By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, Nov 2, 2025 (BSS) - Urban slum homestead gardening has become a significant practice, with slum dwellers actively cultivating vegetables on small land plots and rooftops of their homes across Rajshahi city.

This initiative plays a vital role in ensuring household food security, improving nutrition, and providing an additional source of income for the urban poor.

Nilufa Begum, 40, has been engaged in homestead gardening for the past four to five years - a venture that has greatly strengthened her confidence.

Currently, she cultivates gourds, bitter gourd, drumstick, and pumpkin on a three-katha plot, after receiving training from a non-governmental development organization.

Nilufa migrated from Rangpur after losing everything to river erosion and poverty. She moved with her family to Namovadra slum in Rajshahi, where they initially survived by scavenging scrap, earning only Taka 10,000 to 12,000 per month.

In late 2024, she earned Taka 1,500 from gourds, Taka 600 from drumstick, and Taka 2,000 from pumpkin sales - money that helped her meet food, medicine, and household expenses while reducing her dependence on the market for vegetables.

Inspired by her success, many other slum-dwelling women are now planting more crops and conserving seeds, enabling them to continue farming each year.

Nilufa's determination has sparked a quiet urban farming movement among the women in her community, enhancing their dignity and respect within their families.

At the initial stage, participating families received technical assistance, indigenous vegetable seeds, organic fertilizers, and other necessary inputs from the Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), a development and research organization.

Talking to BSS, Nilufa said gardening provides a steady supply of fresh, chemical-free vegetables and fruits, helping meet her family's nutritional needs while avoiding pesticide-laden produce.

She said surplus produce can be sold in local markets, generating cash income and contributing to the household economy - a significant boost for families with limited earning members.

The practice also makes use of otherwise unused urban spaces such as rooftops and backyards, ensuring efficient land utilization.

Women are often deeply involved in every stage of homestead gardening - from planting to harvesting and selling - enhancing their self-management and decision-making roles within households.

Champa Rani, another resident of Namovadra slum, said they are reaping great benefits by cultivating both winter and summer vegetables almost year-round using modern methods.

"I cultivated bottle gourd, cucumber, and coriander this year, and I got the expected production," she said, adding that they now have access to green, fresh, and safe vegetables that protect them from malnutrition-related diseases.

Rani added, "We produce chemical-free vegetables using organic fertilizers. After meeting our family's needs, we sell the surplus in the local market."

Encouraged by her example, many others have shown interest in producing chemical-free vegetables through organic methods.

She recalled her previous struggles to make ends meet but said her situation changed after she began growing vegetables alongside rearing poultry and goats.

Now, her family's nutritional needs are met through homegrown vegetables and animal products such as milk and meat.

Shah Alam, a resident of Boharampur slum, has also been cultivating safe vegetables - including bottle gourd, beans, lady's fingers, and green chili - for the past two years and has achieved notable success.

He distributes vegetables among neighbors after meeting his own family's needs. "I also earn money by selling my harvested vegetables," said Alam, a driver by profession.

"Organic farming is not only safe but also profitable. If the weather is favorable and no natural disaster occurs, I can double my investment," he explained.

Alam, one of the few slum cultivators using organic methods, has become one of the most successful vegetable growers in the area.

With full support from his wife and children, he grows red amaranth, spinach, bottle gourd, and Indian spinach, earning a steady income.

"I've learned about the importance of biofertilizer, seed conservation, and seed exchange," he said, adding that he has also learned how to use homestead and rooftop spaces effectively and sustainably.

Quoting the 2014 slum census, Shahidul Islam, Regional Coordinator of BARCIK, said Rajshahi city has around 104 big and small slums with 12,202 households consisting of 39,077 people.