Women, Climate and Dignified Livelihoods: Co-Producing a Local Charter for Climate-Resilient Work in Satkhira, Bangladesh

This pilot project employed a participatory research approach to co-produce a Women’s Climate-Resilient Livelihoods Charter with low-income rural women in a community in Satkhira District, Bangladesh. The project engaged women who were already involved in, or aspired to enter, climate-sensitive livelihood activities such as small-scale farming, fish cultivation, home-based production, and petty trade. These livelihood opportunities were increasingly threatened by climate-related challenges, including salinity intrusion, flooding, and cyclones.

Rather than positioning women solely as beneficiaries, the project created structured opportunities for them to articulate their own perspectives on what constitutes dignified and climate-resilient work. Through a series of participatory discussions and community consultations, women identified the types of support they considered genuinely useful, as well as practices and interventions they perceived as ineffective or harmful. These conversations generated valuable insights into the realities of balancing income-generating activities with household responsibilities, debt burdens, and recurring climate shocks.

The project was implemented in collaboration with Unnayan Prochesta (UP), a voluntary development organization established in 1996 that works with poor and climate-vulnerable communities in south-west Bangladesh. UP facilitated community engagement and provided local knowledge and logistical support throughout the research process. Drawing on women’s lived experiences and priorities, the project successfully developed a Women’s Climate-Resilient Livelihoods Charter that captures locally grounded principles and recommendations for promoting sustainable and dignified livelihoods.

The project addressed an important knowledge gap by documenting how women themselves understand climate resilience and livelihood security. It also responded to a practical need by producing a concrete, women-generated charter that can inform future programme design, advocacy initiatives, and policy discussions involving local government, development organizations, and other stakeholders. The findings and charter provide a foundation for strengthening gender-responsive and climate-resilient livelihood interventions in vulnerable coastal communities of Bangladesh.

• Research Project