Location: Kapru Para & Goda Para, Bandarban, Bangladesh
Timeline: February 2025 – December 2025
Lead Organization: Green Milieu
Supported by: ICCCAD, Embassy of Sweden, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB)
The Challenge: A Crisis of Thirst
Every year, indigenous communities in the rugged highlands of Bandarban—particularly the Mro, Marma, and Bawm—face an acute water crisis. From late winter through summer, natural streams and brooks dry up, leaving families without safe drinking water. This scarcity directly threatens daily life, livestock rearing, and Jhum cultivation, which remains central to local food security and livelihoods.
Our Nature-Based Solution
Project Bamboo Forest was designed as a nature-based water preservation initiative, rooted in indigenous knowledge. The project focused on restoring degraded stream edges through strategic bamboo plantation. Bamboo’s deep-root system acts as a living sponge—reducing soil erosion, retaining groundwater, and sustaining water flow during dry seasons.
What We Achieved
1. Purpose-Driven Reforestation
Rather than following a one-size-fits-all plantation model, Green Milieu worked closely with community elders to identify the most effective indigenous species.
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Transitioned plantation strategy to Bhutum Bamboo, based on local ecological knowledge
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2,500+ high-quality bamboo saplings planted in critical water-retention zones
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Focus areas: Kapru Para and Goda Para
This shift significantly improved soil stability and moisture retention around seasonal streams.
2. Reviving Indigenous Craft & Livelihoods
Bamboo is not only an ecological resource but also a cultural backbone of Mro communities. The project intentionally linked conservation with livelihoods.
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40 community members (primarily women and youth) trained in traditional bamboo craftsmanship
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Skills included basket weaving, mat making, and eco-friendly household products
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Created pathways for sustainable income generation through responsible bamboo harvesting
This intergenerational knowledge exchange helped preserve cultural heritage while strengthening economic resilience.
3. Climate Literacy & Community Ownership
True sustainability depends on community leadership. The project emphasized capacity building and shared stewardship.
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80+ direct beneficiaries participated in climate adaptation dialogues and technical workshops
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Communities were equipped to manage bamboo forests and water sources independently
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35,000+ people reached through digital awareness campaigns promoting nature-based solutions in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Key Learning: Indigenous Knowledge is Technical Knowledge
One of the most critical learnings from Project Bamboo Forest was the validation of indigenous knowledge as a form of technical expertise. The decision to prioritize Bhutum Bamboo, based on guidance from community elders, demonstrated stronger potential for soil stabilization and water retention compared to commercially promoted species.
Although large-scale soil changes require time to become fully visible, early field observations and community insights indicate that indigenous species are better adapted to local ecology. Participants emphasized that continued observation of soil behavior around Bhutum Bamboo plantations will guide future land-use planning, plantation expansion, and climate adaptation strategies.
This learning reaffirmed that sustainable environmental solutions in the Hill Tracts must be co-created with communities, recognizing traditional ecological knowledge as an essential scientific resource rather than an informal practice.
“The soil will show us the results. By watching how it changes, we will understand how to work better with the land in the future.”
— Community Participant