Project at a Glance

Why This Project

Bangladesh's south-eastern coastal belt is among the areas most exposed to cyclones, flooding, riverbank erosion, salinity intrusion and other climate-driven shocks. In Chakaria and Sitakunda, poor rural families depend heavily on small-scale farming, fishing and daily labour, leaving them acutely vulnerable when disasters strike. In Cox's Bazar, host communities outside Ukhiya and Teknaf have also absorbed the economic pressures of the Rohingya influx — falling wages, rising living costs and shrinking work opportunities — while receiving little humanitarian support. During the lean season, up to 80% of farming families in the project areas face food deficits, and most communities lack functioning disaster management committees or early warning mechanisms.

Project Goal

6,000 families from rural Sitakunda and Chakaria improve their food and nutrition security through optimised, climate-adapted livelihoods and are better prepared for disaster risks — contributing to the broader objective of increased community resilience to economic and natural shocks.

Specific Objectives

•   Livelihoods: 2,400 families in need are enabled to secure their livelihoods independently and sustainably through agricultural and off-farm skills, start-up support and market linkages.

•   Resilience: 6,000 vulnerable households are less risk-burdened, with improved knowledge, attitudes and practices on climate-adaptive livelihoods and disaster risk reduction.

•   Capacity: The technical and administrative capacities of the implementing partners, ANANDO and SEEP, are strengthened for lasting local impact.

What We Do

•   Family Development Plans (FDPs) prepared with each of the 2,400 primary households to chart their own pathway out of poverty.

•   Climate-smart agricultural training and start-up kits, Farmer Field Schools, 24 trained resource farmers, and 20 community seed banks improving access to quality seeds and inputs.

•   Off-farm skills development — micro-enterprise creation, vocational training, marketing and value chain support — for 350 households, alongside four girls' and women's centres.

•   Formation of around 240 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) covering all 6,000 households, promoting climate-adapted livelihood options, savings and collective action.

•   Revitalisation of Disaster Management Committees at ward, union, upazila and district levels (36 WDMCs and 4 UDMCs), community risk assessments, and participatory Risk Reduction Action Plans.

•   School-based DRR education, early warning strengthening, awareness campaigns, and household adaptation plans.

•   Advocacy and linkage-building with government extension services, microfinance institutions and social safety net programmes.

Expected Results by 2026

•   At least 75% of the 2,400 target households report income gains of up to 30%, closing or reducing the average annual household deficit.

•   40% more women of reproductive age consume food from five or more food groups, improving dietary diversity.

•   The share of farming families facing lean-season food deficits falls from 80% to 50%.

•   90% of the 6,000 households adopt at least three disaster risk reduction practices at household and community level.

•   Fully functional disaster management committees and a community-owned Risk Reduction Action Plan endorsed by the authorities.

•   Four women's and girls' centres operating independently, with 85% of households reporting improved knowledge and practice of women's rights.

Our Approach

The project follows a community-led, rights-based approach anchored in Welthungerhilfe's LANN+ methodology, linking agriculture, natural resource management and nutrition. Participants are identified through transparent, participatory well-being ranking and vulnerability assessments, prioritising female-headed households, families with disabled members, ethnic minorities and landless or near-landless families. Government bodies — from Union Parishads to district administrations and line departments — are engaged throughout to ensure ownership, coordination and sustainability beyond the project period. Accountability to affected populations is upheld through a Complaint, Feedback and Response Mechanism (CFRM) and adherence to safeguarding standards.

Project Publication

• Baseline survey report -

  

• Project Publication - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zVTJXVdPkKbxbyyavAZzOCwsUqKbsYB4/view?usp=sharing