In the Gaibanda region of Bangladesh, on the Jamuna River, sand and silt from erosion upstream deposits and forms seasonal islands called ‘chars.’ This temporary land can exist for a few months or several years before it is washed away. These chars are the homes of some of the poorest people in Bangladesh. They have no other land, and use the chars as land for farming – their only livelihood.

A woman stands near a cow she received through the GK/BRF cow-lending program.

To help these impoverished people, the US-based Bangladesh Relief Fund financed a microcredit project led by Gonoshasthaya Kendra (which in Bengali means the People’s Health Center. Instead of lending money, like so many other microfinance institutions do, Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) loans cows and chickens to women in these char-based villages.

With the produce from the animals, including milk from cows and eggs from chickens, and the sale of the livestock’s offspring, the villages will have an alternative source of income and eventually will pay back GK. This program is very similar to other livestock operations for poverty relief, such as those run by Heifer International.

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BRF: Cow-lending

Rahman, Muhit. Personal Interview. 2005.

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