Homestead gardening in rural Bangladesh : women’s contribution to sustainable local food system and security

Abstract: This thesis presents qualitative research to explore women’s contribution to sustainable food systems and security through homestead gardening in rural Bangladesh. In rural Bangladesh, women frequently undertake homestead gardening, a traditional and widespread practice of producing different vegetables and rearing domestic animals in a small plot of land beside their house. The products from the homestead garden provide food nutrition for the family and income opportunities for women, which contributes to food security. However, women’s roles and identities are not recognised in society despite their visible and invisible crucial social, economic, and environmental contributions. Hence, this thesis was conducted in Baneshardi village of Nagarkanda thana in the Faridpur district in Bangladesh to examine the role and contribution of homestead gardening to sustainable food production and security. The present study was undertaken by conducting 12 in-depth interviews with women managing homestead gardening and 2 Key Informants Interviews with representatives from a local government and a civil society organisation. The research indicates that women play diverse roles through different activities in homestead gardens in maintaining sustainable local food systems and security. The principal findings of this research show that through homestead gardening, women are meeting four pillars of sustainable food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability) and maintaining an alternative local food system which has the potential of being sustainable. The research also revealed that women’s traditional agricultural knowledge preserves biodiversity passed through generations by mothers. Despite these contributions, the study found that women face different challenges due to the gender division of labour in society, which creates obstacles to identifying women as farmers and limits access to the market in which area government and non-government initiatives and actions are required. Finally, this study demonstrates that women’s household and homestead gardening activities are economically crucial and that it is important to recognise women’s contributions and the significance of their activities. Women’s role in homestead gardening has the potential to support sustainable local food systems and security.