Floating gardens

Adapting to climate change in Bangladesh

Much of the land in the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh is covered by water during the monsoon season, making it impossible to grow crops. Practical Action has developed a technology to allow farmers to grow food on flooded land.

A floating garden is built using water hyacinth, which is collected to construct a floating raft. This is covered with soil and cow dung, in which vegetables can be planted. A new raft needs to be built every year, but the old one can be used as fertiliser during the dry season.

The rafts, eight metres long and one metre wide, are made from hyacinth which is available for free locally. Soil is put on the surface of the raft and then the seeds planted in the soil. Summer and winter vegetables such as gourd, okra and leafy vegetables are grown.

The floating gardens provide food for people even during the annual monga (period of food shortages) and they can also provide an alternative source of income through sale of any surplus in the market. They are suitable for farmers who need to diverse from traditional land use, and, as the rafts can be moved from place to place, they are also suitable for those that have temporarily or permanently lost their homes and land.

The floating vegetable gardens are also created in ponds, canals and other water sources.

Families are trained in pit cultivation – making 30cm x 30cm holes for planting vegetable seed. Every household has ten pits to grow vegetables and is given ten different high yielding varieties of fast growing vegetable and groundnut seeds.

Training is provided in new techniques to cope with the conditions, grow more and better crops, and throughout the year. People are shown how to protect against plant disease and insect attack using organic control methods (e.g. home made botanical insecticide). Advice is also given in making seed-beds, preparing compost and enriching the sandy soil with compost and manure. The crops not only provide vital food but any surplus can be sold to generate an income.

Tara Begum, a mother who was trained by Practical Action, managed to build her own floating garden with her family and grew a number of crops including red onion, sweet pumpkin and okra. “This has made a great difference to my life. Now I have enough food in the floods and I can give some to help my relatives as well.” — Tara Begum

If you would like to help support projects like this, in Bangladesh and around the world, you can donate online, or by calling 0800 389 16 24 now.

Further information

Our Technical Information Service, Practical Answers, have produced a technical brief outlining the construction of a floating garden. Read or download this article on Practical Answers

More on coping with flooding in Bangladesh

More about the Disappearing Lands river erosion project on Practical Action Bangladesh's website

Sandbar cropping - growing pumpkins on marginal land left behind by floodwater