Amreto Sarkar from Tanore, Rajshahi
Kabuljan Begum (55). She lives at Haridebpur village of Tanore upazila of Rajshahi. She has acquired invaluable knowledge to protect the environment in spite of having no formal education. She has invented an oven that contributes to the protection of the environment. The environment friendly ‘oven’ as she dubs it reduces smoke and protects the user from eye burns.
The oven she invents is easy to use requiring less fuels and it doesn’t take much money to make such a useful oven. This can be made of clay with a pipe and 4 bricks. Kabualjan started making this oven since 2013 and gradually she became proficient in this work. Today she helps marginal women at her villages to make such an oven that reduces smokes and requires less fuels. When ask what makes her to invent such an oven, Kabuljan Begum said, “I went to a relative’s house in 2013 and saw a friend selling such ovens there. The price is almost beyond the reach of the poor. So, I prefer to make such ovens. However, although I did not succeed in first time but through my hard work and determination gradually I became successful in making the oven.’ ‘The fuel cost of this oven is much less and the cooking is quicker so the washing is less. It can be cooked in this oven with all kinds of fuel.’-she added.
However, Kabuljan got affiliated with BARCIK in 2014 and BARCIK realizing and observing her environment friendly works started to facilitate her to transfer the skills and technique to making such ovens to the marginal women in the village through training. BARCIK organized such training allowing space for Kabuljan to play the role of facilitator. Women from different villages of Tanore Upazila participated in those trainings and learned the technique directly from Kabuljan. This way, the use and making of environment friendly ovens spread and reach to other villages and women in the area. Thus, so far, 253 such trainings have been organized at urban level in Tanore, Nachol and Paba, Godagari Upazila and Rajshahi City Corporation and Kabuljan has made more than 10,000 environment-friendly stoves through these times.
Kabuljan does not only confine her works in making ovens but also has been involved in practicing sustainable agriculture through adopting organic farming. There are local fruit trees and uncultivated food plants around her house that makes her homestead a green which include: Sunsuni, Gima, Sanchi, Kalmi, Kansisa, Helencha, Bathua, Thankuni etc. She also farms different seasonal vegetable and spinaches in her backyard along with some medicinal plants. There are medicinal plants such as Dudhraj, Kuch, Tulsi (3 varieties), Ghrita Kanchan (4 types), Patharkuchi, Guia Bagun, Guia Garlic, Sandalwood, Asparagus, Neel Kantha, Sada Kantha, Yastimadhu, Talmishari, Mahatita, White Kuchkari etc, around her house.
On the other hand, Kabuljan Begum likes collecting seeds of different varieties and conserves those seeds so that she could exchange among the women and farmers in seed crisis. She finds happiness exchanging seeds to farmers and women. Thus, it has been seen almost every day people come to her house to receive such seeds and she exchanges those seeds with a smile in her face. So far, Kabuljan has a collection of 108 types of vegetables, herbs, Rabi grains and rice seeds. She said, ‘Every day someone takes free seeds from me and sows and plants. I have encouraged and inspired the women of my village to collect and conserve seeds so that they become self-sufficient in seeds.’ She went on saying, today those women also conserve and exchange seeds among themselves.’
Kabauljan aslo formed a women organization named ‘Haridebpur Women’s Organization’ ‘with other women of the village. Bani Rani Sutradhar, president of the organization, said, ‘We have done a lot of development for our village through this organization. Earlier everyone used to cultivate vegetables on a small scale but now everyone cultivates more vegetables. We exchange vegetables and vegetable seeds among ourselves. Bring more and go through Kabuljan Begum’s seed bank so that she can exchange those to others who need seeds.’
It is to mention that when the whole world is in turmoil during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 that time Kabuljan Begum worked relentlessly to produce foods through her own initiatives and encouraged everyone to produce more vegetables to cope with the epidemic. She even provided seeds to those people who were interested to farm vegetable during the ‘Lockdown’ due to the Covid-19. During that Corona pandemic she assisted 560 men and women in her village and 450 men and women in other villages with 28 varieties of vegetable seeds.
Considering Kabulajan’s works she was awarded the honor of ‘Jayeeta’ from Tanore upazila level in 2016. It is through her silent initiatives (Making environment friendly oven, adopting sustainable agriculture, planting local and medicinal trees and conserving seeds etc.) it could be said that Kabuljan has been contributing to reduce the carbon emission through her eco-friendly initiatives.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
