How Friendship turns the tide in Bangladesh
Friendship is an international social purpose organisation based in Bangladesh. It envisions a world where everyone has equal opportunities to live with dignity and hope. Shaira Rahman is a dedicated employee of Friendship, which follows 4 core values: Saving lives, empowerment, climate adaptation and poverty alleviation. As an advocate for locally-led adaptation and nature-based solutions, she explains how the community takes ownership and becomes more resilient to climate change.
Can you describe the situation in Bangladesh?
"We have a recurring problem: The monsoon season. Every year, from May to October, we know for sure the flood is coming, posing severe dangers to people and their livestock. This is particularly the case in the north, where communities migrate in response to natural disasters. When a flood or cyclone strikes, residents simply pack up and move away. Their perception is that if they are strong enough, they can relocate anywhere. For them, the environment is not a place to improve or build resilience. Instead, urgent matters, such as short-term relocating, become a priority. The vulnerabilities of daily life force them to prioritise short-term solutions over long-term environmental considerations."
How does Friendship support the community?
"Communities need a platform to share their voices and express ownership. For Reversing the Flow, Friendship supports this through the Community Implementation Committee, elected by a selection process representing all stakeholders. This committee facilitates a project steering group representing 20 CIC representatives and 3 women members from the local government. Through this committee, community members can design and implement solutions like artificial islands or plinths. Rather than dictating design, we encourage the community to identify their needs and shape them from there on."
What are plinths?
"Plinths are raised platforms designed to protect flood-prone communities. Developed with researchers and architects, their egg-shaped, north-facing design diverts floodwaters and so reduces the risk of flooding. Built over 3.5 meters above flood level, they remain dry even during severe floods.
Each plinth includes WASH facilities, a school, a community centre, livestock sheds, 5 to 7 tube wells, 5 to 7 shared latrines, solar lights and shelters for 18–35 households. A central pond provides drinking water and fishing. In emergencies, they can shelter 80–150+ families for weeks. Families are selected based on community consultations, prioritising the displaced, the landless and those without an income. Local land donations, along with government and community support, have facilitated this initiative. All CICs are now interested in building plinths, inspired by Friendship's proven successful model in northern Bangladesh for over 20 years."
How does the Reversing the Flow programme help?
"Well, apart from the climate issues, we are also transitioning from a conventional, short-term top-down approach to long-term landscape infrastructure planning. The Reversing the Flow (RtF) programme addresses challenges in ways that are significantly different from traditional methods. In the past, we created timelines to plan our activities and would communicate the foreseen changes. But now, the community takes the lead in this process. We facilitate rather than impose our views on the community. We simply encourage people to consider their long-term future and raise their voices at the conference meeting.
Community members
Community members play a crucial role in climate adaptation due to their deep-rooted local knowledge and adaptive practices shaped by years of living in climate-vulnerable areas. Their traditional ecological insights, such as flood prediction, seasonal risk cycles and indigenous cropping patterns, enhance scientific forecasts and inform risk reduction strategies. In Shaheber Alga Union, many elders can read changes in the water colour, bird migration and wind patterns to predict approaching floods.
Locally-led adaptation
The locally-led adaptation (LLA) approach has highlighted previously untapped skills, particularly among women who have proposed safer housing designs based on their understanding of water movement. This was new to conventional technical designs. Youth members excel in digital documentation and climate storytelling, helping the community advocate for its needs effectively. Overall, the LLA approach recognises community contributions and empowers local ingenuity, particularly among women and youth, in climate adaptation planning.
Empowerment
In natural disasters, communities face shared challenges that limit resilience. We aim to empower and connect as many communities as possible through our programme, but it takes time and effort. Friendship wants everyone to benefit from the programme and the changes it brings about. Our goal is to empower communities by spreading Friendship."
How does the community benefit from plinths?
"You see, once completed, each plinth can provide permanent housing for 25 to 30 families (about 5 members per family) along with their livestock. During disasters, it also offers shelter to an extra 450 to 500 people, around 600 in total. Friendship has developed a total of 30 plinths, which together can house nearly 4500 people, including livestock. Each plinth has a lifespan of 8 to 10 years and costs around €2800, potentially preventing over €375,000 in asset losses during emergencies.
When I visited this community, I noticed that the residents were happy to work together. Everyone took part in making decisions and finding solutions. They take pride in their ownership of the area, which has significantly improved cohesion within the community and beyond. Perhaps you now think that this community's focus was on their land; instead, they asked for a road connecting the shores. This road would allow other communities and villagers to come here for shelter and a fresh start. Well, this display of connection truly moved me, as people showed a remarkable sense of community. This is friendship at its best!"
About Reversing the Flow
RtF supports communities in vulnerable situations by strengthening their water security and voices in landscape or watershed governance. Under RtF, projects are community-owned. Local communities manage the funds received. Also, they plan and implement water and climate adaptation activities themselves. Community ownership enhances the projects' sustainability and increases their resilience to climate change. Local partners, called hubs, support communities in organising and leading these actions.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
