Project Background:

By the way of DDJ’s experience it is clearly revealed that communities need to build their capacity in changing climate and vulnerability context for making sustainable changes in their lives. Climate change induced frequent and severe disasters have amplified unprecedented vulnerability to life and livelihoods of coastal community in Bangladesh. Cyclone ‘Sidr’ and ‘Aila’ affected the southwest region particularly Pirojpur district in 2007 and 2009 respectively. The effect of ‘Aila’ has weakened traditional coping capacity and practice of local vulnerable people in case of protecting their lives and livelihoods in climate change context. Besides, the ability of community people to deal with shocks and insecurity of disaster and climate change in terms of economic status is very limited which made them double vulnerable in this region. The rampant impacts of climate induced disasters however falls disproportionately on particular poor men and women who have no capacity to possess alternative resilient livelihood resources and accessibility to local government institution such as Union Parishad (UP) or Union Disaster Management Committee (UDMC) for effective disaster related preparedness and recovery. On the situation it is essential to promote building resilient communities in the context of disaster and climate change through economic empowerment and sustainable livelihood for women and men who are living in extreme poverty as well as developing leadership to ensure the sustainability of community people’s life and livelihood and to get the result of development interventions. In the above circumstances, DDJ started this project with the prime feature to develop resilient community through enhanced leadership, livelihoods and equipped to face impact of climate change and disaster.

Duration: July 2010 to December 2016

Area Coverage: Indurkani Upazila (the then Zianagar Upazila) and Nazirpur Upazila of Pirojpur district.

Source of Funding: Oxfam GB in Bangladesh

Project Goal: Develop resilient community through enhanced leadership, livelihoods and equipped to face impact of climate change and disaster.

Objectives of the Project:

• Objective–1: To build disaster affected communities more resilient to disasters with improved community based climate change adaptation understanding and capacity.
• Objective–2: To improve and strengthen the livelihoods of targeted communities in changing climate
• Objective–3:  To increase community leadership specially women leadership to ensure access to public services and opportunities.

Project Participants:

Target oriented beneficiaries are farmer, women, fishermen, wood cutter, day laborer, wage laborer trade union, youth, landless, physically challenged and hard-core poor.

Beneficiaries among civil society are local elites, teacher and social & religious leaders. Indirect beneficiaries are Union Council, Union Disaster Management Committee, NGOs, Sect oral Agencies, Private Service Providers and local Chamber of Commerce.