearing impairment.

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Participants in the study

A total number of 148 people participated, desegregated in the following manner:

3 group gender and ability desegregated FGDs were conducted in Sonatoni where 80

people participated. Among them, 24 individuals were further interviewed of which 8 of

them were persons with disabilities. A total of 16 individuals were selected for KeyInformant Interview, where 4 of them were People with disabilities.

In Gaibandha, a total of 68 individuals participated in data collection processes. 3 FGDs

were conducted for male, female and People with disabilities (male and female together).

Each of them had 13 participants. 29 Interviews were taken where 1 was a child, 8 of

them were People with disabilities, 2 of them were females heading household and 18 of

them were farmers and others.

Careful attention has been given so that conclusions represent as many perspectives as possible of

different category of char people desegregated by gender, generation, ability, occupation and

identity. The category of people who where identified by previous studies as most vulnerable

such as small holder farmers, female headed households, families with members with disability

were particularly chosen for FGDs and interviews. The study did not intend to generalize the

findings to wider flood prone areas. So people living in the selected chars were chosen as the

primary source of information.

Characteristics of the study participants:

lived in the selected char for at least the last 5 years, having experience of floods and/or

river erosion in their lives

poor people having less access to the basic facilities than well off living in the chars

members of the community which included some people with disability, and/or their care

giver

occupation-subsistent farmers, wage laborers, migrant workers most of them were more than 40 years old (to capture a bigger trend of changes in flood

and coping with it)

Research team composition

A well trained and gender and disability balanced team was put together for the field work.

Accessibility and communication has always been a challenge for the participation of the People

with disabilities in the discussion. In order to include views from people with different types of

disabilities, two trained occupational therapists facilitated the group discussion with People with

disabilities. Cases where there was a particular hearing, speech and intellectual impairment or

children with disability, the principle caretakers were interviewed to understand the perspective

of People with disabilities.

A field tested guideline was used by the research team who also went through a rigorous training

and regular de-briefing in the field.

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Chapter OneTale of the Drowning Sand and the Holy Banana Tree

1.1 Life in Chars

When talking about the people living in the chars of Bangladesh, one is likely to conjure a few

sharply contrasting images. If asked, people living in the mainland may comment that the char isa place for lazy people (ushmani murgi) who fight each other. According to Zaman (1989),

mainlanders refer to the distinct lifestyle of the rural people living in the riverine chars as a

Choura(an adjective used to denote a lifestyle pertaining to chars) sub-culture, which is

somewhat different from the ways of the people living in the mainland. Mainlanders use the term

Choura with a negative connotation and regard the char people as primitive, lazy, bitter and

violent.

These extremely vulnerable and eternally mobile people may be poor but one would find their

children happily running around in the vast paddy fields. They are friendly people who lead

simple lives. In contrast to what mainlanders tend to think, both men and women living in charsare hard working. In spite of living under the constant threat of floods endangering their lives and

other prized possessions, these people never fall short of either the spirit to fight for their own

survival or to help their neighbors in whatever capacity they can manage. And although one can

find piles of literature on the vulnerability and insecurity of char people in the office shelves ofaid agencies, if asked, the char people may boldly reply that, Though we shift our houses every

year, we still dont want to leave the char.

The ethnic and religious identity of the char people is no different from the rest of the country.The common characteristic of these people is that they are poor people living in shanty houses

with thatched roofs and bare minimal resources to survive on. What makes them unite against the

remoteness is not services by the government, but their common enemy the constant threat of

flood and eroding sand in the chars.

1.2 Chars of the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers

Bangladesh in general is subject to floods because much of the country occupies the deltaic

floodplains of the Brahmaputra/Jamuna, Gagnes/Padma and Meghna rivers, which is the second

largest river system in the world. The Brahmaputra-Jamuna river channel is strongly braided: i.e.

it has multiple channels, separated by alluvial islands, which through their constant shifting erode

the islands and adjoining river banks. In the process, they deposit new alluvium in places which

in turn forms new alluvial chars. The Jamuna is notorious for its shifting sub channels and for the

formation of these fertile silt islands or chars. These alluvial river chars are different from islandsfor the following reasons:

They are temporary in nature

There is a random occurrence of flood in these chars

Char people are treated as different from the mainlanders. They are the people living in semi-

subsistence economic systems.

The whole of the char areas are environmentally fragile, unstable and prone to flooding since very

little of the land is over 20 meters above sea level, leading to a process in which land can become

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submerged and then later re-emerge3. Once these chars emerge, they change and human

populations make use of the chars in differing ways as the land develops. One progression takes

a char from sand deposition to siltation, and then to some kind of vegetation (usually grasses),

followed after a period of years by cultivation and eventually human settlement. Given the

vagaries of the river morphology, the process can be aborted at any point, and the prospects ofchange in a given char are a major topic of conversation amongst char men and women.

Settlements can be established on a temporary basis while people wait to see whether the island

chars will stabilize or lose itself to erosion once again. However, no permanent settlements can

exist along the banks of the Jamuna. Because of the constant erosion and deposition,

Brahmaputra-Jamuna char land provides a highly unstable environment for human occupation

and use.4

A map showing GBM system, where Bangladesh and char areas will be shown

Sonatoni Char of Sirajgonj division is a delta surrounded by the Jamuna River and Mollar Char is

one of the many chars of Bangladesh situated in Gaibandha division. This char has been named

so afterMollahs (religious people) who lived in the char. The key characteristics of both the chars

are quite similar. There are no roads built in these chars and pavements have been naturally

formed on the commonly used tracks that run through fields and the courtyard of their houses.

Since no form of transport is available in the chars walking is the sole form of commuting. Boats

are used to travel to another char or to the town. The most common occupation in both chars is

day labour. Many people migrate to towns in search of employment where they serve as richshaw

(local form of transport) pullers or try to earn a living through any available chore. The women

are engaged in, household tasks, in paddy fields or in rearing poultry, cows and goats. Rice and

green leaves, grown either in their fields or on the roof of their houses, forms a crucial part oftheir daily consumption.

Groups of charland homesteads are set amid fields or sandy lands, and the layout of most

settlements is linear; clustered groupings of households are less frequent than in mainland areas.

Homesteads are arranged in groups of 2 to 20 households in continuous broken lines set apartfrom each other. These homesteads are often built along the higher land of ridges that are least

affected by flood waters. The organization of homesteads (baris) is similar to that of mainland

homesteads, most consisting of a group of three to five structures for cooking, sleeping and

storage set around a central courtyard that is partly shielded by a small fence. Related households

often live in adjacent homesteads. . Majority of the houses are built using tin and hay and most

houses can be found surrounded by the banana plant and other shrubs.

1.3 Drowning sand and the holy banana tree

Chars of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna river system are targets to even the mildest floods in

Bangladesh. Though normal monsoon floods in char lands tend to last for a few weeks, floods

can occur several times during the monsoon season making, it difficult to repeatedly recover from

its losses. Erosion is a continuous and related hazard, resulting in villages being less permanent

as households are forced to move when erosion accelerates or threatens the structural integrity of

3Matin and Taher, 2001, as quoted in Planning against Risk: Tools for Analyzing Vulnerability in RemoteRural Areas, Chars Organizational Learning Paper 2, Chars Livelihoods Programme, 2004.4The constant changes in the location and depth of channels also provides problems for

navigation by cargo and ferry boats and for maintaining river ports and ferryghats (miniharbours), Brammer, H. 2005: Can Bangladesh be Protected from Floods?

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the char. The sandy char is eroded by the river, sinks down and rises again somewhere else. Just

like chars, the life of char people is also characterized by such bhanga and gora (a continuous

process of destruction and reconstruction) phenomena. This drowning sand is the most important

character of char that has shaped char peoples life throughout the generations.

Char erosion and accretion results in more people being displaced, and in the Brahmaputra-

Jamuna, about 90 percent of the within bank area had changes between char and water at leastonce during 1973-92. Therefore majority of char inhabitants are likely to have moved at least

once during this period (ISPAN 1995). There are many people who have such experience as

many as 12-15 times in their life.

The physical environment in chars can be quite difficult with frequent occurrence of floods and

erosion. However, given the scarcity of land in the country, the people living in chars do not have

many options. The cultivation of either own land or through sharecropping5is the single most

important livelihood options for the middle well being char people. The major crops include

paddy, jute, kaun (local variety of rice), maize, wheat, sugarcane, sweet potato, groundnut and

vegetables. A few fundamental factors determine the cultivation: deposition of sand that

determines the fertility of a particular soil, intensity and time of a particular disaster and

availability of irrigation. Other livelihood options - migration, livestock and banana - forminformal income-subsistence. The largely agricultural-based economies of the chars are also

characterized by varying degrees of fishing and livestock-rearing activities.

Though there is no major variation in the livelihood and coping strategy in different type of chars,since most of the people within a char are subject to similar socio-economic conditions. But

individual and household characteristics such as age, sex and physical and economical ability

may explain degree of impact of a particular risk on a particular individual or groups. Possession

of assets6 is the most important issue, limitation of which makes people vulnerable. In this

analysis, peoples asset base and ability to use these determine the successful outcome of

livelihood and risk management strategy. In chars, the differences between middle and the poor is

not very significant in terms of asset base7. This number (around 20-25 per cent of total

population8) particularly in the island chars, are women headed households - which are the mostvulnerable in terms of asset base, vulnerability and livelihood options.

Food insecurity in riverine chars is a function of shocks and stresses that affect the availability,

access and utilization of food. Crop losses resulting from floods and erosion reduce the

availability of food at both the household and community levels. Fisheries resources,

traditionally a source of both income and food, continue to decline in char areas. Floods anderosion also affect the physical assets of households, especially the poorer households located on

river banks and the lowest part of the char, through loss of assets when floods occur too quickly

for households to move and through forced sales to cover movement and/or recovery costs.

Resulting reductions in income limit access to food and reduce a households ability to cope.

5

The percentage of household owning cultivable land is estimated at 35.9while 41.8% are sharecroppers.Char Livelihoods Project, Household Baseline Survey, 2005.6 According to the Household Baseline Survey conducted in 2005 by the Chars Livelihood Project, an

average of Taka 1864 worth of livestock and Taka 1672 worth of other assets per household have been lost

due to flood/erosion in chars per year.7

Alam. Khurshid. Options for livelihood programme. Input to the designing of Chars Livelihood

Programmes. DFID. Bangladesh.8 Around 5% char household are women headed. Char Livelihoods Project, Household Baseline Survey,

2005.

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During periods when food is in short supply for low income households, a number of coping

strategies are undertaken.

Among the many coping strategies, discussed in the following chapters, in contrast to the

drowning sand and the curse it brings with itself, the banana tree emerges as the holy savior of thechar people. It has many uses for char people both during their normal and flooding life. People

make bhela (raft) out of its thick stem, which forms a vital mode of transport during floods.Banana trees provide fruits for consumption as well as a source of regular income. During the

seasonal or flood induced food crisis, people eat part of the banana plant as a curry. It also helps

serve as a boundary around the house, giving privacy to the women during flood and is often used

by them as a floating toilet when regular latrines are inundated by flood. Banana leaves are also

fed to the goat when grazing land goes under water. Thus, the entire life of char people is

centered around the drowning sand and the holy banana tree.

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Chapter TwoThe Changing Nature of Floods

Days are not like they used to be; winter doesnt come at winter season heat is also not likely at

summer. There is no guarantee that seasonal characteristics will be followed.

2.1 Facing angry floods

Bhanga deais a local term char people use to refer to shifting houses after losing their

homestead due to river erosion (they also shift when erosion is close to their homestead). Shaheda

Begum, a housewife in Mollar char, shifted her house about 30 times in her life. At the age of 74,

she still remembers the sufferings she faced in the 1974 flood9. Since then, flood has become apart of her life that visited her almost every year excepting 2005 and 2006.

Having lasted for 3 months, the devastations of the 1988 flood have created a mark in the mind of

the char people. It still seems like a nightmare, says Shaheda Begum. Water came through theBrahmaputra gradually and heavy rains made it worst. Most of the houses in Mollar char washed

away. People lost their standing crop; many poultry and livestock died.

But diarrhea was more in 1998 compared to the flood in 1988 because owing to the

current being not very strong, human waste was stuck here and there. I lost my son as there was

no doctor to see him, said a mother who participated in the group discussion.

In 2004, flood came in the Bangla month ofSravan (4th month of Bengali calendar). It came

suddenly and rose up to 4 feet high in the courtyard and lasted a month. In Sonatoni, the hand

looms had to be stopped and crops were destroyed. Most of our neighbors are handloom

workers. They had no work for about 6 months, says Sobura Khatun, who is physically impaired.

In the flood of 2000, water came gradually in the Bangla month of Ashyan (6th month of Bengalicalendar). It rose up to 1 foot and stayed for a month. 2006 was a drought year. We could not

even plant. Moderate flood is good for char people as it deposits a layer of silt and that increaseesthe fertility of the land. Otherwise, the char is just a piece of land with a sea of sand. No high

quality grass can grow for the livestock to feed on. Buffalos do not want to move out of the

water sheds, she mentioned.

The stories above not only presented a picture of human suffering from and helplessness to the

angry and mighty flood they face almost every year, but also the changing nature of flood.

Coping with floods that have a regular and predictable frequency, magnitude and impact is

something char people were used to. But many argue that since flood has become more

unpredictable, their way of dealing with flood is not always effective.

Flood remains even longer for people with disability. People who do not have disability

can be active once water recedes, but we have to wait until the sand is completely dry.

This chapter deals with how the nature of flood is changing, as experienced by the char people.

9The flood that occurred in 1974 in Bangladesh was moderately severe, with over 2000 deaths, affected

58% of the country, followed by famine with over 30,000 deaths. An overview of Disasters & Disaster

Communications in Bangladesh, presented by Md. Golam Razzaque, ITU/ESCAP Disaster

Communications Workshop, December 2006, Bangkok.

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2.2 Changing nature of floods

The general trend of flooding in Bangladesh shows that the frequency of flood continues to

grow10; serious flood causing extensive crop damage occurs every 3-5 years on average.

Catastrophic flood, in the scale of those that occurred in 1974, 1987, 1988, 1998 and 2004 occur

on an average of every 10-20 years11.Disaster practioners in Bangladesh agree that catastrophic

flood is likely to increase its occurrence period to every 6 years. Flood has not only become muchmore unpredictable than before, both in terms of onset and scale, but also lasts longer than it used

to earlier.

Char people have their own way of dealing with floods as the rule of game is known to them. Butwhen such nature gets changed but their ability to cope remains the same, searching for the rule

must start from scratch. But what happened when floods hit people when they are not sure what

to do? Scientists have predicated that climate change and developmental factors are likely to

change the pattern and nature of flood in Bangladesh.

While the scientific evidence for the impacts of climate change for specific rivers or specific

location is sparse, many people in chars believe the climate to be changing. They identify climate

change as one of the major causes of flooding. The developmental processes, together with

climate change, make them more vulnerable to floods.

Poor char people are already experiencing increasing frequency and intensity of flood. Hotath

bonna (sudden flood) has become more regular these days. We can not even take any

preparation. Nine women with disbility participated in a group discussion in Sonatoni.

Flood used to come in the month ofAshar-Srabon (April-May) on regular basis, but this rule has

been changed. Nowadays, char people experienced that sometimes it comes early, sometimes

later than Ashar-Srabon. It is no more regular. It even comes twice a year.

It is difficult to say whether flood will occur or what type it will be. Water used come in a

particular time in May/June, now it even comes in August/September. But if we get drought in oneyear, we get a severe flood the next year. Therefore, there will be a big flood in 2007. This is the belief

of people in my community. I know this from my childhood. However, flood these days are more

unpredictable. Nurjahan. 40y. Mollar Char. Gaibandha (a blind woman).

The way flood water used to come in the char has changed. Water used to come gradually.

Nowadays water comes suddenly and rapidly and as a result flood level rises quickly. We do

not get time to shift our stuff and livestock, said Sobura Khatun.

Flood these days cause more damage to asset, crops, and livestock. However, flood-related

mortality has reduced as a result of increased awareness on disaster preparedness.

Duration of flood is longer these days. As a result, it overlaps with paddy cultivation such asAman (local variety), so people are going for IRRI (another variety of rice). Many people

cultivate winter crop instead, if they sense an imminent flood that year. This year (2006) people

10 Authors note: Since flood occurs every year, the key problem with a trend analysis is an absence of

agreed classification of floods. The oldest flood research done by Professor Mahalanabis (report on rainfall

and floods in north Bengal 1870-1922) put return period as: moderate flood once in 2 years and severe

flood once in 6-7 years.11 Brammer 2004: Can Bangladesh be Protected from Floods? University Press Limited.

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faced drought in the flooding time, so there is no paddy in the field. The entire stock of crop has

become red (as they are burnt), said a villager. Scale and intensity has become unpredictable,

though probability of flood can be predicted. If floods come on time they get better quality

crops. Sand deposits if there is no flood.

I sensed a flood in 2004. But I never realised it would be so severe. Suddenly I saw

water flooded our couch. Current was so strong, I though it would wash away my old aunt who isa physically impaired person. Then I cut the rope of the fence so that water could pass through

the house. I kept a close eye on my aunt fearing that water may take her away.

To have at least some harvest, farmers try to go for diversification in cropping. For example they

harvest crops such as kaun rice (local variety), nuts, dhaincha (a type of leguminous crop) - i.e.

non-traditional crops which are either flood-proof or can be harvested at lean season after flood.

There is also an issue about selecting land for harvesting. Due to unpredictability of flooding,

farmers are discouraged from using low land for harvesting. So, those who have land or the

opportunity to sow at high land prefer not to risk sowing seeds at lower lands (which are more

vulnerable to floods).

For the same reason of unpredictability of flooding and non-forecasted loss, gradually theoccupations of farmers are changing or shifting into non-farm activities. Seasonal migration from

chars is predominantly high and increasing day by day. It is becoming more and more difficult to

say how the future flooding will be in terms of time and severity and how it would impact the

chars. Knowing the risk no one stop cultivating paddy. When we sense flood may come we cutthe paddy in the low-lying land even if its not completely ripe said participants in FGD-person

with disability-female.

Highest and inundation coverage is more, area flooded because water spreads quickly as the river

loses depth.

2.3 Causes for the changing nature of flood, as perceived by char people

Flood protection structures also have an affect on the flood pattern in the chars. After establishingembankment at Koijhuri, secured area is safer for the time being, but there is a risk of more damage if

somehow embankment fails (due to damage, overflow etc.). The areas that are not within

embankment are having more severe flood (e.g. Sonatoni). Can we control a river?People who

participated in the group discussion concluded that, After establishing embankments, there has

been a difference in the pattern of flooding between mainland and island char. Flood comes

almost every year in island Chars whatever the degree-mild or severe. The mainland chars are

protected during a normal flooding because of the embankment. But minor floods can cause

major impacts if embankment fails. Damages and sufferings are higher in Island Chars.

Many local people think the Farakka Barrage is the reason for irregular occurrence of floods;

they also think that sedimentation is increasing and depth is decreasing because of the barrage.Some have commented that embankment has significant influences in the irregular or untimely

occurrence of the flood.

In chars, protection of assets has not improved much as people are still living below the poverty

line. But consciousness about water and sanitation has increased among people as few NGO

programs are working with these issues.

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Chapter ThreeIndigenous Knowledge about Early Warning of Floods

Flood early warning does not help us as we can not afford to do much about it. We make our

portable oven collect some firewood and change the bamboo pillar of our house or try to keepsome money in hand by selling some poultry. What else can we do?

3.1 Understanding the rules of the game

Whether or not flood will occur is Gods will. But the elderly say that there will be a severe

flood every three years, says local trader Nazrul Islam, who lives in Mollar char. But we can not

do anything in particular even when we can sense a flood coming. His only goat died in the last

flood when grazing land went under water. How could one gather grass? he continues, goats

are not like cows, which can be fed straw and dry food that can be accumulated before flood.

Eventually it got sick but there was no vet in our char. The government vets do not come here

since they are not provided with transport budget and I did not have the boat fare to take it tosomewhere else. I could not sell it since no one wants to buy a sick goat. They would offer a

cheap price in exchange. I did not slaughter it because I thought the flood would recede rapidly,

like previous flood when I was able to collect some grass for it.

The story of Nazruls goat unveils the most important aspect of char life: the unpredictable natureof floods. This uncertainty shapes every aspect of the life of char people. He could have sold the

goat if he knew the rule.

In order to unveil the uncertainty and rules of game of the river, people have traditionallydeveloped local science and arts to predict flooding. This science has been tested, practiced and

sustained over time and passed on to future generations as science and belief. With many

interactions and interface with modern science, technology and ideology, many of them still existand are practiced in the chars of northern Bangladesh. By using indigenous knowledge people

search for three answers: onset, duration and possible scale of flooding.

Up until the late 80s, radio, television and newspapers were not that common in the rural areas,

and were hardly found in the chars. But nowadays char people get Flood Early Warning (FEW)

information from newspapers, radio and mobile phones. However, access to these sources are

higher in Mainland Char than Island Chars. NGO presence, increased mobility towards city

centers and awareness about flood preparedness have made people conscious about reliability of

flood early warning. However, majority of the people interviewed in this study could not

remember whether they have heard about official prediction about flood, but about flood in

general.

With a value free approach towards reliability and credibility of that knowledge, the study has

documented a diverse array of indigenous knowledge that is being used at present to predict

flood. Some people consider these as Advance warnings which turns out to be true at times and

false at other times. By classifying the symptoms that people use to predict flood, the IK belief

pattern is classified into five categories. The most commonly discussed signs providing early

warning of flood are related to animal behaviour and experience. Other early warning signs are

related to the appearance of the sky (sun, moon, clouds, etc) and the direction of wind and waves.

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Table 1: Types of indigenous knowledge to predict flood in chars

Category of IK IK in predicting flood, as described by the char people

Spiritual/superstitious

beliefs People write the names of months on arum leaves (kachu pata), in

Amabarsha (period of no moon or dark moon) during the Bengali

month ofKartik(7th month of Bengali calendar). Then they checkthe leaves which gather water inJayshtha (2nd month of Bengali

calendar) andAshar(3rd month of Bengali calendar). Flood is

believed to occur in the months that gather water.

Amey dhan, Kathaley ban ar tetuley tuphan (higher production

of mango indicates higher yield of rice, higher yield of jackfruits

indicate higher chances of flood and increased production oftamarind implies greater chances of cyclone)

Water recedes quickly, if there is thunderstorm in the east

Flood comes ifMuharram (first month of the Islamic calendar)

moon appears on days other than Monday.

Changes in animalbehavior

Major flood likely to

come if:

Kuno frog (toad) enters the house and makes characteristic noise Chicken climbs trees inBaishakh (1st month of Bengali calendar)

and Jaystha (mid May-mid June)

Water goes at the level where theKuno frog climbs

Cows moo inJaystha andAshar

Insects starts coming out of the ground

The cattle stop grazing

Vulture calls after the 13th day ofBhadro (5th month of Bangla

calendar) then flood subsides

Changes in the physical

environment

Flood is likely if:

In a year when the clouds travel from south-west to north-east with

thunderstorm, probability of flood is high

If the direction of wind is from the south, flood can be expected If mud- stoves get wet, flood is likely

Analyzing trend and

pattern (experience) of

flood

Flood water is higher during the Amabarsha (low tide and high

tide effect)

Severe floods occur in every three years (in their words, tin

bachar shar-ban; tin bachar mor-ban)

If wind flows from the east, flood is less severe

If rainbow appears around the sun in the month of Jashthya then

flood occurs

Year having bumper production of tamarind and mango is most

likely to have flood

Climate change

If in a given year there is more fog and cold but less rain, severeflood can be expected the following year.

We cant predict flood anymore since winter and rain do not

occur on time.

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3.3 Variations in belief

There is not much diversity in the IK by different the chars, but the diversity is found in the

acceptance of its effectiveness and in its practice. But the system of belief is changing because of

increased interactions with the external world. Many of the participants of the study believe thattheir native methods led to the correct predictions. Many arguments have been documented in the

study where the char people tried to prove how scientific prediction also went wrong. Themajority has a nave view about the whole idea of prediction as they see it can help them little

because of limited choice of action even when they get early warnings. We live in char knowing

that flood is part of our life. A good number has a strong view against the traditional prediction

mechanism.

People, particularly new generations having access to modern information facilities like weather

forecasts and more mobility, tend to ignore these traditional beliefs about predicting floods. Many

people do not believe in the IK having experienced the inaccuracy of prediction in the past. Ipredicted a flood for 2006, but it did not happen in reality. I have seen elderly people packing arum

leaf. I do believe in such practice but I do not do it myself. These do not work nowadays. If people see

practice such things they will take me to be mad. It does not matter whether or not flood occurs since

I do not have any cultivable land. I do not take all the precautionary measures even when I knowthat flood may come, but I try to increase my houses plinth level as usual (Mohammad Khokon, 40

year. Local trader.Sonatoni).

In both Sonatoni and Mollar char elderly, people with less mobility and especially those who

have faith in religious and spiritual practices, have greater belief in the IK related to spiritual and

animal behavior. They tend to believe in Gods will and act of God in onset, recession and

scale of flood impact. Also, women, who have limited mobility and access to modern EW

systems, are left with no choice but to rely on the IK. Many of the char HH with People with

disabilities are women headed tend to live in close proximity of their kin often get early warning

from them. As caretakers, most of them need additional time to take care of dependent People

with disabilities. While the study found many households with People with disabilities relaying

on indigenous knowledge to forecast the likelihood of flood, the difference in belief on IKbetween families with People with disabilities and families without People with disabilities fromsame social and economic category is inconclusive.

Box 1: Spiritual practice in predicting flood by a family

Still physically impaired, Abdul Mazid was infected by Polio when he was an infant of 3

months. Living in Sonatoni char, he is a student of a madrasa (Islamic school) in

Gaibandha. Affected by river erosion, his family had to move five times in his live. He has

faced 4 severe floods, in 1988, 1998 and 2004 and one medium flood in 2003. He explained

how he and his family were able to predict the flood in 2004. We understood there would

be a big flood this year. I wrote names of all 12 months on 12 Arum leaves. It was anAmaborsha (dark moon or no moon phase) of a Kartik month (7 th month of Bangla

calendar). After packing the leaves separately, we opened them during the tide of Jaishtha

(2nd month of Bengali calendar) and found water gathered in the leaf with Sravan (4 th month

of Bengali calendar). We realized flood would occur in Sravan, and it did. We also found

that ants were coming out of their holes But we could not predict the severity of the flood.

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The dependency on IK is changing. As mentioned earlier, increasing NGO presence also

contribute to such changes. By and large, disbelief on IK is increasing, particularly for people

who have interaction with the outside world and access to modern information sources such as

radio, television and newspaper.

Beside large differences in believing and practicing IK, determined by household characteristics,women in general tend to have greater faith on IK than men, in both the chars. However, men

lead the practices that are ritualistic in nature. Men and elderly family members take the lead on

interpretation of indicators used to predict flooding. Because men have greater access to external

information12they can often compare the IK interpretation with modern information such as an

EW forecast. As women are more close to and having observation to the symptoms around their

daily life e.g. animal behavior, changes in the physical environment such as the chula (mud

stove)getting wet, many reported believing and relaying on them. In the agro-based families,

men practice IK that are related to agriculture.

There is some degree in the difference in believing and practicing IK by the location of chars.

People living in pluralistic information environment are likely to have less belief on IK. People in

the Sonatoni char, in Sirajganj, believe more on IK than the two small char (Kachir char andShidhai char) in Gaibandha. Remoteness, NGO presence, distance from the rural centers and

cost/means of communication can explain such differences. For example, chars in Gaibandha

district are located further away from the town than Sonatoni. Peoples mobility is limited by

uncertain boats and expense of the fare (one trip to Gaibandha is equivalent to an average of 2days wage) whereas people pay only Tk. 20 to travel to Shajatpur, near town. There is a bazaar

(local market) in Sonatoni where there is radio as well as television. Though Gono Unnayan

Kendra works in Mollar char for 5 or 6 years, disaster preparedness work is greater in Sonatoni.

Perceived and real threat of river erosion, which does not exist in Sonatoni, also contributes to the

difference.

Because of such perceived and real threat, people in Mollar char are not interested in making an

investment on strong houses or elevating their houses plinth level. It is a rational choice aspeople facing river erosion vary greatly. Preparedness, particularly physical, is more common in

Sonatoni as there is less erosion. They have learnt from elderly people and their peers. IKs that

they found effective in predicting flood are more adapted and sustained in practice.

3.4 Sharing mechanism

There is no formal mechanism for sharing of early warring information. Spreading information

within the char does not take long as exchange of information and concern for neighbors

wellbeing is a central aspect of their unity. Informal chatting and asking about one anothers state

of being is the usual cultural norm of rural Bangladesh. One would find people engaged in deepconversation while working outside or traveling together. Tea stalls in rural bazaar and haats

(weekly local market area) is where men spend a lot of their time chatting, reading newspaperstogether and listening to radios. They also listen to stories from people who have just returned

from towns. Men gather for the morning prayers and exchange information, while women chat in

the evening on the homesteads.

12The 1995 National Media Survey conducted during 1994-1995, found that 55 percent of rural men and

34 percent of rural women had access to radio while 36 percent of the men and 23 percent of the women

listened to radio at least once a week.

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Often the family members of People with disabilities share information with them. People with

intellectual disability and hearing impairment are completely deprived of early warning

information. In most cases, the caretakers (family member who takes care of People with

disabilities, usually the mother) have their own way of communicating with People with

disabilities having hearing and intellectual impairments. People with visual impairment listen toother people and try to understand existing level of flood by feeling. People with hearing and

speech impairments can sense a flood coming but can not take part in the discussion. Theirinterpretation, etc. is limited to within the HH discussions, especially during meals.

There is no formal mechanism of teaching children about IK. They usually learn from family

discussions. A meal time conversation is a major sharing mechanism. Unlike modern city culture,

children hanging out with the elderly while discussing matters is big part of their training on IK.

Peer education is another way to learn about IK. Beside these, there are various activities such as

animal rearing, grazing and taking part in plantation with their parents where the children get an

opportunity to learn about indigenous knowledge.

In spite of this declining trend on dependency, few char peoples, especially at Sonatoni, still think

that it is important to teach children about their traditional knowledge. That is why they still share

these during informal gatherings, irrespective of whether or not they are effective.

3.5Towards a new consciousness: dynamism and relevance of IK in the life of char people

Irrespective of whether or not they are aware of the knowledge, not everyone practices IK. At thesame time, many have heard of them but do not believe in them. Many of the IKs are also loosing

its significance and relevance as modern early warning information, to some extent, is available

to most of the people through various institutions. But some of the IK , particularly those related

to weather still have its relevance. The main reason responsible for such a changes in believing

and practicing IK is its perceived failure and success to predict floods in the context of changing

flood pattern.

Many men and women who participated in the study argue that those beliefs do not work thesedaysand they identified two particular reasons-we are less pious than our forefathers who could

exactly predict when a flood is due and the nature of floods has been changing for many

reasons, including climate change. Persistent flood in the char areas shape peoples life style and

most of them have accepted flood as part of their life and many do not see early warning as

important to their life.

It is difficult to predict what type of flood will occur in future. Color, duration and direction

of cloud can indicate the magnitude of a flood13. But EW is not important for us. We can not afford to

take special preparation. We would do routine chula banano (making mud stoves) and khuti dea,

whether flood comes or not. We can not do more than that even if we know that flood is coming.

(Mohammad Ashraf. 30 years who has a visually impaired sister. Sonatoni).

13 If cloud is going toward the Himalaya, north to the chars, people predict a flood. They believe if there is

more rain in the mountain, they would bring more water through Brahmaputra.

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Chapter FourCoping with Changing Pattern of Flooding

We can only prepare ourselves for the next flood if we know it is coming. Being poor we can

only afford to deal with immediate problems rather than focus on long term strategies to copewith flood.

4.1 Knowing the rules of the game - ways to deal with flood

Char people apply single or multiple mechanisms simultaneously while dealing with flood. The

mechanisms and corresponding activities are undertaken out of a rationale choice to deal with

circumstances of flood. In most cases, the mechanisms are meant to deal with immediate

flooding, rather than to improve the overall vulnerable conditions they live under. Why do they

do it? Do they know how to deal with flood in the longer run, which may help them to improvetheir quality of life? This complex question has no straightforward answer. The simplest way of

explaining this is that their life is dominated by the immediate flooding problem. It is primarilybecause all coping mechanism has a cost - financial, social and opportunity cost. Household

resources are exhausted in managing the flood at hand. A full year is needed to re-gain theresources after a flood and these are exhausted again in the next flood and this cycle continues.

The poor people in the chars cant afford to take measures that can protect them from flood

permanently simply because they do not have the means. 38 year only Sabura Khatun and herhusband live in Sonatoni char. Both are physically disable.She says, We do something when we

sense that a flood is likely, which generally occurs once every three years. My main discussion with

my husband is based on identifying how to manage food in case of flood since begging, which is my

husbands job, will stop as he will become immobile during a flood. My income also comes to a

standstill when weaving machines stop during flood.

Even when they have the ability to improve a physical condition such as reinforce their house, in

some cases people are reluctant to invest in doing so, given the unpredictability of floods and the

potential threat of their homestead and assets being washed away again within a few months.

Over the years, the people in the chars have experimented, experienced, practiced and advised thenew generations on a wide variety of ways to deal with flood, depending on the situation. Some

of these practices have sustained for generations while others have gotten modified to some

extent. Identifying the right strategy to cope with flood continues throughout their lives, even as

they move from one char to another. There are times when they can not do anything even when

they know that a flood is imminent and the only rational option available to them is to sit back

and wait for it.

This study documented three broad types of coping mechanisms in the study chars -

precautionary strategies taken before a flood to avoid the likely impact; managing strategy taken

in response to the circumstances during a flood and recovery strategies taken to recover from the

damage caused by a flood.

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4.1.1. Precautionary strategies

These strategies are undertaken as preventive measures before a flood occurs and mostly involves

protecting household and assets, securing shelter, stocking on food and necessities and preparing

for communication and transport well in advance.

i) Protecting homestead

Houses destroyed by flood are a common impact in char areas14. Protecting homestead in the

sandy char has many challenges. First, people can not build permanent structures (mostly thatch

wall and roofs with corrugated sheets or thatch15) as they are more likely than not to be displaced

because of erosion (refer to the case study below). Second, many of them do not have permanent

deed. Third, protecting homestead from flood needs mud which is expensive in the sandy land.

But they need to keep the houses standing when they have very few places to resort to during a

heavy flood such as in 2004.

Common strategies to protect the homestead include elevating and reinforcing the homestead.

Elevating the homestead requires high quality mud but since this mud is expensive, people often

steal it from others. Protecting the superior mud in the homestead from washing away becomes

the next challenge, which is commonly solved by planting ofdhol-kolmi (local vegetation) andbanana tree. These plants help to keep the soil granules compact and binds them together

stronger. Char peoples also use kaisha (type of local grass) and bamboo to reinforce thehomestead wall from outside. With the protection of plinth, many cautions and financially solvent

14By involving 757 households in rural Bangladesh in November and December 1998, about two months

after the floodwaters receded, the study done by found that 47 percent of households among suffered

damage or loss to housing, the average loss being Tk 5,675, or 59 percent of the pre-flood value.15

According to CLP Household Study, only 2% lived injhupris (huts made with stick, leaves and grass)

while 90% of houses had tin roofs and used very similar construction materials which could be easily

packed up and shifted in the event of erosion and/or flooding.

Box 2: Uncertainty in investing on preparedness

Abdul Kader owned a significant amount of land when he got married to Halima Khatun. Many years

after marriage they had a happy and wealthy life inNoyarchar (new char) where they used to live. But

now they have a tiny piece of land, as the rest has been eroded by the river. They lived on an

embankment for a year after their char was completely eroded. For the last six years, they have been

living in Mollar char, which was raised 12 years back. They had to shift their house 15 times including

twice in their last six years in Mollar char.

Halima Khatun can still remember a havoc of floods in 1988, 1998 and 2004.

We had to move to my in-laws place because we had not elevated the plinth of our house, as

we had just moved in to that place after we lost our previous land in erosion. There is no certainty

here. Since wage is higher these days, it is expensive to hire someone to do it. One needs a lot of

money, or more jon (number of people in the family) to do it. We dont want to invest here since this

place is also going to erode in few months.

Halima Khatun, 50 years, Kachir char in Mollar char.

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people buy extra pipe to raise the tube-well base above flood level to ensure fresh source of

water. During flood, many neighbors depend on these raised or safe tube-wells.

The resources they need to protect and secure their homestead are scare, and need nurturing.

Halima Khatun, who was mentioned in the earlier case study, explained how they manage suchmaterials to protect them.

We plant banana trees every year. They can grow in a year. The plants are available; we

can collect them from neighbors and they should be planted in the month of Ashyin (6th month of the

Bengali calendar). It gives us privacy and demarcates our homesteads from others. It also helps

protect our homestead level from being washed away in minor floods.

In case of People with disabilities, most of them stay with families. So, they do not have to take

charge for raising plinth level or providing support. However, People with disabilities who have

the capability to do so, dont hesitate to help the other family members. One of the People withdisabilities mentioned that she needed help to collect soil for raising plinth which she managed to

do with the help of a neighbor.

ii) Protecting livestock

Livestock - usually cow and goats - are the most valuable assets of the char people. They raise

livestock to cope with sudden emergency, paying dowry for their daughters marriage or to repair

houses. But not everyone has a goat or a cow16-some raise goats and cows on a sharing basis17.

Protection of livestock is thus a crucial preventive strategy used by the char people. Depending

on affordability, they store fodder, elevate cattle sheds and vaccinate their cows in advance.

When flood water reaches the level of the shed, people no longer keep their livestock at home.

People in Koijhuri Char shift their livestock to the embankment of Water Development Board at

the onset of a flood. But this is not possible in Sonatoni Char since there is no embankment there.

In some cases, they send their cattle to relatives places. Some poor families try to sell livestock

in an attempt to keep some money at hand so that they have a source of finance when regularincome is jeopardized due to flood. In this way, they get hold of some security money while

avoiding the risk of losing livestock to flood.

But at times, these poor people can not afford to protect their livestock from the water owing to

high uncertainty and lack of cash.

My expecting cow died in the last flood (2004) after having stood on flood water for 5-6

days. I repaired the cow shed, increased the plinth level to the highest level I could afford. But the

flood water was so high that even we had no place to stay. I purchased that cow fort Tk. 8000 (USD

114) that I received as dowry. I could have taken it to my parents place which is in another char, but

I did not have the boat fare. My house had also collapsed, but I could save the raw materials. With the

16 CLP baseline household survey found that the average number of livestock owned per household is 2.9.17 While 55% and 45% of extreme poor households are reported to have cows and/or calves and goats,respectively, they are usually under share rearing arrangements (Analysis of CLP Household Baseline

Survey -Developing a Profile of the Poor and Extreme Poor in the Chars). Share-rearing is a practice where

the owner of livestock (poultry, sheep, goats, cattle and buffaloes) places animals in the care of another

person, who rears them and bears costs, and then splits offspring or added value between them. Different

contracts exist for different livestock species, but are generally standard for that species, unlike the

variation seen in share-cropping.

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help of my neighbor I was able to rebuild it. But I have never been able to buy another cow.

--Nurzahan, a 40 yr old visually impaired lady, Shidhai Char of Gaibandha.

Another big challenge is the collection of fodder for livestock, particularly goats which need

green grass that go under water during flood. Again, Halima Khatun explained how they collect

grass during a flood.

My husband and son, together with other neighbors, go for collecting grass, particularly

Kashia from other highland areas. Generally, we make a deal with the boat owners that he would get

a share of the kashia. He is happy, as he also needs grass. We can keep Kashia for 2/3 days. We also

received some fodder from Gono Unnyan Kendra, which was very helpful. In a big flood like 2004,

when we shifted our cows and goat to the embankment, men patrolled, by taking turns, during the

night to protect cows from being stolen.

iii) Protecting harvest

There are some coping strategies for protecting harvest at both the chars. A few farmers prefer to

harvest flood resistant crops even if the production is less. This behavior shows that people are

ready to accept some temporary loss to avoid bigger losses in future.

Farmers also use other techniques to reap maximum benefit, such as sowing seeds that can be

harvested earlier in the lower lands and harvesting regular seeds at higher lands.

When asked about the cultivation of these seeds, Afsar Mollah, a farmer in Sonatoni Char,

exlains,

Advance crops are cultivated since they can be harvested earlier than regular crops.

They are expensive but the yield is good. Their market price is also high. Crops are ready at

home before flood. Thats why we cultivate these crops. Other farmers also tend to agree with

Afsar Mollah. These days more farmers are inclined to cultivate these varieties of seeds.

Although it is expensive to cultivate these - about Taka 2000 per bigha18and they need a lot of

care in production, farmers still welcome it with open arms.

Few farmers also preserve seeds in advance, so that even if the flood destroys the expected

production, they still get a chance for re-sowing seeds, if time permits.

To protect crops, farmers take actions collectively. They try to make embankments in front of

khals (streams) to stop the water flow. Sometimes they also work together to dig

channels to drain out floodwater from crop fields.

Another pre-flood coping strategy involves selling the products earlier than usual; people sell

surplus crops before floods and use the money during floods.

iv) Securing shelter

Many people arrange for ropes, bamboo, wood etc. before a flood. These materials are needed to

build a traditional structure that works as an elevated shelter called a macha. People, along withtheir assets and furniture try to take shelter on this macha when their house is flooded. Poor

people, who cant afford to buy these materials, usually try to borrow from other community

people.

18 1bigha = 33 decimals of land

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For shelter, some families decide to move into relatives places before or during flood. Some send

only few members to other places. There is an inbuilt concern about the security of female family

members being sent off to relatives place. So, few families prefer to keep them away for a very

short period of time. If the house is badly inundated, sending pregnant women and children torelatives or neighbors houses becomes necessary.

People from Koijhuri have flood shelters (embankments and schools), so most of them move

there. But till 2004, Sonatoni did not have any place to take refuge. Recently HI and MMS

developed a raised land to serve as shelter in the next flood, if necessary. People who own boats

sometimes use them for as shelter during floods.

There are no such facilities specifically designed for People with disabilities in the shelters.

Families do not consider much about building macha and hanging toilets. People with disabilities

have to accept whatever their caretakers offer them. They also avoid complaining about their

problems to the caretakers as sometimes feel as if they are burden on others. For e.g. in normal

times, Roni Bala, a blind woman, can hardly go a few yards on the sandy Mollar char. The

courtyard is the only place where she finds her celebrated world. There she can move around with

the help of her stick.

I dont want to go far. I am worried about slipping and that can injure my arms since I

cant see. When sharbanasha (catastrophic) water comes, my stick has no use at all as I can not

find my way around. In the last flood (2004), I could not even trace the land. It was too difficult. Icalled my daughter-in-law but she was also busy. Theres a lot of work during the flood! But the

difficult time came to doorstep when water suddenly rose. How could she help me? I had to lie in

bed all day long. The biggest challenge during the flood is going out for toilet since roads and

latrines get inundated and become slippery. My son said, You should ask someone to take you

there or wait till night when we are back from work.

v) Storing food, fuel and preparing portable stove

Prior to floods, people try to store dry food that does not need to be cooked, such as chira

(flattened rice), muri (puffed rice), gur(molasses). For cooking purposes, they preserve rice, peas

etc. as back up. Usually, in most households, jute-made hangers - locally known asshika - can be

found where they store these dry food products. Often firewood is collected in advance, as

explained by Mohammad Nuruzzaman of Sonatoni Char as,

I did not have any preparation for the flood in 2004, as I wasnt expecting flood in that year.

As a conscious person, working for the family planning department, I always have preparation for

flood. For example, I buy rice well ahead of flood season so that we can survive during a flood. We

also gather some medicines and firewood.

Another pre-flood strategy is used to make portable stoves prior to a flood. During flood, these can bemoved around to where the water level cannot reach the stove.

vi) Preparing emergency communication and transportation

Few people also plant Banana trees which can prove useful during flood. People use these trees

for making rafts which serve both as transport and as shelter during floods. For communication

purposes, people also build locally developed bridges calledshako. Those who can afford buy

boats beforehand or start repairing old ones. People with disabilities who need assistance in

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moving, have to depend on their caretakers since in most cases these means of transport are not

suitable for People with disabilities, particularly ones with physical impairment. At times, they

use assistive devices to aid their movement, as has been discussed in section 4.1.2 (refer to the

case study in Box 5)

4.1.2. Managing strategies during flood

The general strategy to manage flood time is centered on changing behaviors and habits, such as

changing food habits, migrating to other places, etc. These are explained below.

i) Protecting women, children, elderly & People with disabilities

During flood, extra care must be taken that women, children and People with disabilities are

protected from drowning, injuring themselves, kidnapping, etc.

Though drowning is not that common in char areas, people are concerned about the elderly,

children and disabled family members. Keeping an eye on them is the strategy used by adult

members of the family to protect them for drowning or kidnapping, as narrated in the case study

below.

Family members also have to ensure that the more vulnerable people, such as elderly or People

with disabilities do not injure themselves in other ways furing flood when the ground is slippery

and it difficult to move around.30 year old Banu takes care of her aunt Sobura Khatun, a spinsterwho is blind as well as intellectually impaired. Sobura Khatun shared her experiences in dealing

with her aunt in the last flood.

We can not afford food everyday. We go on empty stomach when I can not manage food.

Among all the problems I faced in the last flood, taking care of my aunt was the most difficult one. I

lived in somebody elses land in a house that I built with the help of an NGO. The water came

suddenly and it went inside our home. The current was so high that I had to cut one side of the fence

of my house to allow its flow. I put my aunt on a couch which we elevated with bamboo. A few hours

later the Chairman came with his people and rescued us to an embankment where we lived for about

Box 3: Protecting disabled children during flood

Jahangir is a 17 year old hearing and speech impaired boy. Villagers call him mad. His mother is

always worried about him. For instance during monsoon and floods, jute cultivation is very common in

their village and the plants usually grow tall. During this time, increased incidences of kidnapping are

observed. Jahangirs mother worries that if kidnapped, he wont be able to scream for help since he

cannot speak.

She also fears that he might drown or be carried away by the river current. They live beside a river and

river erosion is common during flood. She says, I keep him with me all the time during floods. Who

knows when he will go near the river and be carried away by the current? Mad men cant understand

what is dangerous. On top of that he cant even talk. Even if he drowns he wont be able to scream.

Jahangir, 17, Mollar Char. Gaibandha.

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two years. Every one could move when the water receded, but I could not as the ground was very

slippery and my aunt wouldnt be able to manage. Banu, 30 years, Mollar Char, Gaibandha.

Unlike Banu, most of the people prepare an elevated platform for family members with

disabilities, using the chouki (traditional bed)and bamboo.

With my children, I stayed at home during the flood in 2004. We prepared a platform byelevating our chawki (bed/divan made of wood or bamboo) with bamboo. My husband stayed with

cows in the flood shelter, as we did not have place to keep them here. I had to remain here to protect

whatever we have, as there were some thieves around. I stayed on the macha the whole day and sent

food for my husband in the evening. Shaheda Begum, Mollar Char.

Often people make a fence-in where they put their young children when they are busy working to

ensure the children do not get carried away by the water.

A times, People with disabilities use devices to assist their movement. Often canes are used to

help moving around in the water and through the slippery ground but when the water level is high

or the ground too slippery, even this becomes difficult. Another interesting device is the tricycle

as explained by Mahbubul Alam Litu in the case below.

ii) Protection of household assets

Theft increases during flood, which is one of the major concerns for many poor char people.Their coping strategy, for example, whether to remain in the inundated homes or go to a shelter

largely depends on the fear of theft. When flood water rises very high and people have to move,

they develop ways to take care of their valuables, particularly livestock. People reported that

cooperation among neighbors increases when people take shelter outside their homes. Villagers

collectively ensure their security by taking turns to guard their assets. People use locally available

means such as loud speakers in the mosque to warn the neighbors in case of any sudden threat of

theft.

Box 4: Assistive devices used by people with disabilities

30 year old Litu living in Mollar Char is physically and intellectually impaired. As a result his balance

is poor and movement uncoordinated. After he acquired a tricycle from Gono Unnayan Kendra, he was

able to travel through the water and slippery ground with ease. During monsoon he was also able to

make a living by selling ice creams using his tricycle.

This type of disability requires the person concerned to exercise or move regularly. Lying around all

day or lack of exercise can make them weaker. It can lead to a decline in the bodys tolerance level and

cause problems in the muscle and joints. Because of his tricycle, he was able to move around and

exercise his body.

Beside his tricycle, he also keeps a walking stick at hand to help him move around within the house.

Before he got the tricycle, he used t move around using only a stick, which he himself shaped to suit

his needs.

Mahbubul Alam Litu, 30, Mollar Char, Gaibandha.

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One day while returning from work, I noticed that water level had risen by about a foot. I

was observing that water was continuing to rise. Then, water washed away my tube wells and latrine,

and had gone as high as my roof. I stayed a day on the roof of my house, then decided to shift family

members to my cousins place. We stayed there for a long time, but I used to come here everyday by a

small boat to watch my house. There is a lot of stealing during flood. Mohammad Nuruzzaman, 50

years, Inspector of family planning department, Koijori, Sonatoni Char, Shirajgang.

iii) Change in food habit

Since most of the households are dependent on agriculture, the season in which flood occurs is a

critical determinant of their harvest, which may affect food availability at household level. In

general, there is an overlap between flooding time and the crucial rice harvesting period. If flood

comes early in the monsoon that destroys the standing crop, which means farming families have

food shortages19. Once agriculture is affected its impact may go further into every aspect of their

life. Availability of employment becomes uncertain and often farmers are forced to opt for other

means of survival or even migrat5e to other places in search of work. Most of the wage worksstop during flood.

In response to such conditions many households decrease food intake during flood20

. Commonstrategies people adopt to deal with hunger and unemployment include: selling livestock, poultryand other valuables; mortgaging, borrowing; migrating to towns or accessing any relief available.

Change in food habit is common during flood. In both Sonatoni and Koijhuri, people who cannot

afford buying food, reduce the consumption from 3 times a day to once a day. 50 year old Zohorahas been living in Kachir char (in Mollar char) for last six years. She says,

We went hungry during the flood of 1998. Remembering that, she purchased 40 kg of paddy

before 2004 flood. It was difficult to cover whole flooding time with that rice. But what could be

done? My husband is a wage laborer not having regular work. During flood time he went to Dhaka to

do rickshaw pulling. I used to cook half kg whereas we normally need one kilogram.

People also significantly change the items during flood. Instead of consuming rice, people resort

to alternate diets such as kaisha, kolmi (local vegetation) etc. It was observed that female

respondents could say more on this issue of managing food consumption than their male

counterparts. It was also noticed that female members (usually mothers) consume the least in the

family during flood.

iv) Migration & alternative employment strategies

1915.6 percent of flood exposed households became food insecure.

20

Impact of 98 flood on household study done by IFPRI did not find evidence that females consumptionof the main staplesrice and wheatwas reduced by more than males as a result of the floods, or that

male favoritism in the consumption of animal products increased. Thus, the floods did not appear to lead to

an increase in discrimination against females in food consumption within households. Same study also

reveled stunting among preschool children. Severe or very severe flood exposurecaused many children to lose weight and/or to fail to grow at a critical period in theirmental and physical development55 percent of children in the sample were stuntedand 24 percent were wasted.

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Migration21for employment increases after flood. People mo

Under the Banana Tree

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