Ingenuity in disaster

One amazing example is the work of a farmer called Tahera, who lost her home and the plot of land she nurtured in Myanmar. Here in Cox’s Bazar, her cramped living space made growing food for her family impossible:

“We had plenty of land in Burma where we used to farm. But since we migrated here, we do not have any land.”

This is where an ingenious gardening kit from Oxfam’s local partner, Mukti, has opened up a new possibility: rather than growing outwards, people here are growing upwards.

Known as ‘vertical farming’, this new technique means Tahera can grow vegetables across her roof, up her walls, and over the top of walkways in her tightly packed community. Now, Tahera’s growing enough to have a surplus, which she shares with her relatives and neighbours who have lost their incomes.

Refugee families are learning to prepare Rohingya recipes from the produce they can grow here in Bangladesh. In a crisis so full of tragedy, these sessions are also becoming an important space for people to support each other, as they swap cooking and gardening tips – and eat nutritious meals together. Tahera explains:

“Mukti gave us seedlings [and] showed us how to plant seedlings on the roof when we have no land. We implemented the training, and now we can feed ourselves from those crops.”

Everywhere I look in Cox’s Bazar, I see these examples of extraordinary ingenuity in the face of a long-term crisis. But with the number of people living here increasing every day, we must support more of these solutions so communities can stay healthy.