Ethnographic explorations

hh. is farming a From the silent ENGAGE4Sundarbans interdisciplinary team is exploring Sundarbans’ riskscapes through an ethnographic lenth to document situated adaptive strategies, which includes agroecological practices performed by climate vulnerable communities in Coastal region of the GBM delta in Bangladesh and in India. 

Our research objectives:

The overall objective of our team’s ethnographic research is to comprehensively explore and document ‘social resilience’ of the subsistence farming community living in climate vulnerable coastal areas of Bangladesh, namely Protapnagar union under Assasuni Upazila and in Kumirmari GP, in Gasaba block, West Bengal, India. Here we define social resilience as the social entities—be they individuals, organizations or communities—and their abilities or capacities to tolerate, absorb, cope with and adjust to environmental and social threats of various kinds.  

We question:

• How communities perceive and articulate climatic, environmental and developmental risks in relation with their everyday life?
• What is the coping, adaptive, and transformative capacities of the communities that influences their resilience?  
• Does the current agroecological practices enhance community’s coping, adaptive and transformative capacities?

We have tranboundary discussions: 

Our research teams from IIT Kharagpur (India) and ULAB (Bangladesh) are collaborating with the SAJIDA Foundation (Bangladesh) and the PRSJSM NGO (India) to conduct ethnographic research. 

We have set up our research camps in each deltas: 

IIT Kharapur and PRSJSM have started to develop a campsite in Kumirmari (calle Kumirmari Bari) before the project started and continue to developpe the site to host researchers and events with local communities.  

During the first year of the project, the ULAB and SAJIDA foundation installed a field camp in Assassuni to stay on-site and observe the activities of the small and marginalised farmers. Our researchers stayed and lived among the community for 9 months continuously.

Our research tools and methods:

We applied ethnographic approach, including an array of methods to collect data.  

• From a contemplative to a participatory observation: the contemplation of everyday lives in the field

The silent observation of everyday life in the village area is perhaps the first step to the ethnographical approach we took. Listening to the sounds of the farmers working in their fields, listening to the birds, listening to the sounds of motors, listening to the sound of the evening prayers is probably one of the most instructive and sensitive based experience we can have. This approach teach us about the present days activities of the farmers, about the relations between humans and non-humans, the economical situation of a place. 

Participating in farming activities is the next step we took to engage with the communities: helping in the fisheries, helping to collect the vegetables or harvesting the rice, helps us to understand the link between the farmers and their land.

The field observation is regularly used to document the agroecological practices of the farmers who already practice integrated farming. This aims at looking at the the biodiversity of plants used, and the cultivation practices. we observe the work of the soils top and the soil fertilisation system, often based on a mix of cow dung. We also observe how the paddy fields are irrigated (rain water, water pomps) and the overall water management with canals and small dykes. Further on looked at the plantation, the care given to plants during their growth, the harvest and storage. Back to the farm, we look at the care given to the conservation of plants and later on at the way they are prepared for cooking.

• Focus Group Discussions and In-depth Key informant interviews 

The Focus Group Discussions were guided by a common aim to understand the root causes of the social vulnerability of small and marginalised farmers. The impacts of hazards on communities’ livelihood, storm surges and floods appear at first sight, but we wish to understand what is beyond the disaster and what has caused the present social conditions. To shape the riskscape, we had to analyse the relationship between the stakeholders and the farmers. The teams have organised around 20 Focus Group Discussions with inhabitants and 60 In-depth Key informant Interviews in each village union. This method also requires to prepare in advance the canva for a semi-structured Interview that would keep the conversation open to informal discussion.

Ethnographical Findings in India

Participatory Interactive workshops

The IIT research team from interdisciplinary social sciences has been also able to mobilize villagers and generate a momentum in the island through a series of interactive workshops with representatives from NGOs, scientists and experts from government institutes (such as ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute – CIFRI), women self-help groups (SHGs) and fishers, for exposing them to the ‘best practices’ in inland fishing.

Semi-formal on-site conversations

Other methods used include: 

• Analysis of texts, folklores and audio/visual records
• Participatory mapping
• Participatory appraisal of natural resources
• Participatory interactive workshops 

Transboundary Findings

Multiple disruptive hazards and production of risks

Studied community are facing multitude of disruptive hazards stem from climate change, environmental degradation and human intervention. The studied community has been facing acute salinity intrusion resulted from sea level rise, intensified and repeated cyclones and costal flooding. Coupled with human intervention such as commercial shrimp farming, water management and other development activities the local community is facing significant environmental degradation, interruption of ecosystem services and shrinking economic and livelihood opportunity.

Methods and Findings from Bangladesh

Situated adaptive practices

Following a devastating flood that submerge the study area for nearly two years as an aftermath of super cyclone Amphan in 2020, the studied community reinvigorated their effort for systematic change in local governance that they believe is the key to build resilience against the multiple disruptive risks. Commercial shrimp farming inside the flood protection polder area is perceived as a major  catalyst for increased salinity intrusion, weakening flood protection and shrinking livelihood. Social, political and institutional relationship and use of natural resources  in study area are heavy influence by shrimp farming and associated activities.

Banning shrimp farming using electoral system

In 2022 commercial shrimp farming become electoral issue during local council election campaign. Incumbent chairperson of local council perceived as pro shrimp farming by local community and the opposition centered their campaign on shrimp banning policies. Opposition won the election in a landslide and banned shrimp farming inside  and close all saline water carrying cannels which is a prerequisite for shrimp farm. There is still a strong consensus among communities against shrimp farming especially within in flood protection polder area.

Reviving Agriculture

Following the banning and changed attitude towards shrimp farming, community members are reclaiming their land for agriculture activities. The land still has significant salt presence and any kind of agriculture is still difficult. Apart from salt presence, irrigation for rice and another agricultural crop remain challenging as irrigation infrastructure are development yet and support market linkage is week. However, farmers are applying traditional knowledge to reduce salinity from land. Efforts include applying sugar, taking out top layer of the soil, washing land repeatedly with fresh water when water available, and plating different type of crops simultaneously to see which grows better. Many farmers have reported that they have brought back a long-lost rice variety locally known as “Tacshail” that can withstand heavy saline and help reduce salinity from soil.

Mixed farming

In contrast to mono cropping which is dominant in other part of Bangladesh, farmers in study area are experimenting with ‘mixed crop’, growing lots of different vegetables, and grain in one plot. This experimentation mimics the ‘trial and error’ approach.

“We are doing agriculture after decades, we don’t know which [crops] would grow better in this soil. So, we are planting a bit of this and bit of that and observing which one survive. Then next year we will plant that a bit more”    

We have documented 71 different crops that the farmers have produced in one crop cycle year. Many farmers especially female producing lots of different vegetables in their homestead that they reported significantly reduce their food insecurity and market dependency. We observed homestead vegetable garden in every household of the study participants.    

Some sort of ‘integrated’ farming is in practice among farmers. Where they combine fresh water fish, rice and vegetable in one single system and reported the reduction of inputs and increased in production.

Flexible Collaboration

Our research indicates that communities heavy depends of flexible cooperation and collaboration in their daily lives and in dealing the impact of disruptive risks. This ‘flexible cooperation’ extend beyond interpersonal reciprocal relation, rooted deep into social fabrics and cultural norms enforcing social harmony that provides common platform to share support and resources. This practice function as most fundamental social force embedded into all other social relations and influence all other institutional functions at social level. we have seen these practices at individual level as well group level during our field work.