From Waste to Wealth: How Vermicompost Helps Bikash Generate Income!

Dacope is a disaster-prone coastal area in Khulna. People are lashed by natural calamities every year in Dacope. Due to the natural disasters socio-economic conditions are being highly impacted on the lives of the vulnerable community in Dacope. Because of climate change and natural disasters, people lose shelter and livelihood. It leads them to live a miserable life.

Underscoring climate change and its impact, ADRA Bangladesh implemented a Community Empowerment Project (CEP) aimed at building resilience ensuring improved livelihood, and empowering vulnerable communities.

CEP in Dacope, Khulna, empowers vulnerable people by engaging them with different Income-Generating Activities (IGAs). ADRA Bangladesh emphasizes building resilience by implementing organic farming and improving the sustainability in the livelihood. CEP formed small groups in its working area and provided training to the group members.

Bikash Chandra Sarder is a 48-year-old hardworking farmer who always sought opportunities to earn extra money. He is a male counterpart of CEP. One day, while attending a meeting organized by CEP, he came across the idea of producing vermicompost.

Vermicompost is an organic fertilizer that is produced by using earthworms. It is rich in nutrients and helps in improving soil fertility. Bikash realized that he could produce vermicompost from the waste generated in his farm, and sell it to other farmers in the village.

He immediately discussed with the CEP authority and expressed his interest in receiving training in producing vermicompost. He learned it was a simple and cost-effective way of generating extra income.

"I didn't know how to produce vermicompost before. I received the vermicompost training from CEP. Since I have a cow on my farm, I don't need to struggle to manage cow dung. I utilize the cow dung to produce vermicompost. ADRA gave me 3 rings and 50 earthworms to get started. From those 50 earthworms, I grew thousands of earthworms," Said Bikash. "Vermicompost has a high demand in our community. I sell vermicompost to my neighbours and community people. It seems a good source of income."

Within a few weeks, Bikash produced a significant amount of vermicompost, and he started selling it to other farmers in the village. The farmers were amazed by the quality of the vermicompost and its effectiveness in improving the fertility of their soil.

Word about Bikash's vermicompost soon spread to neighbouring villages, and he started receiving orders from farmers across the region. With the increase in demand, Bikash expanded his vermicompost production with the help of the CEP project of ADRA Bangladesh.

"With the income generated from vermicompost production, I can provide a better life for my family and invest in my farming business. Before I was earning about BDT. 8,000-10,000 per month by doing gardening, and selling labour. But now, I can earn BDT. 7,000-8,000 by selling vermicompost alone. I inspired other farmers in the village who were also looking for ways to earn extra income," Bikash said confidently.

Here is the point to note Bikash is inspiring his neighbors and other farmers to engage in vermicompost production. This is particularly powerful. He went out and found others to bring to the training program. And isn't that our dream in terms of improving the lives of the vulnerable community?

In conclusion, producing vermicompost is a great way for farmers to generate extra income. It is an environmentally friendly and sustainable practice that can help improve soil fertility and boost crop yield. As Bikash's story shows, with training and hard work, farmers can create a profitable business out of vermicompost production.