The extremely poor people living in the chars of north-west Bangladesh face a wide range of vulnerabilities.  Many of these are exacerbated by the changes steadily being identified as the result of climate change.  Floods; erosion; lack of access to water & sanitation; inadequate basic services; livelihoods that are easily disrupted by disasters; gender-related discrimination… Continue Reading

The chars, which represent 6 to 10% of the country’s land area, are home to millions of Bangladeshis. The chars are beautiful riverine islands, but isolated, fragile and hard to reach. There’s vast potential on the chars: the land is fertile and there’s a willing labour force. Services are reaching the chars, but they are… Continue Reading

How do you diversify the livelihoods of extreme poor households who are heavily reliant on wage labour? CLP’s answer has been to grant these households income generating assets, mainly cattle. Since 2004 the Programme has provided around 130,000 head of cattle. Of course, this has been backed up with livestock rearing training and a network… Continue Reading

It’s not every day that someone as high profile as a High Commissioner makes the effort to visit a remote development programme, let alone two High Commissioners. That’s why the CLP was delighted to host both the British and Australian High Commissioners for two full days last week. Mr Robert W Gibson (British High Commissioner)… Continue Reading

CLP 2 will have supported just over 78,000 CPHHs by March 2016. These households joined the programme in a poor state: • They relied on selling wage labour, which is poorly paid and the demand for which fluctuates with the season; • They were vulnerable to flooding; • Household members suffered poor nutrition and hygiene… Continue Reading

We often take access to water for granted. Consider for a moment households living on the island chars of North West Bangladesh. Many, particularly the extreme poor, have no choice but to source their drinking water from unprotected tube wells which can lead to all sorts of health problems including skin irritations, diarrhoea, and ultimately… Continue Reading

Under the Markets and Livelihoods Unit, CLP operates the Homestead Gardening Project. Homestead vegetable gardens and fruit tree cultivation are cost-effective approaches that both provide small and regular income streams to char households and support household food security through increasing and diversifying household food sources. CLP’s core participant households (CPHHs) are supported with a homestead… Continue Reading

World Immunisation Week, which is being held from 24-30 April 2015, aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.[1] Immunisation is widely recognised as one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions, preventing between two and three million deaths worldwide every year. Vaccinating a child protects against… Continue Reading

Given the large number of adolescents in char villages, and the lack of access to mainstream education services, the CLP identified adolescents as a section of the char demographic that held great potential to influence livelihoods and social development on the chars. CLP has therefore begun providing vocational training for adolescents aged 16 years and… Continue Reading

The asset transfer project is the cornerstone of CLP’s activities to improve the livelihoods and incomes of char-dwellers.  All participants receive a grant which they can use at their discretion on any income-generating asset, to the value to Tk. 17,500 (£152). The vast majority choose to invest in cattle. Over the course of the 18 months… Continue Reading