Host Community Women's Livelihoods Project

The Rohingya refugee crisis has profoundly affected the livelihoods of the host community living in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. An area already poor in socio-economic development, the influx of nearly one million refugees has severely impacted the food security and income-generating activities of the local Bangladeshi community. Host community women, in particular, lack employment and empowerment opportunities.  

In May 2023, Maiya School expanded our programming into a livelihoods project for Bangladeshi women in the host community. We’re working with local women to train them in agricultural, food preparation, and sewing skills, along with providing resources so they can grow their own food and generate income to support themselves and their families. The aim of the project is to empower local women by equipping them with valuable skills and knowledge that can enhance their self-reliance.

Partnership with local women’s associations

Maiya School has partnered with two local women’s organisations in Rajapalong and Taipalong unions in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar. 

Capacity building

Through a participatory rural appraisal, local women have identified the skills they need in order to establish or strengthen their livelihoods, along with their existing capabilities and strengths. The predominant skills the Ukhiya community wanted to learn were homestead gardening, fertiliser and compost making, pickling, and sewing.

Read more about our training and skill building program for host community women here.

Future skill building

We’re already starting to see the difference in the lives of the host community women who have participated in our project. Just a few weeks after receiving their training and micro-gardening kits, our Ukhiya participants’ gardens are flourishing, growing vegetables to feed their families.  

The next stage of our Host Community Women’s Livelihoods Project is to assess how the trainings and resources have impacted participants, and what additional skills are needed to further enhance their livelihood opportunities. This might be learning additional knowledge in the area of interest, such as sewing skills, or building financial literacy to increase the ability to sell goods in the marketplace or effectively manage their household. 

Please consider helping Bangladeshi women financially support themselves and their families by donating.