Women-friendly Sack gardening is a popular and easy-to-install method for rural women farmers as Climate Smart Farming. Climate Smart Farming is an adaptive and innovative option for the agriculture sector.
Sack gardening is a household option for women farmers in Bangladesh. This technique is perfect for the rainy season and in low-lying areas where waterlogged conditions occurred. Growing vegetables in the open field during the rainy season is challenging for excessive soil moisture. However, constructing low-cost women-friendly sack-based cultivation can be an option for flood-prone as well as salinity-prone areas.
The technical aspect of Sack Gardening
Firstly, women farmers filled the sack with soil and cow dung which is mixed in a 2:1 ratio. Then, add the wood ash into the soil and cow dung for making the mixture a perfect growing medium. Secondly, the lower portion of the sack towards the bottom is filled with dry leaves for holding moisture. Thirdly, some brick or gravel is placed at the bottom for good drainage. Lastly, using farmyard manure or vermicompost with water once a week enhances the fast growth of plants.
Benefits of sack gardening
- Low cost to install this method in the homestead areas.
- Do not need high-end technical expertise.
- All inputs are available in the household.
- Easy for shifting while necessary.
- Intercultural operations are simple.
- Suitable for all types of vegetables.
Challenges
- Regularly applying irrigation and compost are important for the proper growth rate of the plants.
- Site selection is important for a sack garden. A place where at least six hours of sunlight is available. In case of lower sunlight hours, the farmers have to select crops that require less sunlight hours for their growth.
Economics of Sack Gardening
Bangladeshi rural women can easily install sack gardens in their homesteads for sustainable income year-round. For example, a woman could earn BDT 1500 taka from a single sack with a Bottle gourd plant. It would require only BDT 500 cost for setting and management. Moreover, any household can grow a range of vegetables and spices such as bottle gourd, pumpkin, chili, cabbage, cauliflower, Indian spinach, Okra, Cucumber, Yard long bean, etc.
