Thesis On Rural Poverty Alleviation Programe in Bangladesh

Thesis paper
On
Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme in Bangladesh:
A Sociological Exegesis on Issues and strategies of
on!"overnment Organi#ations $"O%s&
Submitted by
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We Have a favorable and marginal change in our economy, but the
basic problem, poverty still remains. Our poverty is the product of our
social structure. This social structure, one hand, is helping the increase of
hunger and poverty among the cultivators, landless labor, poor
professionals and also compelling these people to produce more crops
and other consuming goods for the rich and the urban people. To alleviate
poverty, we should collect the exact number of the poor people and also
we should defined poverty. An evaluation report from the statistical
ureau of angladesh has shown that in the year 1!"#$"%, about "!& of
the total population were living below subsistence level. The criterion of
poor or rich depends on monthly or annual consumption cost of a person.
The man whose consumption cost is less than others are called a poor
man. ut it is true that there is a sharp difference in the consumption cost
both among the poor and the rich. 'o if we try to get a real picture of our
poverty in terms of this criterion, we cannot get a real picture of our
poverty. We should evaluate poverty in terms of our poverty. We should
evaluate poverty in terms of our basic needs. The people who cannot even
meet up their basic needs( they are the real poor. There is another means
to identify the poor. This refers to the nature and )uantity of food. We can
determine the poor and the rich by the )uantity of rich, bread and pulse
they consume. The poor ta*e coarse$foods li*e rice people consume more
)uantity of fish, meat, egg, mil* and fruits. They expend more for the
consumption of industrial goods by curtailing the )uality of food
consumption. The pre capita cost of consumption for rich, pulse and
bread are more than the consumption cost of industrial goods. With a few
exceptions, the consumption cost of the ma+ority people is the main cause
to poverty cost of consumption. That means, almost all the people of our
country are the victims of poverty. Absolute poverty and extreme poverty
both are e)ually prevailing in our country.
The poverty of our country is the result of oppression and
exploitation of ritish rule for about two centuries. efore the occupation
ritish rule, our rural economy was more or less self$sufficient. There
was a harmonious co$ordination between agriculture and Agro$based
industries. The ritish rulers caused to ruin our cottage industries and
made us dependent on agriculture, but the people became unemployed for
the ruin of rural industries. ,ater very few of them could get employment
in mills and factories of the urban areas. This tradition is still in tact. As a
result, the number of small farmers, landless farmers are increasing day
by day. -ore people are being detached form their original profession
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and becoming unemployed. About all of then is suffering miserably from
poverty.
We should all reali/e the fact that to ma*e our freedom meaningful
and to achieve the desired progress in economy, we must change the lot
of all poor people. We should remove our poverty and ensure the
availability of basic needs for all.
0n this study it has been tried to see that whether the 12O
-embers are benefited than 1on 12O members in terms of economic,
institutional, demographic and social indicators by conducting a survey
among 12O members and 1on 12O members.
)hapter I
Introduction
*(* Bac+ground of the Study
angladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world with a
population of about 1#4 million supported by a small land area of only
1,#5,%54 s)uare *ilometer. angladesh economy is characteri/ed by
unprecedented poverty and resultant delin)uencies, high level of
unemployment, low level of labor productivity, malnutrition, illiteracy,
high capital scarcity and low level of tax 216 ratio 7about " percent
only8 etc. limits the governments financial capabilities for underta*ing
new development and welfare activities. 0n a country where more than
fifty percent population live below poverty line and more then seventy
five percent of them do not *now how to write their names, the
government with its limited resources is really in a great pu//le and can
not decide on what they should do with so vast and painsta*ing multi$
faceted problems.
Over a )uarter of angladesh9s people live in extreme poverty in the
sense that they are not being able to meet even the barest of the basic
needs li*e food, clothing, shelter, education and treatment. They spend
most of their meager, unreliable earnings on food. However, they fail to
meet the minimum calorie inta*e needed to stave off malnutrition. :ue to
their poor health, they also further drain on their resources due to loss of
their income and health care expenditure. 6oor people, especially poor
women, lac* empowerment of having ac)uired their rights. The extreme
poor are thus caught in a vicious trap and the story of denial and
in+ustices tend to continue over generations for a ma+ority of them. The
extreme poor have not only been bypassed by most development
programs but also by mainstream development research activities.
;ocusing policy attention towards the extreme poor<poor is important,
because existing opportunities may not wor* very well for them. This
can be due to the mismatches of opportunities available and the complex
structure of constraints faced by the poor people. ;or example, it is by
now fairly well accepted that the mainstream development approaches,
especially micro finance, largely bypass the extreme poor. This was of
the interest of the study that who were being<are being bypassed= And
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also to *now the differences that are exist between the member
households 7who have ta*en credit from 12Os8 and the non$member
households 7no longer the member of any 12Os8.
*(, Structure of Rural Poverty
angladesh economy is mostly characteri/ed by the rural economy
where unemployment, under employment and disguised unemployment
are very high. 0n almost all rural areas the supply of labor is much higher
than available agricultural wor*. There are very few opportunities outside
this sector and opportunities outside this sector are increasing at a much
slower rate than demand. High concentration of land ownership and rapid
population growth may be the factors of the oversupply of labor. 0n a
study in 1!!1, it was found that the top 14& of landowners owned >4&
of the land where it was only 3>& in 1!>4. The bottom >4& of the
landowners had only 1& of the land 71ovib, 1!!.8. 0n another study,
?ahman 71!!#8 showed that a substantial portion 7%4$>4&8 of the rural
households is functionally landless.
-ost of these are dependent on selling their labor on the farms of
others, processing of agricultural products. @illage economy structure is
comprised of landowners, moneylenders, merchants, legal authorities and
village leaders. 'mall landowners supplement their income by
sharecropping. All these factors together have enabled the members of
local elite to establish patron$client relationship with the poor households.
The rich exploit the poor through providing employment at lower wage,
credit and assistance during crises in exchange for a higher return,
exploitive sharecropping system. The 0:' 71!!%8 study indicated that
rural income from manual labor grew at the slowest rate of all sectors and
that agricultural wages were declining as a source of household income
by nearly 1& per annum.
0n angladesh, %5.5& of the rural households and #4..& of the
population were absolutely poor 7Hye, 1!!>8. :epending on the methods
recently used, recent estimates suggest that as much as .4$3#& of the
population of angladesh lives in extreme poverty and they are
recogni/ed as extreme<ultra poor 7Table 18.
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Table 1.1. The progress in income$poverty in angladesh
@ariables H0A' .444 H0A' 1!!%$!>
1ation
al
?ura
l
Brba
n
1ation
al
?ura
l
Brba
n
,ess than .1..
*cal<person<day
#4& #.& %3& #"& #5& %4&
,ess than 1"4%
*cal<person<day
.4& 1!& .%& .%& .%& .5&
Bpper poverty line head
count
7C1 method8
%4& %3& 35& %3& %5& 3%&
,ower poverty line head
count
7C1 method8
3#& 35& 1!& 3#& 3!& 1#&
'ourceD H0A' 'urvey, .444 7' .4438
Thus there is a significant portion of people live below the poverty
line measured in terms of income or calorie inta*e method. There is also a
distinction in number between the rural and urban poverty. 0n terms of
head count ration, a large portion of rural people live in poverty
compared to the urban poverty. 0t is, thus, of great urgency that we focus
our attention to obtain a better picture of the profile of the poor people to
arrive at an analytical understanding of the structure of constraints that
they face. 'uch an understanding could help us developing an appropriate
intervention for the absolute and extreme poor living in the rural areas.
*(- Statement of the pro.lem
'everal studies conducted by different development research
organi/ations and 12Os reveal some poverty picture in angladesh.
They are( 7i8 there is a very small change in the poverty situation between
1!>3$>#, in 1!"!$1!!4, and even after, establishing a hori/ontal trend
line, 7ii8 moderate households have been able to overcome poverty and
reduce vulnerability and 7iii8 there has been a steady rise in rural poverty
situation from 1!"%$"> and onward 7Hye, 1!!>8.
To day, a large number of 12Os and governmental organi/ations are
wor*ing with the aim to reduce poverty. Therefore, it is very important to
see how these organi/ations are wor*ing. How they are helping the poor=
Although a large number of 12Os are wor*ing in angladesh, a large
portion of the poor households is being left out from their programmatic
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actions. 0n a study, conducted by Hashemi, 1!!% and Eaman 1!!>, they
found that the big 12Os reach only 14$.4& of the landless. These factors
raise the criticism of the 12Os functioning. 'o this is of our interest to
see the impact of the 12Os9 program in the case of the betterment of the
poor households.
There are more than .4444 12Os are operating in angladesh and
most of their wor*ing areas are situated in rural areas. They are
constantly see*ing to reach the poorest and trying to protect the poor from
exploiters li*e moneylenders, landlords, sharecroppers and pawnbro*ers.
Bnfortunately more people are getting into the vicious trap and most of
the people are chronically so.
*(/ Rationale of the study
The population of angladesh in 1!!1 was estimated to be about 1.4
million, of whom "4 per cent live in rural areas. These areas are
characteri/ed by extremely une)ual access to land, which is the critical
productive resource. The top 14 percent of landowners owns some >4
percent of the land, while the bottom >4 percent hold in total only 1
percent. Thus, between %4 and >4 per cent of the rural population is
functionally landless 7i.e. they own too little land to support their
households from it8. The small class of substantial landowners is playing
a comprehensive extent of roles in rural society as land$leasers,
moneylenders, merchants, legal authorities and village leaders. They,
therefore, have a substantial degree of control over rural areas and
population, which they exert for their own benefit in response to
development initiatives from outside parties.
0n almost rural areas, the supply of labor is much higher than the
demand for labor needed for the available agricultural activities. A recent
study by the angladesh 0nstitute of :evelopment 'tudies 70:'8 shows
that rural income from manual labor grew at the slowest rate from all
sectors because of the oversupply, and that the real value of agricultural
wages is steadily declining. Opportunities for the poor outside this sector
are also extremely limited. The only area in which the poor show some
relative gain in recent years is in trading, in which they have become
increasingly active. The 0nstitute attributes this improvement to the
growth of governmental, private and non$governmental programs, which
are providing the poor with access to credit for self$employment
activities, which concentrate particularly in the field of small$scale
trading.
About #> percent of the population is female. They suffer substantial
disadvantages in angladesh society for the following conditionsD poor
nutritional status, lower life expectancy at birth, less access to education
and literacy, lower participation in the labor force and less wages for
comparable wor*. The female$headed households are sufferings more
compared to the male$headed households as the females are facing a lot
of restrictions imposed by the society.
There are many other articles that deal with different aspects of the
12Os9 activities. ut it is not possible to get a total picture of the game
from any of them in particular. 0t becomes necessity to conduct a
comprehensive study on the 12Os with a view to explain their position
in the economy of angladesh in general and at the same time to identify
their role, usefulness and influence in the economy in particular. ?ecent
debates on the functioning of the 12Os activities in the news, media and
the interest of general public ma*e a solid ground for conducting a study
of thus nature.
The basic points for rationali/ing the selection of the research issues
are 7i8 *nowing the factors of poverty that are persisting among the poor
households, 7ii8 donors, government agencies and 12Os have been
prioriti/ing the issues of poverty, especially rural poverty. esides, some
other rationali/ing factors considered areD
7i8 few studies of this type were administered(
7ii8 this study will offer a new paradigm for the 12Os to
restructure their programs.
This study will help us to understand how non$member households
differ from member households. As a result, it will help us to see the
impact of the 12Os9 programs that aims to reduce the poverty and
vulnerability and increasing the empowerment of the rural poor
households.
*(0 O.1ectives of the study
To identify the factors which compel the emergence of 12Os
activities in angladesh,
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The extent of poverty reduction by 12Os and how this has been
achieved.
To see what benefits the poor derive from the activities of the
12Os.
To probe the social mobility of the 12Os beneficiaries.
To analy/e the contributions of the 12Os in employment and
income generation and resource mobili/ation.
To what extent have poor people been empowered and how have
this been achieved.
To identify the role of 12Os for women empowerment.
*(2 Research 3ypothesis
The programmatic actions of 12Os are considered to be highly
beneficial and effective in the case of alleviating rural poverty
considering the multi$dimensionality of poverty approach.
*(2(* Specific hypotheses
The hypotheses areD
1. orrowing credit from informal sources of non$members is
higher than that of 12O members.
.. 0ncome of the beneficiary households of 12O is higher than
income of the non F member households.
3.12O members are more politically empowered than those of
non$members.
#. Amount of land holding of the beneficiary households of 12O
higher than that of the non$member households.
%. -a+or items of productive assets of the beneficiary households
of 12O have increased after +oining 12O.
>. Agricultural productivity of the beneficiary households of 12O
higher than that of the non$member households.
5. There exist more employment in 12O than that of 1on 12O.
".Gnowledge on hygiene practice among the beneficiary
households of 12O higher than that of the 1on 12O households.
!.The beneficiary households of 12O are more socially
empowered than that of the non$member households.
*(4 Scope5 limitations and 6ifficulties of the Study
This study should not be considered as the direct evaluation study
of the 12Os9 programs operating in the study district, which in turn, can
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reflect the program action in angladesh. The purpose of this study is to
understand the conse)uences of a long driven 12O programs on the poor
people. Almost all 12Os in angladesh try to address two issuesD
alleviation of rural poverty and the empowerment of the rural poor
women. -ost of the 12O pro+ects are geared up to address these two
issues. This study includes one of the largest 12Os operating in
angladesh and thus the scope of the research is extensive.
This study has captured the multi$dimensional issues of the rural
poverty. Controversies over the 12O activities among the general people
and development thin*ers are common in reality. 0n order to capture these
issues, both )ualitative and )uantitative data were collected from both
member and non$member households. All the diverse issues of poverty,
12Os function and the evaluation of their programs, contribution etc. are
comprised in the scope of this study.
Time and budgetary constraints were the two main limitation of
this study. :ue to this fact, it was intended not to maximi/e sample. The
other difficulties encountered in this study wereD
All re)uired secondary information was not available due to poor
national and grassroots level data base system.
?espondents sometimes became inpatients since it too* a long time
to respond to all the )uestions.
Overall, scattered location of sample households, poor
infrastructure facilities inhibited the field survey.
*(7 )onceptual frame'or+ of the study
The framewor* for this study was based on the functioning of the
sample 12O. 0nterventions of the 12O were bro*en down into smaller
components so that it could be measured. 0n the first step, interventions
were bro*en down into economic, social and institutional impacts based
on the data collected primarily.
*(8 )onceptuali#ing poverty
Today, ending of poverty has been a ma+or issue in the policy
discussion papers all over the world. There are, however, great
uncertainties about the appropriate way of conceptuali/ing poverty in the
developed and developing countries. Wilder ec*man and 'tephen Clar*
71!>.8 measured poverty in terms of HrelativeI poverty line, which is
generally accepted as being the relevant concept of advanced countries.
This, in contrast to absolute conceptuali/ing poverty, represents an
entirely welcome change. A.G. 'en argued that poverty must be seen
primarily as an absolute notion. 0n the post$war years, elimination of
poverty in rich countries was based on calculations using poverty lines
derived from nutritional and other re)uirements of the *ind used by
'eebohm ?owntree in his famous poverty studies of Jor* in 1"!! and
1!3>, or by Charles ooth in his nineteenth$century study of poverty in
,ondon. A.G. 'en argued that absolute poverty should be calculated
where starvation and hunger prevails chronically. 0n the light of this
statement we will concentrate our study on absolute poverty, as starvation
and hunger are the daily matters of the developing countries.
*(*9 :easurement of poverty:
There are a number of aggregate measures of poverty that can be
computed. ut no measure is without criticism. ?avallion 71!!"8 argued,
HA credible measure of poverty can be a powerful instrument for focusing
the attention of policy ma*ers on the living condition of the poor.I A
good measure of poverty would allowD
allow one to assess the effects of pro+ects, crises, or government
policies, on poverty,
permit one to compare poverty overtime,
enable one to ma*e comparisons with other countries and
target the poor with a view to improving their conditions.
'ome of the often$used measures are described below for our better
understanding.
*(*9(* 3ead )ount Index:
y far the most widely used measure is the Headcount index,
which simply measures the proportion of the population that is counted as
poor. 1ational headcount index is the percentage of the population living
below the poverty line deemed appropriate for the country by its
authorities. 1ational estimates are based on population$weighted
subgroup estimates from household surveys. This can simply be
expressed as in the followingD
N
N
z y I N P
P
O
= = 8 7 < 1
Where 1 is the total population and 0 7.8 is an indicator function
that ta*es on a value of 1 if the brac*eted expression is true and 4
otherwise. 'o if expenditure 7y8 is less than the poverty line 7/8, then 0 7.8
e)ual to 1 and the household would be counted as poor. And 1
6
is the
total number of the poor. This can also be expressed in the percentage
form. What we calculate using the head$count index is the percentage of
individuals who are poor not the percentage of households. The great
virtue of the head count index is that it is simply to construct and easy to
understand. However the measure has the following wea*ness.
it does not ta*e the intensity of poverty into account,
it does not indicate how poor the poor are, and hence, does not
change if people below the poverty line become poorer and
this index is calculated for the individuals but not the households.
*(*9(, Poverty "ap Index:
A moderately popular measure of poverty is the poverty gap index,
which adds up the extent to which individuals fall below the poverty line
and expresses it as a percentage of the poverty line. 6overty gap 72
n8
is
defined as the poverty line 7/8 less actual income 7y8 for the poor
individuals. The gap is considered to be /ero for everyone else. Bsing the
index function we can the formula as in the following wayD
8 7 8 7 z y I y z G
n
=
Then the 6overty 2ap 0ndex may be written asD
This measure is the mean proportionate gap in the population
7where the non$poor have /ero poverty gaps8. 'ome people thin* of this
measure as the cost of eliminating poverty 7relative to poverty line8
because it shows how much would have to be transferred to the poor to
bring their incomes 7or expenditure8 to the poverty line. The minimum
cost is the sum of the poverty gaps.
6overty gap measure has the virtue that it does not imply that there
is a discontinuity 7H+umpI8 at the poverty line. Jet a serious shortcoming
of this measure is that it may not convincingly capture differences in the
severity of poverty amongst the poor. The 6overty 2ap 0ndex is the
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=
=
N
i
n
I
z
G
N
P
1
1
average over all people, of the gaps between poor people9s standard of
living and the poverty line, expressed as ratio to the poverty line.
*(*9(- S;uared Poverty "ap Index:
-any researchers and practitioners use the s)uared poverty gap
index to solve the problem of ine)uality among the poor. This is simply a
weighted sum of poverty gaps 7as proportion of the poverty line8, where
weights are the proportionate poverty gaps them. The measure of s)uared
poverty index implicitly puts more weights on observations that fall well
below the poverty line. -athematically,
( )
.
1
1

=
=
N
i
n
I
z
G
N
P
This measure lac*s intuitive appeal, because it is not easy to
interpret and so it is not used very widely.
*(*9(/ Sen Index:
'en 71!5>8 proposed an index that sought to combine the effects of
the number of poor, the depth of the poverty and the distribution of the
poverty within the group. The index is given by
) ( ( )
z
G P P
p
P
s

= 1 1
4
Where 6
4
is the head$count index,
p
is the mean income 7or

expenditure8 of the poor, 2
p
is the 2ini coefficient of ine)uality among
the poor. The 2ini coefficient ranges from 4 7perfect e)uality8 to 1
7perfect ine)uality8. The 'en index can also be written as the average of
the headcount and poverty gap measures weighted by the 2ini coefficient
of the poor. This expression loo*s li*e the followingD
6
'
K6
4
2
6
L 6
0
71$2
6
8
The 'en 0ndex has widely been discussed and has the virtue of
ta*ing the income distribution among the poor into account. However the
index is almost never used outside the academic literature, perhaps
because it lac*s the intuitive appeal of some of the simpler measure of
poverty, but also because it Hcan not be used to decompose poverty into
contributions from different subgroupsI7:eaton8.
*(*9(0 Poverty "ap <*=day:
6overty 2ap M1<day is the mean shortfall from the poverty line
7counting the non$poor as having /ero shortfall8, expressed as percentage
of the poverty line. The shortfall is calculated by averaging incomes
7anything above the poverty line counting as M18 and subtracted that
average from the poverty line. This measure reflects the depth of poverty
as well as its incidence. The poverty line in this case, is M1.4" a day at
1!!3 international prices 7e)uivalent to M1 in 1!"% prices, ad+usted for
purchasing power parity8. 6overty 2ap ?atio is defined as incidence
time9s depth of poverty.
*(*9(2 Incidence of Extreme Poverty: 6opulation elow M1 6er
:ay.
The most commonly used poverty indicators are 7'ourceD B1A'CA6
1!!!8D

The head count 0ndex 7H8D This is simply the proportion of the
population with a standard of living below the poverty line. This
indicator is only good in telling how many are poor.
The 0ncome$2ap 0ndex 708D This is the percentage that falls short of
the average income of the poor as indicated by the poverty line.
6overty sensitivity index 7;oster, 2reer and Thorbec*e 0ndex8 6xD
This incorporates sensitivity with regard to distribution within the
poor themselves.
2ini coefficient or une)ual distribution of income<expenditureD the
2ini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income
7or in some cases the consumption expenditure8 among individuals
or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly e)ual
distribution. A 2ini index score of /ero implies perfect e)uality
while a score of one implies perfect ine)uality. The 2ini
coefficient measures the ine)uality in income and expenditures.
0t is important to remember that all poverty indicators are relative.
*(*9(4 Poverty Trap:
The phenomenon of chronic poverty is best analy/ed through
examination of the nature of poverty traps. A poverty trap is defined as a
situation in which poverty has effects, which act as causes of poverty
7Charles 2ore8. This implies that there exists a vicious cycle of poverty
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and there are some factors which contribute to the individuals or
households or a country to get stuc* in a poverty trap.
*(** )onceptuali#ing "Os
As commonly conceptuali/ed and defined 12Os tend to have a
well$specified mission, but most of the cases they wor* as mostly
professional in the sense that in order to have their services, people
re)uired to have some s*ill. All of the 12Os have their formal structure,
salaried staff and clients. ig 12Os render support to other organi/ation,
mostly community based organi/ations and sometimes governmental
agencies. 0n a broader sense, the definition of 12Os encompasses all
*inds of voluntary and private non$profit organi/ations. :ale 7.4448
defined non$profit organi/ations as those that are specified in the laws of
a country and are exempted from taxation.
12O interventions refer to those programs activities those aim to
alleviate or reduce poverty through their program action. There are
mainly three indicators of 12O interventions$economic, social and
institutional interventions. 0ncome generation, asset building, saving
scheme, production and employment creation constitute the economic
intervention. Housing, health and sanitation, education and empowerment
constitute the social intervention. 0nstitution building, access to
institutional credit, s*ill and capacity building comprise the institutional
intervention.
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)hapter II
>iterature Revie'
,(* The )oncept of Poverty
There is still no internationally accepted definition of poverty$
unli*e measures such as employment, unemployment, gross domestic
product, consumer prices, international trade and so on. This is not
surprising( perhaps, given the absence of an international consensus on
what poverty is a how it should be measured. 'uch consensus preceded
the development of all other international standard 76in*er, 1!!!( World
an*, 1!!>( C0?:A6, 1!!#$%8. The lac* of an internationally accepted
definition has also reflected indecision as to whether an international
standard definition should allow comparisons of well$being across
countries compared to some international norm, or whether poverty lines
should be established according to the norms within each country 71ovib,
1!!%( 2ordon and 'pic*er, 1!!!8.
The underlying difficulty is due to the fact that poverty is
intrinsically a )uestion of social consensus, at a given point in time and in
the context of a given country. 'omeone acceptably well off in terms of
the standards in a developing country might well be considered
desperately poor in a country of developed world. And even within the
same country, the outloo* changes over time. A standard of living
considered as acceptable in the previous century might well be viewed
with abhorrence today 7'iddi)ui, .444( Hye, 1!!!8.
6overty refers to forms of economic social and psychological
derivation occurring among people lac*ing sufficient ownership, control
or access to resources to maintain or provide individual or collective
minimum levels of living 7Chowdhury, .44.( Hyder, 1!!!8. 0n this
situation, the ability to provide for minimum nutrition, health education,
shelter, security, leisure or other aspects of life is impaired. 6overty, as
per this definition, represents an exclusionary relation denoting the state
of being excluded from or denied access to a pac*age of resources
7?utherford, 1!!%8. 6overty, narrowly, is measured by the percentage of
population having incomes below the minimum expenditure re)uired for
meeting the basic needs. A minimum nutritional diet consisting of food
items typically consumed is first estimated and the diet is then valued at
representative prices 7Hye, 1!!>8. 6overty has social and cultural
ramifications of inade)uate income which has casual lin*s with many
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other forms of deprivation, including inade)uate access to health care,
housing, educational services and employment opportunities 76in*er,
1!!!( -omin, 1!!.( ,ovell, 1!!>( A'CA6, 1!!"8.
The two features of poverty NwantN and N deprivationN are defined
respectively as failure of flows and failure of stoc* are services derived
from material goods and human capital 7e.g. education, housing and
security8, whereas flows are simply goods for immediate consumption
7'iddi)ui, .4448. The core basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter,
health, education, drin*ing water and contraception )uantify the
acceptable per capita re)uirement. Thus, the cost of the acceptable cluster
of this basic needs constitute the poverty line, and persons who cannot
afford this are regarded as poor 7,ovell, 1!!>( 'iddi)ui, .4448. 6overty is
defined as ine)uities in the distribution of five resources including cash
income, capital asset, occupational fringe benefits, current public services
and private income in *ind 7Townsend, 1!548.
The concept of poverty as powerlessness underlies 7;igure ..18 the
importance of economic vulnerability, physical wea*ness refers to having
poor health, with fre)uent births and deaths, with high ratio of dependants
to able$bodied adults, while isolation refers to living far away from
centers of communication and information etc, and receiving no or few
visits by extension wor*ers, relatives friends 7Chambers, 1!!3( 'iddi)ui,
.444( :ale, .444( B1:6, 1!!>8. @ulnerability refers to having little
resistance against unexpected and occasionally occurring unfavorable
events, which often forces them to incur more debt or to sell or mortgage
assets.
,(, >iterature Revie'
?eading discourses right is important. The discourse around micro$
finance and poverty reduction has been and is being shaped by the ideas
and thoughts of the social scientists. The elimination of poverty all over
the world has become a much$discussed international issue. 'till there is
no internationally accepted definition of poverty. This is not surprising,
perhaps, given the absence of an international consensus on what poverty
is and how it should be measured. The lac* of an internationally accepted
definition has also reflected indecision as to whether an international
standard definition should allow comparisons of well$being across
countries compared to some international norm, or whether poverty lines
should be established according to the norms within each country 71ovib,
1!!%( 2ordon and 'pic*er, 1!!!8. The existing evidence on the impact of
micro$credit on poverty alleviation in angladesh is not precise. The
micro$finance revolution has changed attitudes towards helping the poor
in many countries and in some has provided substantial flows of credit,
often to the very low$ income groups or households, who would normally
be excluded by conventional financial institutions. angladesh is the
star*est example of a very poor country, where currently roughly one
)uarter of rural households are direct beneficiaries of the programs
7Ghand*er .4438. There is another wor* that suggests that access to credit
has the potential to reduce the poverty significantly 7Ghand*er 1!!"8.
-orduch 71!!"8 argued in his reading that micro$credit has the minimal
impact on poverty reduction. The provision of micro$credit has been
found to strengthen crisis$coping mechanisms, diversify income$
generating sources, building assets and improve the status of women
7Hashemi et al 1!!>, -ontgomery et al 1!!>, -orduch 1!!", Husain et
al 1!!"8. Axecutive summary of the studies on 12O,s done by the faculty
of angladesh Academy for ?ural :evelopment 7A?:8, Comilla in
1!"1 made me possible to comprehend the ma+or purposes, activities and
policies of leading 12O,s of angladesh, 7'atter and Abedin,1!"18. 0n a
very limited way this study also attempted to critically evaluate some of
the 12Os activities.
A recent past study on the 12Os made by Aditee 1ag Chowdhury
71!"!8 is H ,et 2rass ?oots 'pea*I. This study analyses the activities of
some leading 12Os li*e ?AC, 6roshi*a, 1i+era Gari, etc. 0t attempts to
explain the techni)ues of poverty alleviation in general but does not
analysis the role of 12Os separately. Another important research on the
12Os conducted by -. Alauddin 71!"#8 is Combating ?ural 6overtyD
Approaches and Axperiences of 12Os.I 0t deals with the policies,
techni)ues methods of the 12Os activities in general and the actions of
some selected leading 12Os in particular. 0t does not elaborately explain
the role of the 12Os in the context of economic and social development
of angladesh.
ose 71!>"8 and Alamgir 71!5#8 used income indicator to study
the living condition of the rural and urban population in order to analy/e
the trends of the real income of the agricultural labor households. ose
used the unweighted average data on the daily money wages collected by
the :irectorate of Agriculture, and concluded that the level of living of
the people having some or no land and depending on wage$labor was
lower in the 1!%4s and did not appreciably raise in the 1!>4s. ;ollowing
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the same methodology, Alamgir extended ose9s series up to 1!53 and
concluded that the series based on wage$data collected by the :irectorate
of Agriculture indicated that li*e the nominal wage$earnings, real wages
were lower in the 1!%4s. 0t was only in 1!>1 that the real wages
registered some upward trend, but there was a sharply declining trend in
real wages following 1!>!. He also constructed a new consumer price
index for the period 1!>5$53 using an alternative set of wage$data
collected by the ureau of 'tatistics and following different procedures
than those of ose. This also gave the result of a similar trend.
Though these path$brea*ing studies dealt with the magnitude of
poverty in angladesh, the methodology and indicators used by them had
several limitations. oth researchers agreed that the studies used
published data, which were doubtful. Bnavailability of reliable data has
remained a serious constraint in macro$studies.
0ncome indicator had obvious wea*nesses that are the followingsD
7a8 the estimated real wage$earnings do not measure the level of
living of the agricultural laborer households as they do their
wor*s by their individual labor(
7b8 the wage$earnings do not indicate the consumption of home$
produced goods( and
7c8 the trend in real earnings is )uite obscure since real wage$rate
can fall and total earnings rise if the number of days wor*ed and
the number of hours spent for wor*ing there increase.
Alamgir also used per capita consumption expenditure data
7collected through Central 'tatistical Office9s 'ample 'urveys8 to
measure the level of living of the various groups of population. His
analysis of the trend in per capita consumer expenditure by income
groups did not bring out any conclusive result. He, however, identified
clear$cut differences in the pattern of consumption between rural and
urban areas. He further analy/ed the data on consumer expenditure on
food and related items by income groups ta*ing different time periods for
the rural and urban areas. He concluded that the proportion of income
spent on food and related items decline with the upper income groups in
both rural and urban areas but the rate of decline is much more rapid in
urban than that of rural areas. The data used for this analysis were also
published data and hence it also lac*s reliability. -oreover, the
relationship between the expenditure pattern and the level of living is not
simple. -any factors such as level of income, family si/e, social and
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physical environment, life$style and related factors govern the pattern of
consumer expenditure.
Alamgir 71!5#8 and -u+ahid 71!558 constructed consumption
bas*ets per capita and applied the national data collected by the
angladesh ureau of 'tatistics 7'8 in order to measure the
magnitudes and trends in poverty. Alamgir constructed consumption
bas*ets that satisfy .144 cal and #%g protein re)uirements of an average
person per day. ased on the retail prices of 1!>>, he calculated the per
annum expenditure of ta*a .!" and ta*a .%. for the urban and rural areas,
respectively. He found that in 1!>!, more than 53 per cent of the
population was living under the poverty line and the proportion was
lower in the urban areas. 0n the urban areas the proportion of people
below the poverty line seemed to have declined.
-u+ahid critici/ed Alamgir9s methodology since the latter
completely ignored the possibility of from the average variations in per
capital expenditure of persons comprising the households falling within a
given income$group. He adopted an alternative methodology to construct
estimates of poverty depending on the same data. He estimated poverty
based on monthly income instead of expenditure on food. -u+ahid found
the rise in the extent of poverty in urban areas. Thus the result is contrary
to the findings of Alamgir.
Construction of a consumption bas*et is not easy as there are many
problems relating to fixing average nutritional norms, choice of
appropriate price to value the minimum consumption bas*et and also the
choice of appropriate price index to deflate current price expenditure on
food and related items. As a result, the application of this measure often
brings out conflicting result. Hartman and oyce 71!5!8 emphasi/e the
importance of land ownership in angladesh and dramati/e by reporting
that land determines who eats and who dose not. Wood Oin Ameerul Hu)
7ed.8, 1!5>DP considers uneven distribution of land ownership as the ma+or
cause of poverty. A 1etherlands 'tudy 7ol et al, 1!5"8 concludes that
land ownership is the *ey factor in the understanding of rural poverty.
'iddi)ui 71!".8 also considers land as an important factor in social
development and cautions that no development program would be
successful without reorgani/ing the social structure that attaches so much
significance to land ownership.
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A spectacular feature of rural angladesh is its ever$increasing
landlessness. 0n 1!%1 ladles laborers comprised of 1#..% percent of all
rural households, whereas in 1!>1 the figure rose to 15.%.. A benchmar*
survey conducted in 1!53$5% of 5514 rural households in 1. districts of
angladesh indicated that the estimated percentage of ladles households
at 35.>! percent 7Abdullah, et al., 1!5>8. ;amilies with less than one acre
are considered functionally as ladles. Then it implies that >4 per cent of
all rural households in 1!55 were ladles 7 Qannu/i and 6each, 1!558.
Ruoting B1:6 < ;AO 'tatistics, Qones 71!5!8 calculated that ladles
households were increasing at #.% percent in contrast to the population
increase of .." percent. The second five$year plan of angladesh
estimated that %4 per cent of the rural population have either no land or
land below one acre and ladles is considered as important indicator of
poverty. ?ural poverty ine)uality continued to accentuate due to
concentration of land in the hands of few. 0n the third plan, they estimated
that the number of landless and the functional landless 7below 1.% acre8
around two$thirds of all rural households. 0n a recent union level research,
;arou* 71!"%8 found that the number of families owning 4$1 acre doubled
from .".51 to %5.!% per cent within seventeen years.
6overty refers to forms of economic, social and psychological
deprivation occurring among people lac*ing sufficient ownership, control
or access to resources to maintain or provide individual or collective
minimum levels of living 7Chowdhury, .44.( Hyder, 1!!!8. 6overty has
social and cultural ramifications of inade)uate income which has causal
lin*s with many other forms of deprivation, including inade)uate access
to health care, housing, educational services and employment
opportunities 76in*er, 1!!!( -omin, 1!!.( ,ovell, 1!!>( A'CA6, 1!!"8.
The two main features of poverty are want and deprivation. These
are defined respectively as failure of flows and failure of stoc* in terms of
material goods and human capital li*e education, housing and security.
'iddi)ui 7.4448 defined the flows as simply the goods that are re)uired
for immediate consumption. The core basic needs such as food, clothing,
shelter, health, education, drin*ing water and contraception )uantify the
acceptable per capita re)uirements. Thus the cost to meet up these basic
needs may constitute the poverty line.
The concept of poverty may be defined as the powerless. This in
turn underlie the importance of economic vulnerability, physical
wea*ness refers to having poor health, with fre)uent births and deaths,
with high ratio of dependants to able$bodied adults. 0solation may also be
defined as one of the factors of poverty. 0solation can be defined as the
place or region that is far away from the center of communication and
information etc.
,(- Rural Poverty in Bangladesh
The population of angladesh in .441 is 1.!.. million( of whom
"4& live in rural areas. These areas are characteri/ed by extremely
une)ual access to land, which is the critical productive resource 7',
1!!1( 6op Census, .4418. The top 14& of land owners own some >4& of
the land, whilst the bottom >4& hold in total only 1.4& of the available
land. Thus, between %4 and >4& of the rural population are functionally
landless 7i.e. they, therefore have a substantial degree of control over
rural areas and their population, which they exert for their own benefit in
response to development initiatives from outside parties.
0n almost all rural areas, the supply of labor is much higher than
the available agricultural wor*. A recent study by the angladesh
institute of :evelopment 'tudies 70:'8 shows that rural income from
manual labor grew at the slowest rate of all sectors, because of the
oversupply, and that the real value of agricultural wages is steadily
declining 7B1:6, 1!!>8. Opportunities for the poor outside this sector
also extremely limited. The only area in which the poor show some
relative gain in recent years is trading, in which they have become
increasingly active. The institute attributes this improvements to the
growth of governmental, private and non$governmental programs which
are providing the poor with access to credit for self$employment
activities, which concentrate particularly in the field of small$scale
trading 7Garim, 1!!!( Hye, 1!!>8 About #>& of the population are
females. They suffer substantial disadvantages in angladesh society,
including the followingD poorer nutritional status, lower life expectancy,
less access to education and literacy, lower participation in the labor
forces and less wages for comparable wor*. ;emale$headed households
hold the poorest position of all, and there are many restrictions imposed
by the religious re)uirements of purdah 7'alahudding and 'hamim, 1!!>(
Ghan, 1!!"8
,(/ The 6ynamics of Rural Poverty
'ince poverty is so pervasive in angladesh, the great ma+ority of
the poor are functionally landless, and there are relatively few formal
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sector employment opportunities in rural areas, poverty alleviation
strategies of 12Os have focused particularly on possibilities for income
generation through self$employment 7Aminu//aman and egum, .4448.
,(0 Poverty Trend in Rural Bangladesh
According to human poverty index for developing countries,
angladesh ran*s sixty$seven, 1.th from the bottom, among seventy$
eight developing countries 7Human :evelopment ?eport. 1!!58. Human
:evelopment index ran*ing of angladesh is e)ually depressing. 'he
ran*s 1.3 among 1#> countries 7Human :evelopment ?eport. 1!!58.
@ery similar picture is reflected in the World an* new system of
measuring the real wealth of nations, angladesh ran*ing 1. from the
bottom among 1!. countries. The wealth endowment of the country is
estimated at only 3.> percent of the global average with 5! percent of the
countryNs wealth being attributed to human resources. This underlines the
significant relative deprivation in terms of human development. An inter$
country comparison of wealth among selected countries highlights the
predicaments of angladesh.
Bnited 1ations 0nternational ;und for Agricultural :evelopment
70;A:8, 7.4448 estimates that over 5%& of the poor people in the world
live in rural areas of developing countries 7as defined by 0ntegrated
6overty 0ndex$0608. 0n terms of absolute numbers, Asia dominates the
picture of world poverty with >33 million rural poor 72ordo and 'pic*er,
1!!!8. angladesh is predominantly rural and the ma+ority 7About "4&8
of the poor live in the rural areas. Widespread poverty fogs all other
achievements made in angladesh during the almost )uarter of a century
of planned development 7Hye, 1!!>8. 6overty is also deepening, creating
a class of hard$core$poor. After about three decades emphasi/ing on
poverty alleviation, it had to be admitted recently that despite government
and non$governmental organi/ation9s efforts and implementation of
various programs, poverty continues to be pervasive and overwhelming
7'iddi)ui, 1!!>( -ustafa, 1!!.8.
:etailed statistical investigation in to the economic life of a district
in central angladesh carried out by Qac* QC, the ritish Administrator
71!148, on the basis consumption expenditure estimated the %1& of the
rural population lived in absolute poverty. 0n 1!!#, a surveyed was done
in th same district by angladesh 0nstitute of :evelopment 'tudies and
found that the poverty trends show little change over "4 years since 1!14.
The findings of 0:' research were that %.& of rural people in that
district lived in absolute poverty 70:', 1!!"( ', 1!!>8. 6eriodic
Household Axpenditure 'urveys 7HA'8 carried out by the angladesh
ureau of 'tatistics 7'8 is the ma+or source of information for
estimating poverty. There are 14 surveys carried out, the earliest
beginning with 1!53<5# and the latest ending with 1!!%<!>. 6overty has
declined in both rural and urban areas considerably over the entire period.
As per Cost of asic 1eeds 7C18 method, the level to rural absolute
poverty was assessed at 51& in 1!53<5#. 0t declined to %3& in 1!!1<!..
According to the :irect Calorie 0nta*e 7:C08 method, the matched figure
dropped form as high as !3& in 1!53<5# to #>& in 1!!%<!> 7', 1!!>(
B1:6, 1!!%8.
The nutritional status of the under$five children, which is very
sensitive to the non$food environment, shows extremely unsatisfactory
progress. The proportion of underweight children dropped by only five
percentage points during the half of the nineties 7-u+eri, 1!!38. 0nfant
morality has gone down from 111 in 1!"1 to 55 in 1!!>( maternal
morality has also dropped albeit at a slow pace from >%4 in 1!"> to ##4
in 1!!%.
Compared to the levels prevailing in the early seventies, both rural
and urban poverty increased in the mid seventies 7possibly a reflection of
the continued effects at a time when the spread of new HJ@ technology
begun to get momentum. The trend continued unabated till the mid$
eighties 7?ahman, 1!!"8. 'ubse)uent to that, poverty started to rise again
in angladesh, The early nineties the estimated poverty was higher than
the level observed for 1!"%<"> in both rural and urban areas. The head
count measure of rural poverty has slightly gone down during the first
half of the nineties( from %3& in 1!!1<!. to %1& in 1!!%<!>. Over the
entire period between 1!"3<"# and 1!!%<!>, the rural head count declined
by only ..5 percentage points 7'en, 1!!>( -an+i, 1!!!, Ghad*er, 1!!"8.
:espite of the faster rate poverty reduction in urban areas, its
overall impact on the poverty state of the nation has been rather modest
due to the low weight of urban population. According to the recent World
an* estimates, the national head$count declined by only 4.% percentage
point per year during 1!"3$!%. ?elative consumption ine)uality has
increased considerably in both rural and urban areas. The urban 2ini
index went up to 35& in 1!!%<!> from 3.& in 1!!1<!.. 'imilarly, the
rural 2ini index rose to .!& from during the simpered 7'en, 1!!>8.
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According to the fifth plan document of angladesh 2overnment,
the over all adult literacy rate has increased from .>& in the mid$
seventies to #>& in the mid$nineties. -ale literacy rate was about three
times higher than female in the mid$seventies( the gape was reduced to
35& by the mid nineties. The aggregate allocation of resources, which
has either a direct or indirect bearing on rural poverty, has gone up
substantially since early eighties, from a level of 34& to %4& by 1!!#<!%
7', 1!!>8.
Table ..1 shows that both absolute and extreme poverty situations
worsened with the passage of time in angladesh. ;rom 1!>3 to 1!5#,
the extreme poor increased about eight times, while the absolute poor
doubled in this period. The situation continued to worsen. ;rom 1!5# to
1!">, the rate of the poor lowered slightly, while in 1!". was the highest
7Ghan, 1!!58.
Table ..1 ?ural 6overty in angladesh 71!>3$1!5#8
Jear Absolute poor 7&8 Axtreme poor
7&8
Households 6opulation Households
6opulation
1!>3$># %5.5 #4.. !."
%..
1!>"$>! "#.1 5%.4 3#.>
.%.1
1!53$5# ">.% 5".% %#.1
#..1
'ourceD *han, 1!55
The following figure presents the trends in poverty in angladesh
from 1!5# to 1!"> based on the nutritionally determined income norm
Andean household expenditure.
,(0(* A.solute poverty trends in Bangladesh $*877=78 to
,999=9*&
Table ... reveals the steady situation of poverty trend of rural
areas. 0n twelve years, the percentage of poor population under poverty
line has reduced from #5." to #%.1 7only by ..5&8
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Table ... 6opulation below the poverty ,ine 70n &8
Jear ?ural Brban
1!""<"! #5." #5.>
1!!1<!. #5.> #>.5
1!!%<!> #5.1 #!.5
.444<41 #%.1 #".>
'ourceD ', 1!!5 World an*, .441.
The following graph will give us a clear picture of trend of rural and
urban poverty in angladesh.
;ig$..1D 6overty trends in rural and urban areas of angladesh.
,(2 The "overnment and poverty
-ost government programs are intended to benefit the poor to
some extent. Activities expected to target them particularly includeD
$ :istribution of landD After the independence all the governments
were promised to redistribute the agricultural lands but a few has been
done. Aven Gashland has rarely been made available to the poor.
However, such is the gravity of the imbalance between population. ut it
could have the substantial impact on the reduction of rural poverty.
$Availability of creditD The credit$worthiness of the poor was
demonstrated by the success of the 2rameen an*. This was ta*en over
by 2overnment, with the aim of providing its credit services to all thanas
in the country. Other agencies and large numbers of 12Os have also
established somewhat similar programs.
$Amployment generationD 2overnment efforts, although
substantial, have had little impact in view of the consistently high
numbers of new entrants into the labor mar*et. 'ocial service provision,
particularly health and education. 'hortages of )ualified personnel limit
the achievements of government systems and are aggravated by
insufficient facilities and e)uipment. 0n the face of a rising population,
expenditure on social services has become increasingly inade)uate and
amounts to only some ..3 per cent of 216 according to World an*
figures.
$?elief and rehabilitationD -any such programs combine
infrastructure provision or maintenance with employment generation.
Axamples have included S;ood for Wor*9, the ?oad -aintenance 6ro+ect
and the @ulnerable 2roup :evelopment 6rogram. 'ome of these
programs are extremely large. ;or example, in 1!!1<., the ;ood for
Wor*s program generated some 5. million labors days, mainly during the
agricultural slac* season, the payment for which was made in food grain.
'uch programs have helped the rural employment situation and improved
food security for households involved. However, they have also been
critici/ed for failing to reach the most needy, for widespread corruption
and misappropriation of benefits and for providing infrastructure, which
brings more benefits to the landed than the ladles.
,(4 The emergence of the "Os in Bangladesh
The history of voluntary wor* and voluntary organi/ations is
longer than that of 12Os in angladesh. The inception of 12Os in
angladesh is a recent phenomenon and 12O movement started only
after the liberation war in 1!5.. A number of national and international
12Os started wor* as a relief and rehabilitation organi/ations to
rehabilitate and resettle the war victims and the refugees returning from
0ndia +ust after the war of independence in 1!51. -ost of the 12Os
started their initiatives particularly in the rural areas. The flood and
famine in 1!5# was a watershed that made them reali/e that improvement
in the socio$economic conditions of the rural poor was not possible
through relief alone 7Hasnat 1!!>8. 'ince then most of the 12Os in
angladesh started to switch from the relief and rehabilitation to the
development assistance through community based approach. 'ome of the
12Os concentrated them in health and family planning and others in
raising consciousness and human resource development to attain self$
reliance. 0n course of time the 12Os are changing their strategies and
initiating new programs focusing on to alleviate poverty. ;or the
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implementation of the programs, they first set some characteristics for a
target group with similar characteristics although there are significant
differences from one to other. Today most of the 12Os are involved in
the diversified development activities while some local 12Os
concentrated their activities only on the poverty alleviation.
,(7 Typology of "Os
12Os can be of different types based on their programs. 0n
contrast, a same program of different 12Os is wor*ing for the different
target groups in angladesh. 'o 12Os can be categori/ed following the
programs or the target group or target development activities. ;or the
simplicity categori/ation is done on the basis of the programs as
programs can tell us where and for whom they are operating. On the basis
of programs, they can be categori/ed as -icro$credit, Health, Aducation,
Advocacy, Anvironment, infrastructure, 0nformation, Cultural, Housing
and ,and :evelopment, 'ocial 'afety 1et, 0ntegrated development,
0ncome 2enerating Activities etc. :efinitely there are overlapping among
the programs and there are some multi$sectoral 12Os 7basically national
12Os8 who are operating different programs and some are uni$sectoral
12Os 7basically local 12Os8 who are specially engaged a single
program.
,(8 Role of "Os in Bangladesh
The great ma+orities of indigenous 12Os in angladesh are engaged
in activities falling under the SWelfare9 category and are registered under
the @oluntary 'ocial Welfare Agencies Act 7as described, for example,
An Assessment of the ?ole and 0mpact of 12Os in angladesh9, Asian
:evelopment an*, :ecember 1!!.8. 'uch organi/ations are counted to
number over 13,444, but few of these are believed to be currently active.
-ain areas of operation include health and family planning, whilst other
organi/ations come into activity only in espouse to natural calamities.
Only some .44 indigenous bodies registered under this act are using
foreign funding sources. -ore than !4 overseas bodies also have such
registration, even though many of these are in fact developmentally
focused.
?egistration of the developmental 12Os receiving foreign funding
should be registered with the 12O Affairs ureau and nearly !44 have
such a registration 7this was only 344 in 1!!18. They should then comply
with the provision of a series of Ordinances passed in 1!5" and 1!". 7see
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'ection 3.".18. Other 12Os not under the view of the ureau are
registered with the 'ocial 'ervices -inistry, :epartment of Aducation,
:epartment of Jouth Affairs, -inistry of ;orests and the Anvironment or
the Women9s Affairs -inistry and receive overseas pro+ect funding
directly through the respective line -inistries.
;rom an early stage, developmental 12Os have laid emphasis on
empowering the poor against those above them in the social system,
notably landowners, moneylenders and local politicians, which are often
closely inter$connected or overlapping categories. These members of the
local elite are depriving the poor from opportunities to sustain themselves
through productive activities and monopoli/ing access to resources
provided by 2overnment.
Aarly attempts to empower the poor had an ideological focus,
placing emphasis on the process of Sconcreti/ation9 through a cycle of
action, reflection and improved action, often in parallel with educational
and training activities. Whilst some 12Os, 7such as 1i+era Gori, see
'ection ".38 retain their concentration on this process, many others now
place their ma+or emphasis on provision of services, and most particularly
credit, with concentration remaining as a relatively minor component of
activities in the field. Although the main emphasis of many 12Os has
shifted from consciousness$raising activities, most still operate under an
ideological approach, which differs from that underlying government
programs in similar fields. ;or example, in an A: report 7 A: 1!!.8 it
is observed that Smany 12Os have micro$credit < employment$generation
pro+ects similar to the 2overnment9s ?:$?ural 6oor 6rogram. 0n the
former, however, the care and attention given to the formation of
borrower groups is much greater and is provided within a particular
value$framewor*. The far less rigorous social preparation of ?: is
generally accepted as the ma+or reason for lower group sustainability,
poorer loan recovery and greater miss$ targeting compared to ma+or 12O
programs9.
,(*9 :a1or Sectors of "O Operation
-a+or sectors in which 12Os are currently operating are as followsD
0ntegrated rural development
'avings and credit
;amily planning
0ncome generation and training
Women9s development
Health
Aducation
Adult education
?elief and rehabilitation
'ocial awareness and motivation
Agriculture
;isheries
,egal aid
Human and civil rights
?ehabilitation of blind and < or disabled
Child development
Children9s homes and orphanages
Anvironment and forestry
6ublic health.
These operational sectors are combined in various ways to meet local
needs, 12O capacities and donor and < or angladeshi government
re)uirements. 0n addition to these specific activities, many of which can
be grouped under the broad rubric of poverty alleviation, most 12Os
have an underlying concern to raise the capacity of the poor to participate
in national social and democratic processes. This is underta*en through
raising the organi/ational strength of the poor by group formation and
development, as well as by encouraging the poor to avail themselves of
government services and to participate in national and local elections.
The success of the 1!!> national elections, in terms of conduct, rate of
participation and voter behavior, has been partly attributed to the
heightened political awareness at grassroots level, has been raised to a
considerable extent by the long$term efforts of 12Os, particularly in
rural areas.
'ome ma+or activities of 12O operation are outline below.
,(** Poverty alleviation
'ince poverty is so pervasive in angladesh, the great ma+ority of
the poor are functionally landless, and there are relatively few formal
sector employment opportunities in rural areas, poverty alleviation
strategies of 12Os have focused particularly on possibilities for income
generation through self$employment.

,(**(* 3ealth and family planning
;ew development 12Os are concentrating on speciali/ed health
and family planning programs, although many included elements of these
sectors in broader activities. Aven organi/ations, which began in this area,
have tended to broaden out to include income generation elements to
enable the poor to access health care services and products. Bnli*e in the
education sector, 12Os have rarely set up parallel programmes to those
of 2overnment. An important emphasis has been to inform the poor, so
that they can participate more fully in those aspects of government
service perceived tobe effective, such as immuni/ation and family
planning. This has often resulted in demonstrably higher participation
among 12O group members and in villages where 12Os are active.
0n family planning, 12Os have played a substantial role in raising
awareness and acceptability and in provision of products and services.
12Os speciali/ing in family planning have, however, so far remained
largely in urban areas.
,(**(, Environmental Activities
6overty and landlines have forced people to live in areas unsuitable
or dangerous for habitation. This exacerbates the tendency for fre)uent
disasters, which are often a combination of natural events with
inappropriate settlement patterns. 6opulation pressure also often leads to
excessive pressure on limited land and associated natural resources. -any
12Os in the years after 0ndependence placed considerable emphasis on
the necessity for land redistribution to reduce the pressure on
environmentally vulnerable areas. However, this process proved virtually
impossible to implement in the face of powerful coalitions between
landowners and the political system. Accordingly, attention shifted
towards other means of poverty alleviation and reducing environmental
stress. 'ocial forestry is an important area of concentration for some
12Os. 0t sometimes brings them into disagreement with 2overnment$
sponsored programs, which place more emphasis on physical replanting
targets than on social aspects. Areas in which cooperation between 12Os
2overnment have had substantial success include 12O member groups
leasing strips of roadside land for tree planting and maintenance, as well
as fish farming in formerly derelict government$owned ponds.
Acologically sustainable agriculture is another area in which several
12Os have substantial programs.
)hapter III
Research 6esign
-ethods and techni)ues applied to this study are mainly discussed in this
chapter. :ata were collected from the member and non$members of 12O
through a structured )uestionnaire in order to see the impacts of the 12O
programs. The research employed a holistic approach to see the role of
the 12Os in alleviating the widespread poverty. The analysis is
comprised of economic, institutional and social issues to observe the
diverse issues of poverty and the 12Os activities.
-(* :ethodology of the Study
As per the stated ob+ectives, different approaches would be used to
conduct the study. oth )uantitative and )ualitative methods were used to
collect data on economic, social institutional aspects and its change due
to rural development programs by a specific 12O 76roshi*a8. ;or the
)uantitative data, a structured )uestionnaire was administered among the
12O members and non$members and for the )ualitative data( in$depth
interviews were ta*en from the 12O members.
-(, Selection of "O
There are .4,444 12Os have been operating in angladesh. Of
those 12Os, 6roshi*a is one of the largest and it has the multi$faceted
development programs for the eradication of poverty. ;or this study
purpose 0 selected 6roshi*a for having the ideas on those development
programs and to comprehend the impact and<or functioning of those
programs in the case of scaling up the poor and also to recogni/e whether
any *ind of discrimination exists between the members and non$
members. As it is involved in an integrated poverty$eliminating program
consisting of the factors li*e cultural factors, social factors,
environmental factors, institutional factors etc., it will help us to
understand in what ways the members and the non$members are
differentiated.
-(- Selection of Study ?illage
Tangail district was purposively selected for the study. 'ix villages
of Tangail district namely ?osulpur. 'adullapur, ?aina, *agmara,
Chg*agmara, e*ramhati Capatipara aritharchala were selected for the
study.
-(/ Sample Selection
At list of .5" households were selected from the study village as a
sample consisting of two categories, namely, member households and
non$member households. -ember households are defined as those
households who are the involved in the 12Os functioning and the non$
member households, not involved. 6roportionate sampling was used for
this study. -ember and non$member households were selected
randomly.
Table$#D 'ampling :istribution across @illages
@illage 1ame ;re)uency 6ercent
'adulla pur #! 15.>
?asul pur >3 ...5
i*ram Hati %# 1!.#
Gaghmara %5 .4.%
-agurhata %% 1!."
Total .5" 144.4
-(0 Techni;ues of 6ata )ollection
oth )ualitative and )uantitative methods were applied to
investigate the lin*ages between development programs by 6roshi*a and
poverty alleviation. Alongside the )uestionnaire survey, techni)ues of the
)ualitative methods were used to collect relevant data and the information
regarding their perspectives. The )ualitative methods used in this study
were participant observation, case studies, in$depth interviews and
informal discussion with *ey informants. 0n$depth interviews were
partially recorded and extensive notes were ta*en. Total five case studies
were ta*en from the study village. ;or the )uantitative data, a structured
)uestionnaire, as*ing about their income, expenditure, sources of income,
sanitation, socio$demographic variables, was administered and data
collected both from the member and non$member households.
-(2 Tools for data analyses
;or ma*ing a lucid and meaningful analysis of the impact of rural
poverty alleviation programs by 6roshi*a 7a national 12O8 on the rural
development as well as socio$economic changes, the following statistical
and economic tools will be usedD
1. :escriptive summary statistics
.. 2raphical representation
3. 0nferential analysis
#. Confidence 0ntervals
%. Hypothesis testing regarding differences, and associations.
Contingency chi$s)uare test can be applied to investigate
association between socio$economic development of control group and
non$control group. 1on$member households were considered as the
control groups.
)hapter I?
Profiles of the Activities of Sample "O and Beneficiaries
/(* )oncept 6efinition of the study
2orman said about 12O, S1on$governmental 7private8 non$profit
agencies engaged in overseas provision of service for relief and
development purposes 7which8 derive at least a portion of their fund from
private charitable contribution9. 12Os or non$governmental
organi/ations are mostly *nown, now a day, as 6@:Os or 6rivate
@oluntary :evelopment Organi/ations, or 12:Os 71on$2overnmental
:evelopment Organi/ations8. As commonly conceptuali/ed and defined
they tend to have a well$specified mission, they usually provide services
that are considered as professional 7re)uiring people with some
speciali/ed s*ills for rendering them8, they have clearly identifiable
formal structure, they normally wor* with least some salaried staff and
often render support to other organi/ations, mostly community based
organi/ations, but also other, even governmental agencies. 12Os are
sometimes used with a broader meaning, even occasionally as
encompassing all *inds of voluntary and private non$profit organi/ations.
1on$profit organi/ations are those that are specified in the laws of a
country and are exempted from taxation. 0n angladesh, however, the
term 12Os refer to all such organi/ations and institutions that are
registered with the government under @oluntary 'ocial Welfare Agencies
7?egistration and Control8 Ordinance of 1!>1 and the ;oreign :onation
7@oluntary Activities8 ?egulations Ordinance of 1!5". 12Os could be
defined in Athiopian context as voluntary humanitarian private
organi/ations, non$profit ma*ing, non$ serving, non$political, non$
partisan and independents organi/ations involved in the promotion of
social +ustice and development using its own resources 7:66C, 1!!% 0n
Te*le, .4448.
0n angladesh, 12Os have been defined as association of persons
formed through initiative of a few committed persons dedicated to the
design, study, and implementation of development pro+ects at the grass
root level. The wor* outside government structure, but operate within the
legal framewor* of the country. They are involved in direct action
oriented pro+ects some times combined with study and research. Their
target population is primarily rural poor.
/(, Rural 6evelopment
?obert Chamber suggests, S?ural development is a strategy to
enable a specific group of people, poor rural women and men, to gain for
themselves and their children more of what they want and need. 0t
involves helping the poorest among those who see* a livelihood in the
rural areas to demand and control more of the benefits of development.
The group includes small$scale farmers, tenants and the landless9. Tim
roached opinion expressed by 12O Hexclusively$$$$$$ any voluntary
non$profit agency involved in the field of development cooperation or in
education and policy advocacy activities.I
/(- Proshi+a%s @nderstanding of Poverty
6roshi*a believes that mass poverty in angladesh stems from
structural deprivation. 0t is caused by the interplay of several factors such
as the une)ual distribution of productive assets, ine)uitable distribution
of income, unemployment and underemployment, low levels of human
resource development, lac* of people9s access to public institutions and
services, interloc*ed imperfect and distorted mar*et operations, a
patriarchal social system, environmental pollution and degradation, lac*
of good governance and development pro+ects which bypass the poor
7Towards a 6overty free 'ociety, 6lan for phase 1!"" p$!8. 0n the face of
such conditions, 6roshi*a argued that eradicating un+ust and distorted
systems is a vital prere)uisite for poverty eradication in angladesh. With
an understanding of this development ethics, 6roshi*a has been providing
support for structural poverty eradication throughout the country.
6roshi*a argued that as poverty is a structural problem in the
society of angladesh, it could be eradicated through providing support
for restructuring the social system and social structure. 6overty trend
analyses by various organi/ations have suggested )uite strongly that
improving the income of the poor has to be associated with corresponding
improvements in health, education, environment and people9s
participation in development activities. All these issues are inter$lin*ed
and interdependent and re)uire an integrated, innovative and multi$
dimensional approach to change the structurally uneven and un+ust socio$
economic system. Conversely, it can be said that poverty is created by a
combination of a set of economic, social, environmental and political
factors and any successful poverty alleviation strategy must have an
integrated approach to act upon all these factors in a synergistic way.
A sound framewor* for the analysis of poverty is needed to assess
the efficacy of any development strategies underta*en. The creation and
recreation of poverty is a process in which the resources of the poor$
economic, social, human, cultural and environmental$are eroded through
various relationships of a dominance$ dependence or patron$client nature.
Aconomic is eroded through unemployment, underemployment, low
wages, low prices paid for commodities produced and indebtedness to
moneylenders.
'ocial resources drain away through ine)uality in social relations,
loss of a sense of a community due to social atomi/ation, wea* hori/ontal
relationships between the poor, strong dominant relationships, the
oppression of women and lac* of their participation in the decision$
ma*ing process of the community and the state. Arosion of human
resources occurs due to illiteracy, ill health, lac* of employable s*ills,
lac* of confidence, lac* of an analytical ability to understand the causes
of poverty, fatalism, lac* of a co$operative attitude and superstitious
beliefs and practices.
Anvironmental resources are eroded when natural resources such as
land, water, air and forests are depleted and degraded. This not only
threatens the sustainability of crops, fish, livestoc* and biomes but also
creates health problems for the poor.
Cultural resource erosion occurs due to an adherence to a feudal
culture which endorses passivity, resignation, the devaluation of physical
labor, acceptance of social ine)uality and in+ustices, and patriarchal
values which marginalia women. These resource erosion processes are,
although separately identifiable, generally inter$lin*ed and mutually
reinforcing. ;or example, illness, dowry, illiteracy, and natural all
accentuate income losses. 6roshi*a9s policy, therefore, is to provide
support to beneficiaries through a multi$dimensional but integrated
approach in order to constrain the erosion of resources 70mpact study
1!!! p$"$148.
/(/ 6evelopment Activities of the Sample "Os
All the development programs of 6roshi*a are geared up to alleviate
poverty and improve the status of rural women. Here 1% activities of
proshi*a have been documented. -ost of the programs of 6roshi*a have
the similarities. The following information shed lights on the ongoing
activities of the 6roshi*a as a whole. -ost of the 6roshi*aNs programs are
rural development programs, institution building and social mobili/ation
and micro$finance. Other programs are income generation for vulnerable
group development, rural enterprise pro+ect, relief and rehabilitation
program, support enterprise, nutrition facilitation program, shushastho,
schools, union library, cultural integration of ethnic groups, support
enterprise.
/(/(* Organi#ation Building Among the Poor
6roshi*a encourages the poor living in the rural and urban areas to
organi/e themselves into groups, popularly *nown as sammitee. The
primary groups from group federations at village, union and thana level
already reaching to 14,.%% boarder organi/ational networ*s.
/(/(, 6evelopment Education
This consists of Human :evelopment Training 6rogram and
6ractical '*ills. A total of #>%,1.5 training courses on human
development were offered during 1!!#$1!!!. ",4>%,3.4 participants
attended these courses. 0n s*ill development training, the number of
courses offered during last five years was 35,1>#. A total of "#>,143
participants attended these courses during the period.
/(/(- PeopleAs )ultural Program
This program aims at using cultural resources as a means of
concreti/ation and empowerment. 'ince inception, 6?O'H0GA has
organi/ed a total of >#4 cultural troupes comprise of !,.4# members at
A:C level. Of them .,!>4 are women. 'ince women, in particular, are
deprived of participating in different cultural programs, 6roshi*a aims to
ensure the involvement of the women, which in turn, helps them to be
empowered.
/(/(/ 6evelopment Support )ommunication Programme $6S)P&
This program, with its different components, contributes to the
social empowerment for the poor by providing communication support to
other social development programs of 6roshi*a.
/(/(0 @niversal Education Program $@EP&
'o far 34,%>! adult literacy centers have been established.
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #4
/(/(2 Employment and Income "eneration $EI"& Activities
Activities in this program encompassD Atiological Agriculture(
,ivestoc*( ;isheries( 'ocial ;orestry( 0rrigation and Tilling Technology
'ervice( 'ericulture, Apiculture( Homestead 2ardening( 'eed production
and -ar*eting. The A02 Activities are initiated through building savings,
provision of credit 7T*.13 billion so far8 and extension of technical
assistance. Currently the group members are engaged in 1,"%,"#4
different income generating pro+ects creating ..3 million employment<self
employment opportunities.
/(/(4 :icro Binance
6roshi*a provides different types of collateralFfree loans to its
sammittee members, such as general, program and housing loans.
6resently, 6roshi*a gives three savings products$ 718 Wee*ly personal
savings, which is a wee*ly savings product where member can save any
amount with a minimum of T*.% per wee*. 7.8 Compulsory savings,
which is lin*ed to the loan products( and 738 Current account savings.
/(/(7 Integrated :ulti!sectoral ComenAs 6evelopment
Program
6?O'H0GA has introduced this program to address the problems
of women and reali/e their rights. Women groups constitute >4 per cent
of all 6roshi*a facilitated primary groups and are recipient of all
development services in corresponding proportions.
/(/(8 Environmental Protection and Regeneration
Anvironmental 6rotection and ?egeneration Activities include the
following programsD 'ocial ;orestry( 6articipatory forest management(
Homestead gardening and seed production( and Atiological Agriculture
program. Towards that end 6?O'H0GA group members have planted
55.4. million trees in the past seven years in denuded forest land,
roadsides, emban*ment slopes, and alongside railway lines.
/(/(*9 3ousing Programme
6roshi*a has erected 31,5%% houses for homeless families.
/(/(** 3ealth Infrastructure Building Program
With the sin*ing of .%,35. hand tube$wells and 315,..% low$cost
sanitary latrines to date, 6roshi*a has brought water$born and
communicable diseases under control and has ensured a safer and more
hygienic environment in its wor*ing areas.
/(/(*, 3ealth Education Program
0ntegrated nutritional activities, integration of disabled in
development, upgrading *nowledge and s*ills of traditional birth
attendants and health training courses are some regular activities of this
program.
/(/(*- Economic Enterprise 6evelopment $SEE6&
This 6rogram enhances the capacities of existing small
entrepreneurs, and creates more employment opportunities for the poor.
The program has so far extended T*.!1 million loans along with formal
training, business counseling and mar*eting extension supports.
/(/(*/ Assistance to Other Organi#ations
This program aims at achieving sustainable development through
building partnership with local 12Os, clubs and educational institutions.
There are many organi/ations wor*ing with strong commitment and some
grassroots development experiences in different areas of angladesh but
do not have re)uired capacity due to different training, fund etc. 6roshi*a
with its vast experience and capacity thus extended a helping hand to
those organi/ations.
/(/(*0 6isaster :anagement Program
6roshi*a has been providing disaster relief during natural
calamities such as floods, cyclones, cold spells and tidal bores, and
rehabilitating the victims of communal riots since 1!"#. 6reventive
programming has complemented these responsive interventions including
the construction of > two$storied cyclone shelters in the costal areas of the
ay of engal together with costal a forestation over a stretch of 13% Gm.
/(0 Existing Activities of Proshi+a in the Area
The following table provides the programs of 6roshi*a and the
expected impacts of the programs in the study area.
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #.
Table #.1 Activities of the 'ample 12O in the study area and expected
impact
Activities 6roshi*a Axpected 0mpact
0nstitutional

0nstitution building

2roup formation
0ncrease group cohesion
0nstitutional credit

?educe dependency on
informal money lender
:iversified use of loan
and raise income
Training

'*ill development
Aconomic
Cow rearing

To raise income and
employment
opportunities
0mprove agricultural
production
2oat rearing

Cattle fattening

;ish farming

Tailoring

1;6A teaching

'mall business

?ic*shaw<van driving

1ursery

6addy hus*ing

Agro input selling

'ocial
0ncrease housing
condition
0ncrease hygiene
practice and reduce
morbidities
Hosing
Housing loan

'anitation facilities

Health service

0mprove health
condition
Child education

0mprove education
'ourceD 6roshi*a .44.
/(2 Profile of :em.er and non!mem.ers of "O: Socio!
6emographic )haracteristics
According to the World an* estimation 71!!48, more than a
billion people in the world have been living in the poverty despite of
having enormous economic development in the last few decades. The
incidence of poverty is diffused unevenly and the lowest )uintile income
group bears comparatively more burdens. This diffusion in the poverty
picture is responsible for the creation of ine)uality in education, income,
and access to health care services etc. 'uch disparities definitely shape
the demographic and socio$economic structure of the population. 0t has
been reported in the World an* publication that in a number of
developing countries, the well being of the poorest has been and<or is
being deteriorated in relative terms as they are being denied access to
resources needed to them 7World an* 1!!38.
angladesh is one of the densely populated countries in the world.
With a population of over 1#4 million in only 1,#5,%54 s)uare *ilometers
of land, the poorest loose out in the competition over scarce resources.
This is also intensifying the poverty situation of the extreme poor in
angladesh and reliable for the intergenerational poverty traps. The
extreme poor are thus caught in a vicious trap and the story of denial and
in+ustices tend to continue over generations for a large ma+ority of them.
-ost development programs have not only bypassed the extreme
poor but also by mainstreaming development research. This hinder the
*nowledge about their lives, struggle, socio$demographic information
such as age$sex distribution, household composition, education, housing
condition, land ownership, water and sanitation of the extreme poor
population.
'ome of these themes are explored here in$depth. ;or this analysis,
this survey covered 1>5 12O$member 76roshi*a8 households and 111
non 12O$member households to see whether any difference exists
between the member and non$member households.
/(2(* 3ousehold Population
0n this study a household is defined as a person or a group of
people who live together and ta*e their meals from the same Chula
7*itchen8. The distribution of the household population covered in this
study is presented in the Table$1 by age, sex and the participation of the
'''(AssignmentPoint(com ##
12O program activities grouped as member and non$member
households. The surveyed households constituted a population of 1.>1
people. Compared to female, the proportion of the male population was
higher for the member and non$member households, but the male$female
ratio is higher for the member households than that of non$member
households.
1ational 0nstitute of 6opulation ?esearch and Training 7106O?T
.44188 found that there were more people in the age group that that of
older age groups for both sexes. About 3!.!& of the population was
below 1% years of age compared to the national estimate of 3!&
indicating that dependent population at the early age is slightly higher
among the poorest segment of the people. The dependent population at
the later age 7>% or above8 is 1& among the poorest. This is much lower
compared to the national estimate of #&. This may be attributed to the
lower life expectancy of the poorest in angladesh.
Table 1. 6opulation distribution by age and sex
Age
2roup
'tudy population
-ember households 1on$member households
-ale ;emale oth -ale ;emale oth
4$# 1..4& >.%& !.%& ".#& ".#& ".!&
%$! 11.3& 1..1& 11.5& 1%.5& 1..!& 1#.#&
14$1# 14.1& 13.4& 11.#& 1>."& 1#..& 1%.>&
1%$1! 11."& ".!& 14.%& "."& 5."& ".3&
.4$.# 5..& ".>& 5."& %."& !.1& 5.3&
.%$.! >.5& 1#..& 14.1& #.#& %..& #.5&
34$3# 5.5& >..& 5.4& #.5& 1!.4& 11.3&
3%$3! "..& ".>& ".3& 1..#& ".>& 14.5&
#4$## >.%& 5.#& >.!& !.!& 3.4& >.5&
#%$#! >..& 3.3& #.!& #.5& >.%& %.%&
%4$%# 3.#& 3.4& 3..& 3.>& 1.3& ..>&
%%$%! ...& 3.>& .."& ...& 1.5& ..4&
>4$># ..#& 3.3& .."& 1.%& .#& 1.4&
>%$>! 1.!& 1.%& 1.5& 4.4& 4.4& 4.4&
54$5# 1.5& 4.4& 4.!& 1.1& 4.4& 4.>&
5%$5! 4.%& 4.4& 4.3& 4.4& 4.!& 4.#&
"4L 4.%& 4.4& 4.3& 4.4& 4.4& 4.4&
1 #15 33" 5%% .5# .3. %4>
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #%
/(2(, 6isa.ility:
While it is not *nown whether physical or mental disability among
the poorest is higher than the general population, this study suggests that
4.%& members are either physically or mentally disable.
/(2(- 3ousehold )omposition
A small proportion of the poorest households were female$headed
7Table .8. 0t is ..#& for the member households and 3.>& for the non$
member households. The percentage of female$headed households was
higher for the non$member households than the member households. This
may be due to the fact of selectivity bias of the development a program as
they emphasi/e more on the male$headed households considering that
male$headed households are comparatively more capable of repaying
their loan installments. A finding of this study contradicts with the
national estimate where the national rural average of the female$headed
households were ".#&7106O?T .4418. This may be attributed for the
small sample si/e compared to the national estimate. While single$person
households were rare 71.%&8 according to national estimate 7106O?T
.4418, Table #.. shows that the estimate is approximately double for the
poorest households and the estimation is also higher for the member
households compared to the non$member households. The cause behind
this is that 12Os willingness to select single$member households as they
are comparatively more deprived and 12Os try to bring them into the
development programs providing various types of assets, cash transfer,
income generating activities etc. to upgrade their livelihood strategies. As
a result, the average si/e of the member$households 7#.%.8 is lower
compared to the average si/e of the non$member households9 7#.%>8.
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #>
Table #.. Household composition by study population
Composition 'tudy population
-ember households 1on$member
households
Household headship
-ale !5.>& !>.#&
;emale ..#& 3.>&
1umber of household
members
1 ..#& 4.4&
. ..#& 3.>&
3 1#.#& 15.1&
# 35.5& 31.%&
% .".1& ."."&
> !.4& !.!&
5 1..& >.3&
" 1."& 4.!&
!L 3.4& 1."&
-ean household si/e #.%. #.%>
1 1>5 111
/(2(/ :arital Status
The distribution of marital status was of our interest in the sense to
see whether development programs were benefiting the most
disadvantaged li*e divorced or separated. This finding suggests that the
percentage of abandoned or separated members is higher on an average
compared to the non$members. 12Os are also providing services to the
widowed members. asically there is no significant differences exists
between the member and non$members in the case of marital status
categories 7see table #.3 and fig$18.
Table#.3 -arital status of 71%L years old8 study population
-arital 'tatus
'tudy population
-ember 1on$member oth
Bnmarried 1".!& .4.1& 1!.3&
-arried 55.#& 5>.5& 55.1&
Widowed .."& ..!& .."&
:ivorced ."& .3& .>&
'eparated ."& .3& .>&
1 %4! 34! "1"
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #"
/(2(0 Education Profile of 3ousehold :em.ers
Aducation is an important component of human life as it has the
association not only with the standard of living but also an indicator of
status in the society. 0t has strong effect on employment creation, income
generation, standard of living, protecting oneself from malnutrition,
access to and the use of the health care goods and services and many
other aspects of human life. This caused to consider their education. 0n
this study, education was measured by years of schooling. According to
106O?T .441, education has been consistently increasing in angladesh.
About #1& of the 7%L years old8 rural population attended school at least
once in their lifetime 7Ahmed et al. .4438. This study finding, in this
aspect, is consistent with the study done by Ahmed et al. The
insignificant rise in education among the poorest may be attributed to the
time lag between the study. ut a very small portion of the members and
non$members had the opportunity to continue in school for more than
five or ten years. This is why average years of schooling are very low
among the poorest household members and this is also true for the head
of the household.
Table#.# Jears of schooling of the study population
Jears of schooling 'tudy household
-ember household 1on$member
households
1one 3".#& 3>.!&
1 F % #3.%& 3!.#&
% F 14 1#.>& .4."&
> 14
3.%& ..!&
Average years of education ..%1 ..5"
-ean education of the
household head
..55 3.3.
n >>> ##5
'''(AssignmentPoint(com #!
/(2(2 >and O'nership
As one of the ob+ectives of this study is to show the poverty
situation among the poorest households, so land ownership should be
considered as a determinant of poverty condition within the households.
1early 5& of the member households were landless compared to only
1."& of the non$member households. This reveals the facts the 12Os are
helping the poorest households by providing different types of income
generating assets. ut we see that except homestead, only ##.3& member
households have only cultivable land where the figure for the non$
member households is #..3&. There is a significant difference in the
average si/e of land between the member and non$member households
7;ig$#.%8.
Table #.%. Ownership of ,and by 'tudy Household
,and ownership 'tudy household
-ember
household
1on$member
households
,andless >.>& 1."&
,and per head 7decimal8 1%.33 ".>"
Having land except homestead
7decimal8
##.3& #..3&
-ean si/e of land 7decimal8 >3.1! 3%.!"
1 1>5 111
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2.51
2.77 2.78
3.32
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Average years of education Mean education of the household head
:ean education
Fig-4.1: Educational status
Member Non-member
/(2(4 Cater and Sanitation
According to World an* 7.44.8, about 14& of the total burden of
disease in developing countries arises from the contaminated drin*ing
water and an inade)uate supply of water. An estimated 14444 people die
every day from water and sanitation related diseases and thousands of
people suffer from debilitating illness. This situation is mostly prevailing
in the poor households, as they are not capable of managing better
sources of drin*ing water and sanitation. Water and sanitation related
sic*ness put severe burdens on health services. :ue to the lac* of safe
water and proper sanitation, diarrhoea spreads. Water$borne diseases are
one of the causes of under$five mortality. Considering all of these
aspects, Bnited 1ations initiated the 0nternational :rin*ing Water 'upply
and 'anitation :ecade 71!"1$1!!48 to promote safe water supplies and
sanitation facilities for the poor especially for the developing countries. 0n
this connection, 12Os in angladesh have been wor*ing to promote
these conditions proving safe water facilities and pacca sanitation
facilities to their group members. 0t should be mentioned in this
connection that those are not the members of 12Os( they are being
benefited due to the spill over effects of *nowledge relating to this aspect.
Over the last decade, angladesh has improved a lot in the case safe
drin*ing water and sanitation facilities. ;rom Table$#.>, we see that
>3.1!
3%.!"
4
14
.4
34
#4
%4
>4
54
-ember 1on$member
,and 7:ecimal8
-ember and 1on$members
Big/(0 ::ean si#e of land $decimal&
-ean si/e of land 7decimal8
member households use tube$well water more than those of non$member
households.
1ational coverage of drin*ing water supply was !5& in 1!!# with
144& in urban and !5& in rural areas 7WHO 1!!>8. However )uality of
water was not considered in that study. 'o we can9t say that water is free
from chemical and microbial contamination i.e. safe water. ut it should
be mentioned that in that study tube$well water was considered as the safe
drin*ing water. Tube$well water in angladesh is considered as the main
drin*ing water source for almost all the households, both member 7!"."8
and non$member 7!>.#8 households, in the district, except for few
households who were collecting drin*ing water from pond, ring$well and
filter. -ost of the households 7more than 54&8, irrespective of member
and non$member households, collected water for bath, coo*ing etc.
purposes from tube$well. However, it was observed that non$member
households used tube$well water for other than drin*ing more heavily
than those of member households.
Table#.> 'ources of :rin*ing Water
'ources 'tudy households
-ember
households
1on$member
households
6ond 4.4& 1."&
?ing$well 1..& 4.4&
Tube$well !"."& !>.#&
;ilter 4.4& 1."&
'ources other than drin*ing
water
?iver >.>& 4.!&
6ond 1".>& >.3&
?ing$well 1..& 3.>&
Tube$well 51.!& "!..&
Tape .>& 4.4&
;ilter 1..& 4.4&
1 1>5 111
/(2(7 Arsenic in Cater
:uring the 1!54s and 1!"4s, aid organi/ations installed thousands
of tube$wells in angladesh, hoping to bring to an end dysentery and
cholera. This program was successful in the sense that it provided safe
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wells to more than "4& households by .444. However, it had a massive
blind spotD it did not test whether water was arsenic infected or not.
According to the 'afe :rin*ing Water .443, about .4444 angladeshis
are dying a year from arsenic related ailments. 0n this study, )uestions
were as*ed to *now the awareness level of the poor households and
arsenic status in drin*ing water in the district.
About "# F !4& of the total households of the villages of the
district were aware of arsenic and its related health ha/ards 7Table #.58.
However, there is a significant difference in the *nowledge about arsenic
among the member and non$member households. 1on$member
households are more concerned about the arsenic contamination than
those of member households. This is also revealed from the fact that non$
member households tested their tube$well water comparatively higher
than those of member households. Of the tested tube$wells, 5%$5>& tube$
well water was arsenic infected. 1o significant difference was observed
in this respect.
Table#.5 Awareness of arsenic by the study households 7in percentage8
Gnowledge 'tudy households
-ember
households
1on$
member
household
s
-ean
difference 7t$
stats8
Gnowledge about arsenic "#& !.& 5&T
Arsenic tested 5& .3& 1%&TTT
;ree from arsenic 7of the tested
tube$wells8
5%& 5>& 1&
1 1>5 111
/(2(8 Sanitation
0n 1!!#, total sanitation coverage in angladesh was only 3%&
with 55& urban and 34& rural coverage 7WHO 1!!>8. This evidence
revealed that there was a huge lac* of using sanitation, which was a ma+or
public health problem that caused many diseases, sic*ness and death. An
environment of poor hygiene and inade)uate sanitation spread diarrhoea,
which remains to be primary *iller of children. 0t *ills about ... million
people each year. To address this issue, this study assessed the sanitation
coverage of the poor households. 'anitation coverage among the poor
households was observed very low 7Table #."8. There were also
significant differences between the member and non$member households
in the case of using pacca and Gacha sanitation.
Table #." Types of ,atrines Bsed by the 'tudy Households
'ources -ember households 1on$
member
household
s
-ean
difference
7t$stats8
Open field 1%.4& 14."& $
6it !.>& 5..& $
?ing<'lave #..%& %1.#& T
Gacha 'anitary 1".>& !.!& TT
6acca 'anitary 1#.#& .4.5& T
1 1>5 111
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/(2(*9 Occupational Structure
angladesh is a labor 'urplus country and agriculture is the main
sector employing around >%& of the total active labor force. The ultra
poor< poor, mainly dependent on selling their labor, are vulnerable to
employment opportunities in the slac* season. :uring the time, they often
migrate to the nearby city in search of livelihoods. The poor lac*ing
education and s*ills cannot typically ta*e the advantage of new
opportunities need to struggle particularly hard for their survival. This
section focuses on the employment pattern of the poor and income
diversities.
Table #.! shows the distribution of income generating activities 702A8
for both members and non$members over 14 years of age. ;rom the
results, one important point emerges, which pertains to the differences
between the member and non$member population. ;or instance,
Compared to the members, the dependency on selling manual labor
was higher among the non$members.
Wor*ing as domestic aid was much higher among the members
than the non$members. This can be considered as the indication of
relatively lower social position in the community.
6articipation in own agricultural activities, cow, goat and chic*
rearing and business were higher among the members than those of
non$members. This indicates the prestige and reflects better ris*
coping abilities. 0n this respect, member households were in a
relatively better$off position.
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Table #.! Occupation of the household heads of the member and non$
member households
Occupation 'tudy households
-ember households 1on$member
households
Own agriculture 1".4& 13.%&
Agricultural day labor 13..& 15.1&
Cow, goat and chic*
rearing
4.>& 4.4&
;ishing ..#& ..5&
usiness 7large, medium
and small8
1%.4& 1#.#&
Gatha 'tiching 1..& 4.4&
-a*ing tools with
bamboo
4.>& 4.!&
Cottage 1."& 4.!&
?ic*shaw<van pulling 1..4& 1>..&
Transport Assistance 3.4& 3.>&
Carpenter ".#& 3.>&
'ervice 5."& 11.5&
Households activities 1."& 4.4&
0ndustrial labor >.>& #.%&
Household maid<servant 4.>& 4.4&
,iving outside the village
for wor*
1..& 1."&
:ay labor 1..& #.%&
Others #."& #.%&
1 1>5 111
/(2(** Sources of income
0n this section we try to explore the sources of income of the poor
in terms of importance. On average, member households received income
from more than three different sources but the non$members received
income from more than four income sources. There were significant
variations in the sources of income among the members and non$
members households. The all member households reported relatively less
diverse income sources than the non$members. 0t was observed in the
field survey that member households had significantly higher average
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landholdings compared to the non$member households 7see table #.118.
This was also true for the savings product for the member households.
Table #.14 6articipation of members and non$members in different
income generating activities
Activity -embers 1on$members
Own crop agriculture 1#..& 5.5&
Cow<2oat rearing 5.%& %.1&
:uc*<6oultry rearing 13.>& 14.5&
;ishing #.%& ..>&
@egetables cultivation 11.1& 1%..&
;orest<firewood<trees ".3& 14.3&
Agricultural day labor #.5& %.1&
Own industry 4.>& 4."&
Wage labor #.4& ..4&
usiness >.>& 5.!&
transport %.%& %.>&
Construction ..!& 1."&
'ervice 4."& ..#&
Wages other than ..3& 1."&
Qobs ..%& 3..&
Others !.!& 1".1
Chi$s)uare 6U4.4441
Table #.11 :ifferences in the income level, savings and the number of
sources of income between the member and non$member
households
@ariables -ember
households
1on$member
households
:ifference 7t$
stats8
-ean yearly income #.44> T* #4!1" 14">
Average savings 133#5 >35! >!>5TTT
Average landholdings >% decimal 34 decimal 3%TTT
1umber of sources of income
1 .%.!& 4.!&
. 15.5& ..5&
3 1#.>& 1".!&
# 13.3& ...%&
% 14.1& 3#..&
> 5.4& 1..>&
5 5.>& ".1&
" 3..& 4.4&
! 4.>& 4.4&
Average no. of the sources of
income
3.3% #.%5 1...TTT
1 1%" 111
)hapter ?
Impacts of "O Activities on the Rural Poor
This chapter gives details of institution building process by the
6roshi*a, institutional and non$institutional credit, amount of loan ta*en,
sources of loan borrowed, building capacity through training programs
etc. institutional building, social mobili/ation, institutional credit and
training programs are the ma+or activities of the sample 12O. The
indicators of economic well being of the 12O beneficiaries and the non$
beneficiaries are compared in this chapter.
0(* Income of the 3ouseholds
0ncome is the principal determinants of the economic condition of
a household 7:oeringer, 1!"48. 6roshi*a is involved in mainly 1%
activities those are mentioned in the previous chapter. These activities are
expected to raise the households9 income level, increase employment
opportunities and build asset for the beneficiaries.
0n this study, total yearly income was measured on the basis of
12O related activities and other activities. According to the survey,
about .4& of the member households have annual income of less than or
e)ual .4444 T*. 6er annum where the figure for the non$member
households was only 3.>&. -ost of the households of both categories fall
in the income group of .4441$#44447Table %.18. Average yearly income
of the member households was higher than those of the non$member
households.
Table %.1 Jearly household income
Jearly income -embers 1on$members
,ess or e)ual .4444 .4.3& 3.>&
.4441$#4444 ##.!& %>."&
#4441$>4444 .1.%& .>.1&
>4441$"4444 %.5& ".1&
"4444L 5.>& %.#&
-ean yearly income #.44% #4!1"
0(, Poverty line .y income groups
12O activities help to reduce the number of people below the
poverty line through the interventions of providing income$generating
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activities to the poor. 6overty line is ta*en as T*. >"!> per capita
7Hussain, 1!!"8. ased on this figure provided by Hussain, it is clear
from the following figure that the percentage of people below the poverty
line is only 33&, which is much lower than the estimates of the World
an*. This may be due to the facts of the rising dollar values and for not
ad+usting the inflation rate. ;rom figure %.3, we see that the percentage of
people below the poverty line for the member$households was higher
compared to the non$member households.
;ig %..D 'tudy households in respect to poverty line
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0(- 6eterminants of 3ouseholds Income: A ?egression Analysis
0ncome is an important factor to measure the well being of
households. ut there are many factors that that affect income. 'o in
order to detect the determinants of income, we should consider a
multivariate analysis. The variables that were considered in the model
areD
:ependent variableK income of the households of both beneficiary and
non$beneficiary 7J8
The independent variables areD
-ember type 7-T8, Household si/e 7H'8, education of the household
head 7A:BHHH8, 1umber of 'ources of 0ncome71'08, Total land7T:8.
0(, Regression )oefficients
@ariables Coefficients t$stats 'ignificance
Constant $1#3!.."# $..35! .41"
-T "%%..%1 ..>3. .44!
H' #151..3 #.1%> .444
A:BHHH 13>1.." 3."%! .444
1'0 >!"3.5. ".344 .444
T: $3..1 3.>3" .444

Thus the regression e)uation can be written as in the following
expressionD
31 . 4
%> . 4
8 444 . 4 7
511 . .3 8 .>4 , % 7
8 444 . 4 7 8 444 . 4 7 8 444 . 4 7 8 444 . 4 7 8 44! . 4 7 8 41" . 4 7
8 >3" . 3 7 8 344 . " 7 8 "%! . 3 7 8 1%> . # 7 8 >3. . . 7 8 35! . . 7
.1 . 3 5. . >!"3 ." . 13>1 .3 . #151 %1 . "%%. "# . 1#3!.
.
4% . 4
=
=
=
+ + + + =
R
R
Sig
F
Sig
t
TD NSI EDUHHH HS MT Y
R
;rom the estimated regression line, we see that the most important five
factors that were considered in the model are statistically significant. T$
test implies that all the coefficients of the regression model are
individually significant. ;$test implies that the model is overall
significant.
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0(/: "eneral Binancial :ar+et Participation
0n general, the poor lac* access to reliable and less expensive
financial services. This has been found to act as important constraints of
the poor in ta*ing advantages of opportunities, smoothing consumption
and protecting themselves against different types of vulnerabilities
7?utherford 1!!!, -atin et al. 1!!!, -orduch 1!!!8. -any imperfections
in the financial mar*et have been removed due to the vast outreach of
micro finance in angladesh. However there is a general consensus that
these services have bypassed the poorest.
ecause most studies do not ade)uately distinguish between the
various groups of the poor, or do not cover the various sources of
financial services, we *now little about the financial mar*et participation
of the poorest. This section allows us to examine various aspects of the
ultra poor households9 financial mar*et participation.
0(/: Results of Overall Binancial :ar+et Participation
Our findings show that the member households have a significantly
lower level of financial mar*et participation compared to the non$
member households 7Table %.38. This may be due to the fact of exclusion
criterion of not selecting the poor as a member who have the outstanding
loans. However, even after we exclude the 12O loan, there exists a
significant difference between the member and non$member households.
Table %.3 2eneral financial mar*et participation
@ariables -ember
households
1on$
member
households
:ifference 7t$
stats8
& of households reporting
outstanding loan
#5.3& 55.%& 4.34&TTT
& of households reporting
loans from formal sectors
>!.>& >5.#& $
Average si/e of the loans 14!11 55#4 315.TTT
-ean interest rate that they
are paying
.4.%5& 1".14& ..#5
Average si/e of the existing
credit
"541 #>3> #4>%TTT
Considering the marriage as a social fact, member households are
more conscious than that of the non$member households 7Table %.#8.
There is also a significant difference exists between the member and non$
member households in the case of marrying girls. 1on$member
households want their daughters to be married early, which implies that
the member households are comparatively more conscious than that of
the non$member households.
Table%.#D -arriage
@ariables -ember
households
1on$member
households
:ifference 7t$stats8
2ovt rule of
marrying
#3& 1#& .!&TTT
oys .4.53 .4."4 4.45
2irls 1!.!! 15.%3 ..#%TTT
Almost the same percentage of member and non$member households
answered that their social statuses were increased than before. However,
measurement of the consciousness level for the case of what they do after
using the latrines that whether they use any things. 0n the case of using
ash<soil, member households responded more than those of the non$
member households 7Table%.%8. We *now that 6roshi*s has adorned its
programs with diversification. 'o in the case of 6siculture, there is a
significant difference between the member and non$member households
in the sense that 6roshi*a members were comparatively more involved
than that of non$member households.
Table$%.%D 'ocial status and Consciousness
@ariables -ember households 1on$member households
'ocial 'tatus and level of
Consciousness
0ncreased a lot 1."& 4.4&
0ncreased moderately .1.4& .#.3&
0ncreased a little #3.5& #%.4&
'ame as before 33.%& 34.>&
'ocial status increased due to
credit ta*ing
!4& !1&
Bse only water after using
latrine
".%& 1."&
Bse soap 3#.%& >#.!&
Bse ash<soil %>.#& 33.3&
Bse others 4.>& 4.4&
@egetable cultivation in the
homestead
%3& >!&
6iscicuture 5& .&
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;inancial help in the case of emergency help the poor to reduce
their vulnerabilities. Women of the member households are
comparatively more dependent on their husbands compared to the non$
member households. ;rom Table %.>, it is clear that in the case of
emergency, 6roshi*a helps a very insignificant portion of the member
households. Considering the case of no one, we can express our opinion
that non$member households have less social capital compared to the
member households. 'ocial capital plays a very important role for
reducing the vulnerabilities of the poor people. 'ince 6roshi*a is involved
in providing loans to group based, sometimes groups help them to reduce
the vulnerabilities. 12O member households have the good connection
with the Bnion 6arishad, which is supported by the present estimate
7Table %.>8.
Table$%.>D ;inancial help in the case of emergency need
@ariables -ember
households
1on$member households
Husband >!.3& >...&
6arents<brothers and sisters 3.>& ".1&
?elatives #."& ..5&
1eighbours 14."& 1#.#&
B6 members 3.4& 4.4&
6roshi*a 4.4& 4.!&
'amittee members 4.>& 4.4&
Other 12O 4.4& 4.!&
1o one 4.4& >.3&
Others 5."& #.%&
1 1>5 111
The findings of Table %.5 show that there is a *nowledge gap
between the member and non$member households and the member
households have the more *nowledge about the parliamentary system and
the political parties. This implies that 12Os are helping the poor to be
empowered politically.
Table %.5D Gnowledge level disparities
@ariables -ember
households
1on$
member
household
s
:ifferen
ce
7t$stats8
1ational parliamentary election !%& !>& 1&
'eats in national parliament 1>& 3& 13&TTT
'election process of the prime minister 1>& 1>& 4&
-ain political parties in the country ">& "3& 3&
Only 35 households reported that they had tested their tube$well to
examine whether arsenic in their tube$well water or not. Among those
households, 5>&reported that their tube$well water was free from arsenic
while .#& reported that their tube$well water was not free from arsenic.
This flows the information to us that poor people are being conscious
about the health and hygiene aspect. %>& of the member households
reported that they have the *nowledge that they should vaccinate their
children, where the figure is only 34& for the non$member households.
0n the case of participation in 'halish, the findings suggest there is
a significant difference in this aspect between the member and non$
member households. Average number of participation in the 'halish also
suggests that member households participated more than that of the non$
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!%&
1>& 1>&
">&
!>&
3&
1>&
"3&
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
National
parliamentary
election
Seats in national
parliament
Selection
process of te
prime minister
Main political
parties in te
co!ntry
Member
Non-member
member households. This is due to the effect of 12O activities in this
sector.
Table %." 6articipation in the social or cultural activities
-ember
househol
ds
1on$member
households
:ifference 7t$
stats8
6articipated >#& 55& 13&TT
6articipation in 'alish 1"& 1"& 4&
Average number of
participants in 'alish
1.45 1.44 4.45
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)hapter ?I
)ase Studies
)ase study I
1ame D
AgeD #5
1ame of Husband D
@illage D 2olapnagar
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, ;orty seven$year old, was born in a
village called Guste andar under 2hior Thana of -ani*gan+ :istrict. At
an age of fifteen years, ........ was married to a poor young man
named ............., who was an inhabitant of 2olapnagar village. 'he has
been living with her husband at epari 6ara of that village ever since.
:uring thirty$two years of her married life, she had been
struggling against many crises created out of poverty. .......... Husband,
who was a landless farmer engaged in other peopleNs farms on a daily
basis, earned too little to provide birth to four children during her married
life, lost her health and energy and was almost at the very edge of a
complete brea*$down.
When she was passing her days of sorrows and despair and
fighting against innumerable odds, she came to *now about 6roshi*a, an
12O with poverty focused programs, which had been organi/ing poor
men and women in 2olapnagar. 0t all happened in 1!"".
'he tal*ed to her neighbors about the 12O programs. 'ome of
them discouraged her by saying that it is rare that poor people had been
benefited from the functioning of these programs. ut she did not listen
to them. 'he desperately wanted top ma*e some efforts to brea* out of
the poverty chain and was in need of some support services. 'he
discussed the matter with some women of epari 6ara and contacted
6roshi*a. A meeting with 6roshi*a followed and........and her friends
came to *now all about the program launched by 6roshi*a. 0nspired by
what 6roshi*a people told them. ........along with 15 other women formed
a 'amity under the name of Vepari 6ara 1aba+agoron 'amity.V ;or about
a year, the members of this 'amity began to save T*..4 per person<per
month. 'imultaneously, these members were trained up on health,
environment, pregnancy, immuni/ation, tree planting, gardening, etc. 'he
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never had an opportunity to get training from any formal training
institute.
After about a year, she for the first time received a loan amounting to
T*..,444 to be repaid in easy installments. 'he invested T*.1, #44 in
growing various *inds of vegetables utili/ing the little homestead space
lying vacant around her dwelling place. 'he regularly watered her garden,
applied fertili/er and sprayed pesticide that yielded a satisfactory benefits.
Her *itchen garden not only provided fresh vegetables for family
consumption but also mar*etable surplus. 'he sold vegetables valued at
aT*.3, .44. @egetable growing proved to be highly profitable for her.
Her female neighbors felt encouraged to +oin her organi/ation 7'amity8
which pushed up the membership strength of apari 6ara 1aba+agoron
-ahila 'amity. Currently, the total number of members stands at thirty$
five and she is the Chairperson of 'amity.
'he repaid the loan she received for vegetable growing within two
years. 'he borrowed again an amount of T*.%, 444 of which she invested
T*..444 in poultry rearing and vegetable growing. 'he gave the rest of
the loan to her son to invest amount in bamboo crafts. Her sons had to
ma*e several trips to Chittagong where good )uality bamboo is available
at a cheaper price. This being the traditional trade of their family, she
along with sons and other family members started ma*ing bamboo mast
and other goods for sale. 'he along with her sons was ma*ing reasonably
good profit on the investment made in this trade. Currently, her sons have
set up a bamboo shop in the local mar*et.

'he borrowed for the third time from 6roshi*a and this time the
loan amounted to T*.5, 444. 'he bought a mil* cow with that amount.
'he now sells mil*, eggs, and chic*en in the mar*et and earns well. The
family members have fresh vegetables, meat, eggs and mil* in their
wee*ly menu, which provide the essential for them.
6roshi*aNs training program has improved her *nowledge about life
and better living. Her dwelling place has a sanitary latrine. All the family
members have learned to clean their hands with soap and<or ash after
using sanitation although she was an illiterate woman. 1ow, she not only
can sign her own name, but also can her own accounts. Although her
husband has now become too old to wor*, the family is financially well
off and does not have to worry about her daily expenses. The family
members have access to modern medical treatment when they fall ill.
They do not have to go to the village -aha+ans at the time of need. At
present she can generates the re)uired amount by selling her chic*en
vegetables and dairy products to meet the expenses in any emergency.
'he has repaid all the loan money ta*en from 6roshi*a. ut
she at the same time too* a loan 7amount to t* .%,4448 to build her house
from 2rameen an* and she repaid amount of T*.14, 444. Only about
T*.%, 444 has yet to be repaid.
'he appears to be very happy with the progress she has made in
improving the )uality of life not only of herself, but also of all the
members of her family through her association with 6roshi*a, ?AC and
2rameen asn*. 'he has a reasonably good dwelling house made of tin,
new pieces of furniture, necessary utensils to perform the domestic
chores. 'he and her family members eat three nutritious meals a day.
Three of her four children 7two daughters and two sons8 have got
married. ;ortune appears to have turned a smiling face to her and her
family.
With the discussion with her, she told the investigators that in
addition to 6roshi*a with which she has been associated for the past >
years, she has also participated in various programs of 2rameen an* 7#
years8 and ?AC 73 years8 in her opinion, if the loan money is invested
in an activity on the basis of a sound plan, it is bound to yield good
returns. ut some loanees are not careful in using the loans. As a result,
they fail to repay the loan installments in time. 'ometimes, a few among
the loanees have to pawn their assets, even the house, to pay off the loan.
'he holds the view that if one ta*es the loan, he<she must invest it in a
profitable activity, so that not only can one pay the loan installment in
time but also save something for the rainy days and for future expansion
of the activity as well.
0n response to a )uery as to why the interviewee had to ta*e loans from
three 12Os to carry on her activities, she concluded her discussion by
saying that initially, the amount is very difficult to build any profitable
enterprise on it. According to her, smallness of the loan si/e is the main
reason why she and other members of her group generally have to ta*e
loans from more than one 12O.
'''(AssignmentPoint(com >"
)ase study II
1ame D
AgeD .#
1ame of Husband D
@illage D 2olapnagar 7epari 6ara8
Twenty four year old ........ egum was born in 2olapnagar.
The name of her father is -a+ibur epari. 'he was married to one Qinnah
epary of the same village eleven years ago. When she was an adolescent
girl of fourteen years only, her husband, who was a small trader, earned
very little. 'he and her family members had to struggle very hard to *eep
their heads above water. When she gave birth to her son, the problem
became more acute. The poor household could not provide all that the
child needed. ut the situation began to improve when she became a
participant of 6roshi*aNs 6rogram.
0n 1!"5, she +oined eparipara 1aba+agoron -ahila 'amity along with
other village women. 0n accordance with the terms and conditions of
6roshi*a, she began to save T*.% per wee* 7T*. .4 per month8. ut she
could not go to 6roshi*aNs training centre as her husband and parents$in$
law ob+ected to their daughter$in$lawNs staying away from home. 'he was
stopped from learning new s*ills, such as poultry rearing, tree planting,
vegetable growing etc. 'he learned it from those members who had
already received training on these activities at the training center run by
6roshi*a. After one year of association with 6roshi*a, a loan of T*. .,444
was provided to her for growing vegetables.
'he invested T*.!44 for her *itchen garden and produced leafy
vegetables, tomato, radish, cauliflower, cabbage, and beans. 'he
purchased bamboo mast with the balance 7T*. 1,1448 at a low price and
sold these goods later when the price went up. 'he also her *itchen
garden products at a profit. .........earned a regular income from these
activities which enabled her to replay all her loans through installments.
'he borrowed T*.#,444 again from 6roshi*a and started poultry
rearing at home. 'he put a substantial portion of her labor time in this
activity and found it to be highly rewarding. 'he has been earned high
income from poultry rearing since then.
0nspired by her success, she too* house$building loans from 6roshi*a and
built a nice house with bamboo and tin. ?ecently, she has also built a ring
'''(AssignmentPoint(com >!
latrine alongside her house for the use of the family members. 'he has set
up a grocery shop for her husband at the local mar*et place. 'he bought a
few sarees and gold +ewelry for her and a 1#$inch television set for the
family. 'he and her family now get two s)uare meals a day and have
access to modern medical services.
......has already paid off all her loans. 'he is confident that if the group
members utili/e their loans in productive activities correctly and put their
hard labor to build these up, then success will surely be within their
reach.
)ase study III
1ame D
AgeD 3"
1ame of Husband D
@illage D 2olapnagar 7'ardar6ara8
Thirty eight$year old,........was born in 2olapnagar village.
After five years of her birth, she lost her father. He died leaving only a
dwelling place for his family. 0t was extremely hard for her mother to rear
up ......and her younger brother on a little irregular income that she earned
by selling her labour. ......... maternal uncle, who used to run a +atra,
extended financial assistance to the family. ut that was inade)uate for
the maintenance of the family. -eanwhile ......... family was +oined by a
poor Hindu widow belonging to her sect with her son who was one year
older than .......... They too* shelter in ........ house and began to live
with ........ and her mother and brother as family members. oth the
widows wor*ed hard from dawn to dus* +ust for survival of the family.
When ........ was a girl of fifteen, she married to ... the son of the
widow who too* shelter in their house. ......... became a day laborer in the
locality. After five months of her marriage, when she was pregnant, ......
left her house with his mother for his own village home. :ays and
months passed, he did not return. -eanwhile ......... gave birth to a son.
Her mother and younger brother did their best to maintain her with her
child on their meager income. Her husband came bac* to 2olapnagar
after one year with a second wife and started living separately near the
local mar*et place. 0nspite of ........ extremely strenuous wor* day in and
day out, she had to go hungry sometimes. When .... was on the verge of
committing suicide, she heard about ?AC from her
neighbour ................ , who was a member of ?ACNs credit programme
7however, she is not the same ....... who figured in our first case study8
At the initiative of ........, ...........and few others. ?asulpur eparipara
Wor*ing WomenNs Organi/ation 7?asulpur eparipara 'rama+ibi -ahila
'amity8 was born with >5 members. ,,,,,,,, along with other members
started saving fifteen 6aisa to one ta*a every wee*end for a year. The
members attended a meeting every wee* where ?AC people came and
discussed about the problems the members of the 'amity faced in earning
their livelihood. After a year, ?AC divided the 'amity members in
small groups of five and started extending loans to the group members for
vegetable growing, pisciculture, poultry rearing, hatchery, livestoc*
rearing, small trading and so on. 0n 1!"3, ........ received a loan of T*.
1,444 'he purchased paddy with the loan money, hus*ed it and sold rice
at a profit. 1ext year, she too* a loan of Ta*a .,444 from ?AC. Adding
Ta*a %44 out of her own savings with the loan money, she invested Ta*a
.,%44 in her trade. 'he again made a good profit on her investment. 'he
repaid her loaa and saved Ta*a 1,%44. 'he too* a loan of Ta*a #,444 this
time and purchased a mil* cow. 'he sold mil* and made a profit of Ta*a
1,.44 within a year after repaying all her loans.
Her husband came bac* to her after ten years. 'he forgave her
husband for the sa*e of her son. After a year or so....... gave him Ta*a
14,444 out of her saving to set up a welding machine shop in the local
mar*et place. Currently, he gives ...... Ta*a %4 for daily ma*eting. ....
husband lives with her goes to his second wife once or twice a wee*.
1ow .......carries on her small trade with her own funds. 'he has paid all
her loans she too* from ?AC.
0n 1!"", she received a loan from 2rameen an* to build her
house, 'he built a good house using tin wood with the loan money, and
'he paid bac* the whole amount through several installments. At present,
she is now associated either with ?AC or 2rameen an*. 0n her own
perception, she is now a self$reliant and prosperous small trader.
..........is happy and thin*s that the dar* days that engulfed her and her
family have come to an end. Her son is now fifteen years of age. 'he
persuaded her son to marry without dowry and her son did so
ungrudgingly.
'he along with her family members has three good meals a day,
the wee*ly menu includes meat, eggs, vegetables and mil*. They have
access to modern medical treatment at the time of illness. 'he can buy
nice dresses and good pieces of furniture for her house. ?ecently, she also
bought a radio set.
0n her opinion, sincerity, honesty, hard wor*, appropriate training and
credit support from 12Os have been the *ey factors contributing to her
success.
)ase study /
aamgo +iban bachaise. Amder shud +anar dor*ar nei, amra *istee dei, aar
*i= 712Os saved our life. We do not need to *now the rate of interest, we
+ust pay installment, what else=8
Amena, 3% years old, is an 12O member of ?a+*ar village of
?ahmatpur Bnion. Amena, best *nown as Chhuttar meye 7:aughter of
chhutta8 married to a man of 31 when she was 1# years old. 'he never
went to school. 'he is, today, a mother of six children. 0t was very
difficult to confirm her age because she loo*ed much older than she was.
'he was masticating beetle nuts while interviewing. The rural old women
are seen to do that. Her husband had a small business in the rural mar*et.
Their income was good enough to feed the family. 'he +ust tells N Allah
has given us children. We, the human, have no hand.N 1ow her home is
too small to live with her six children.
"O Involvement
'he never thought of +oining 12Os. 0n 1!!1, 12O officer visited
her house and gathered all the women of the home 7Cluster of house8 and
as*ed to +oin the meeting. The officer narrated the benefits to be provided
to the women included wheat at free of cost, loan money and free primary
school in the area. About four women +oined the 12O from one cluster of
house because their husbands encouraged them to +oin since would they
get loan and wheat.
3er Birst and Second >oan
'he got a loan amount to T*.#, 444 within six months of her
membership. 'he handed over the total amount of the loan to her husband
and decided to construct their house since the rainwater oo/es down from
the thatch roofed. ?enovation of house was more essential than anything.
They also borrowed some money from their relatives to supplement to the
house construction. 1ow they have a better house than before to live in
with their children.
After two years of her first loan she got another loan amount to
T*.%, 444 to invest in their rural shop 7ba*ery8. They did so and started
reaping benefits from the ba*ery. Their income increased and their
standard of life enhanced. They coo*ed many plans include sending of
their children to school and open a savings account with a ban*.
3us.and in )ustody: Closure of petty usiness
Her husband has been convicted in a murder case in the village.
'he said the opponents played a conspiracy to include her husband in the
list of suspect murderers because their economic condition was getting
better. They fell victims of Nvillage politicsN. He was as such arrested and
sent to +ail. 0ncome was suspended from their petty business since it was
closed. 0t was not possible on her part to move the case since it needs a
lot of money. The total responsibility of the big family has fallen on her
shoulder.
Paddy 3us+ing: 1ew 'truggle for 'urvival
Human being cannot survive without food. 'he has to do
something to feed her children. 'he applied for third loan. 'he got it
amount T*.%, 444 for starting paddy hus*ing. 'he buys paddy, boil it, dry
it up and hus* to ma*e ready for sale. This is her additional responsibility
to loo*ing after six children with her very old mother$in$law. 6addy
hus*ing re)uires very hard wor*. 'he has no any helping hands.
Customers from the village collect rice from her, and some times she
arranges to send hus*ed rice to mar*et through others. 'he did not go.
Her earning is +ust enough to feed them.
The Burden of Installment
;irst loan was exhausted to renovate the house and she second
loan was invested in the ba*ery but could not run to the full swing amidst
her husband was arrested. 'he had to sell out their ba*ery shop to spend
on her husband to release from the +ail. 1ow nothing is left. 'he slod out
all of her belongings including some chic*s and trees.
'he sought legal aid from 12Os but 12O officer never paid heeds
to her hardship. They forgot that she was one of the regular payers of
installment. 1ow her income is not enough to pay the installment along
with feeding the family. 0t is )uite uncertain when her husband would be
released. ,awyer demanded T*.14, 444 to move the case.
'he as*s N should 0 forget innocent husband= 'hould 0 forget about my
husbandNs release=
)ase 0
'olimon egum, aged 3%, was born at the village of i*ramhati
ad+acent to sadullapur village under the 'adar thana of Tangail :istrict.
Her father Abdul Garim was a poor sharecropper. 0n course of time,
sharecropping became non$profitable occupation due to high price of
agricultural inputs and fragmentation of land by inheritance. Thus, Abdul
Garim became a day laborer. ecause of sever economic hardship
'olimon could not go to school. ut, she learnt to read and recite the holy
Ruran from the village mos)ue. At present she can read and write a little
bit in angla, which she learnt while participating in ?AC functional
education program.
'olimon got married to 'e*andar Ali of 'adullapur village at the age of
1!. 'e*andar was an agricultural laborer at that time. He did not demand
any dowry for his marriage. 'olimon gave birth to two sons. Her family
composition is as follows D
'olimon egum
7348
,oanee
'e*andar Ali
73>8 Husband.,oanee
Gamal
7118 'on
Qamal
7>8 'on
They started practicing temporary birth control after the child.
According to 'olimon, using of temporary contraceptive was the reason
for a long gap between the age of their two sons. At present, being
motivated by ?AC wor*ers, 'olimon has decided to adopt permanent
contraception as soon as possible
0n pre$?AC days 'olimonNs family had been living in severe
hardship and occasional starvation. 'he had no cultivable land, they had
to live on meager earning of 'e*andar. However, she came to *now about
?AC from fellow poor women of her village. 'he *new that ?AC was
providing the rural poor with loan for income generating activities
without collateral. As she was loo*ing for ways to supplement her
husbandNs income, she got herself enlisted as a member of a five$member
group under 'adullapur ?AC program.
'he fulfilled the participatory conditions e.g., regular attendance in
wee*ly meetings, share deposit etc. of ?AC, and too* T*.1%44 as the
first loan. After one month, following the same process with a male
group, her husband 'e*andar also too* T*.1%44 as ?AC loan. With this
loan$monthly of T*.3444 'olimon and her husband started a semi$mobile
grocery shop.
'olimonNs husband buys various items, such as, dried food, sweets,
soap, and matches, dried fish, spices etc. from Tangail town and then
peddles them in different villages. 'olimon sells out similar items in their
house also. ;rom their small trade they are now earning about T*.1144 to
T*.1.44 per month and maintain their family better than the pre$?AC
days.
After paying bac* the first loan, both of them. 'olimon and her
husband 'e*andar each received the second loan of T*.#444. With this
amount of T*."444 they had bought two bundles of tin i.e., .4 pieces 7per
piece seven feet8 and built a dochala. They divided this dochala into two
parts, one part for permanent grocery shop and they use another part for
their own living. 1ow, both of them, 'olimon and her husband wor* as
whole$ time shop*eeper. They are regularly paying bac* their wee*ly
*isti 7installments8 of T*...4 i.e., T*.114 each. They hope to add more
grocery items in the inventory of their newly organi/ed shop. 0n doing so,
they are trying for the third ?AC loan after repaying the second loan as
soon as possible.
At present 'olimon finds herself that her social status has been
raised from whatever the past. 'he needs not to go to borrow money, rice
and other daily necessities from the well off neighbors. 0nstead, she is a
lender now.
'olimonNs elder son is reading in Class 00 at ?AC 'chool. 'he
hopes to educate her two sons up to college level so that they can get a
government +ob in the future. Her husband, 'e*andar, is now often
invited to the village 'halish for setting down the conflicts among the
villagers. Aven, some rich men of the village come to see* his support in
favor of their own candidate at the time of election.
Bindings from the case studies:
,oans ranges from .444 t* to 14444. There is a positive
relationship between the length of membership and the amount of
loans given to them.
Helps the poor to invest in income generating activities li*e
vegetables cultivation, poultry rearing, goat rearing, paddy
hus*ing, small business etc.
6roshi*a help the poor those are in a vulnerable position or in
complete odds(
:ue to the vegetable cultivation in their homestead, total cultivable
land has been increased. Otherwise it was left unutili/ed(
-ar*etable surplus was possible for them. This implies the
profitability of the vegetables cultivation(
-any of the poor households felt ta*ing treatment from modern
medical center in case of emergency or needs(
0t plays a very important role in the case of adult education. This
contributes to the development of human capital providing
education to the poor old men and women by establishing Adult
,iteracy Center(
6roshi*a encouraged the poor households to save, which help them
in emergency(
12O members are more benefited than 1on 12O members by
involving themselves in 12O activities(
12Os are playing a vital role in the case of diversification of
investments of the poor households.
12Os are wor*ing for the poor and reducing the vulnerabilities of
them.
Recommendation
We can see from above discussion that the 12O members are
more benefitted than 1on 12O members by involving themselves in
12O activities. 'o the one recommendation is that all members should
be involved in 12ONs activities. ut at present a member of factors
constrain the performance and outreach of 12ONs, there includeD
W The limited accessibility to mobili/ed savings
W An over$emphasis or credit
W The lac* of investment opportunities for poor people specially the
as settles.
W The disadvantaged position of women, who bear the additional cost
of securing access to
-ar*et and information.
W The inability of there institutions to operate in disadvantaged areas.
W The absence of -ar*et demand for service provided by poor
borrowers.
)onclusion
angladesh is a poor country and her poverty is the product of our
social structure. ?egarding unavailability of micro$credit to ma*e any
significant contribution in poverty alleviation, it is reiterated that
alleviation of poverty is an uphill tas*. Credit alone cannot pull the poor
out of the vicious circle of poverty. @arious socio$political and economic
factors have forced and confined them within the poverty trap. -icro
credit is a strong weapon, a necessary but not sufficient condition to bring
these people out of the poverty trap by bra*ing the vicious circle. There
are other areas of social empowerment to be endowed to the poor along
with the economic empowerment endowed by micro credit. The
population can be provided with the employment facilities. 'mall
industries, business facilities, poultry farming, fish$culture, cultivation of
vegetable and fruits may help to improve the lot of poor people of rural
areas. 0f these programs can be implemented, this will ensure the best and
profitable utili/ation of their talent and labor. The total result of such a
program will be the increase of public income and removal of their
poverty. This sort of programs does not re)uire a huge capital. The capital
of one or two big industries or 12ONs may meet the need. 'o, all our
attempts should be made to develop our agriculture as well as the small
and rural industries to removal the curse of poverty.
References
718 :ebapriya hattacharya and 'aleh Bddin Ahmed, 2o$12O
collaboration in Human :evelopment 0nitiatives in angladesh
<:'<B1:6.1!!1.
.. A.?.Ghan 7ed8, ?ural 6overty n 'outh Asia, 0,O geneva 1!5!.
3. A*bar Ali Ghan, :e centrali/ation for ?ural :evelopment in
angladesh, a paper presented at A:6C. Gualalampur 1!">.
#. Gaith 2riffinand A.?. Ghan, 6overty in the therd world( Bgly
;acts and ;ancy -odels9 World :evelopment vol. >.1o.3.%.
%. -ahabub Hussain, Credit for Alleviation of ?ural 6overty( The
2rameen an* in angladesh, ?esearch ?eport 1o.>%.
0nternational ;ood 6olicy ?esearch 0nstitute.
>. '.?.Osmani, H,imits to the Alleviation of 6overty Through 1on$
tarm Credit, HThe angladesh :evelopment 'tudies. @ol X@00
1o.# :ecember. 1!"!.
5. '.Husain, 2roup Activities for ?ural :evelopment in angladesh,
Comilla. A?:.1!!4.
". Tas* ;orces ?eport, ?eport of the Tas* ;orces on angladesh
:evelopment 'trategies for the 1!!!9s @olumeD :ha*a, Bniversity
6ress limited, 1!!1.
!. ?ene :umont, S6roblems and 6rospects for ?ural :evelopment in
angladesh 7Tentative ?eport 0 and008 the ;ord ;oundation 1!53.
14. Q.s 6ereire S'ocial Aspects of ?ural 6overty9 6oper presented at the
seminar on ;ocus on %4 -illionD 6overty in angladesh A:A,
Qanuary 1!"#.
11. Eillur ?ahman, S;ocus on 6overty in angladesh9 6aper presented
in the 'eminar of ;ocus on %4 -illionD 6overty in angladesh,
A:A, Qanuary, 1!"#.
1.. -ohiudding Alamgir, The Axperience of ?ural wor*s programme
in angladesh, B1 A'CA6, ang*o*, 1!55.
13. 2 6?, 0ntegrated ?ural :evelopment 6rogramme an Avaluation,
6lanning Commission, Qune 1!5#.
1#. 0?:, angladesh( Appraisal of a ?ural :evelopment 6ro+ect,
?eport 1o "35a, : :ha*a, 1!5>.
1%. 1urul 0slam, :evelopment 'trategy of angladesh, 6ergamon
press Oxtord 1!5".
1>. A.A. Ghan, ?ural Credit 6rogramme of the Agricultural
Cooperative ;ederation A?:, Comilla, mimeo,1!51.
15. A.?. Ghan, S6overty and 0ne)uality in angladesh in 6overty and
landessness in ?ural Asia 0,O, 2eneva.1!55.
1". B'A0:, A0:D :evelopment 'trategy of angladesh, B'A0:,
-ission of angladesh, Washington, Qanuary 1!5".
1!. Qayanta Gumar ?a+ Organi/ing @illagers for self$reliance, a study
of 2onoshasthya Gendra in angladesh. Orient Congman 1!">.
.4 A.G. 'ingh Anal, SOrign and growth of towns, 1ew :elhi, 1!!4.
.1. aden$6owell, the origin and growth of village communities 0n
0ndia, london, 1!4".
... -ahbub Bl Ha) Sthe poverty curtain. Choices for the third world.
Oxford university press 1!54.
.3. Altaf Choudhury, SHow to mitigate poverty9 third world8
:ha*a,1!!4.
.#. Q.?. 6ar*inson, 7ed8, 6overty and aid, Oxford asil lac*well,
1!"3.
.%. Qohn ,ewis 2illin, 6overty and dependence( Their relief and
prevention 1ew Jor*, the Century Co. 1!...
.>. Tein allen and Alan Thomas, S6overty and development in the
1!!49s9, Oxford Bniversity press 1!!..
.5. Amartya 'en, 6overty and famines, and essay on entitlement and
deprivaion. :elhi Oxfor Bniversity press 1!"1.
.". 6overty and land less in rural Asia, 2eneva. 0nternational ,abour
Office 1!55.
.!. ?achel Heatley, S6overty and power9( the case for a political
approach to development and its implications for action in the
west. ,onden, Eed press 1!5!.
34. @incent T.Covello, oston 2.G.Hall, 6overty and public policyD an
evaluation of social science research, Cambridge, 'chen*man pub.
1!"4.
'''(AssignmentPoint(com "4
31. Tarlo* 'ingh, 6overty and 'ocial Change, a 'tudy in the econome
recorganisation of 0ndia a ?ural 'ociety, ,ondon, ,ongmans 1!#%.
3.. Tarlo* 'ingh, 6overty and 'ocial Change, with a reappraisal, ,nd
ed. ombay, Orient ,ongmans 1!>!.
33. -aurice 6armelee, S6overty and 'ociel 6rogress, 1ew Jor*
macmillan 1!.>.
3#. 2.'. ;ields , 6overty, in e)uality and development Cambridge,
Bniversity press 1!"4.
3%. T.,Jnn 'mith, SThe 'ociology of ?ural life,9 3rd ed. 1ew Jor*
Harper 1!%3.
3>. 'o, Al*iny, 'ocial Change and development -oderni/ation,
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6ublications 1!!4.
35. ?obert A 1sbet, S'ocial Changed history aspects of the western
theory of development ,ondon, Oxford Bniversity press 1!>!.
3". Hiramati, A..'ocial Change in ?ural 0ndia 7a study of two
villages in -aharashtra8 :elhi, .?. 6ublishing cer. 1!55.
3!. Averett. -. ?ogers and others, 'ocial Change in rural societies( an
introduction to rural sociology.
#4. 1.G. 'hu*la( S The social of an 0ndian villege9 1ew :elhi, cosmo
pub. 1!5>.
#1. -argaret Qarman Hagood, 'tatistics for sociologists, 1ew Jor*.
Holt 1!%..fuctional landless 7below 1.% acre8 around two$thirds of
all rural households . 0n a recent union level resurvey ;arou* 71!"%
8 found that the number of families owning 4$1 acre doubled from
.".51 to %5.!% per cent within seventeen years.
;orm 1o D
Eone Code D
1ame of the 'amity Y Code 1o.
;ormation date of the 'amity D
?eformation date of the 'amity D
Type of 'amity 7-ale$1, female$.8
6resent 2:' status
7CodeD 2:'K1, 2:'K., 2:'K3, 2:'K#, 2:'K%8
0nclusion date of the member in 6?O'H0GA 'amity
1ame of the Household Head D 'exD -K1, ;K.
;ather<HusbandNs name of the Household Head D
?espondentNs name and sex D 'exD -K1, ;K.
1ame of the @illage<'lum D Bpa/illa< ThanaD
1ame of the :istrict D
1ame of the A:C Y Code 1o.D
0nterviewerNs name D :ata Collection :ate D
'''(AssignmentPoint(com ".
*( 3ousehold :em.er Profile:
-ember
0: 1o. 1ame of
household
members
1
?elations
hip with
Househol
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7Code8
.
Age
7in
year8
3
'ex
7-K1
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-arital
'tatus
7Code8
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Aducati
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7class
6assed8
7Code8
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Continuing
'tudies=
7JesK1,
1oK.,
1AK38

5
Category of
educational
0nstitute
7Code8
"
The
)uality
of adult
literacy
course
7Code8
!
The
)uality
of 1;6A
course
7Code8
14
:istance
of
school
7*m.8
11
-ain
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7code8
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0f any HH
member is
disable
then put
78 mar*
13
-ember of
which 12O=
7Code8
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:id any
HH
member
suffered
from
diarrhea
7Jear8
1st .nd
)ode list
?elationship with Household HeadD Household HeadK1, 'pouse K .,
Children K 3, 6arents K #, rother<'ister K% 'on$in$law<daughter$in$
law K >, rother<sister$in$lawK5, 2rand son<daughter K ", 1ephewK!,
Other relativesK14, 'ervantK11, ,odging teacherK1., Others 7to be
mentioned8K 13.
-arital 'tatusD Bnmarried K 1, -arried K ., widow<widower K 3,
Abandoned K #, 'eparated K %, :ivorced K >.
Classes passed< ,iteracyD 1ursery K4, Class 1 K 1, Class 00 K ., Class
000 K 3, Class 0@ K #, Class @ K %, Class @0 K >, Class @00 K 5, Class
0X, X K !, ''C K 14, H'C K 11, 2raduate K 1., -asters K 13, 0lliterate
K 1#, Can signeK1%, Can readK1>, Can read and writeK15, Can read,
write and count up to 144K1", not applicableK1!.
Type of Aducational 0nstitutionD 2ovt.<1on$2ovt. 'chool K 1,
2ovt.<1on$2ovt. College K ., 2ovt.<1on$2ovt. -adrasa K 3, 1on$
formal 'chool 76resently admitted8 K #, 1on$formal 'chool 7completed
the study8 K %, Bniversity 7Autonomous8 K >, Bniversity 76rivate8 K 5,
Others 7to be mention8 K ", Adult literacy centerK!, 1ot applicable K
14.
'tandard of adult literacy and 1;6A coursesD @ery goodK1, 2oodK.,
1ot so goodK3, adK#.
OccupationD AgricultureD 'upervision of own Agriculture K 41,
Agricultural day ,abor K 4., ,ivestoc* rearing K 43, ;isherman<
6sciculture K 4#, ;ruit Cultivation< afforestation < 1ursery K 4%.
usiness 7'mall trade< -edium< ,arge8K4>, Tailoring<*atha
sewing K45, Carpenter 7wor* with bamboo, cane8K4", HandicraftK4!,
?ic*shaw<@an puller K14, Other transport 7boat, taxi, bus, tempo8
driver K 11, Carpenter < constructor K1., 'erviceK13, House wifeK1#,
0ndustry labourK1%, 'ervant<maid servant K 1>,6ensionK15,
AbroadK1", 'tudentK1!, :ay labor 7earth wor*er, Helper8 K.4,
OldageK.1, Others 7to be mentioned8K...
12OD 6?O'H0GA K 1, 2rameen an* K ., ?AC K 3, A'A K #,
1i+era Gari K %, CC: K >, GA?0TA' K 5, ?:?' K ", Others 7to be
mention8 K !.
1.1 -ention how the adult literacy courses have been used in your life=
Btili/ing areas of adult literacy
courses
6ut tic* 78 mar* in
applicable areas
According to priority put
numbers
1. Child enrollment
.. Bse safe<pure drin*ing water
3. Bse sanitary latrine
#. 2et *nowledge about dowry
%. e aware about environment
>. ?educe of early marriage
5. Able to calculate
". be aware about self right
!. Other 7mention8

1.. 0f the member has ta*en or continuing the adult literacy courses,
describe the )uality of the courses.
'l.
1o.
1ature of adult literacy
course
Ruality 7 very goodK1, 2oodK.,
'atisfactoryK3, adK#8
1. Course materials
.. Course contents
3. Course presentation method
'''(AssignmentPoint(com "#
1.3 :escribe the )uality of 1on ;ormal 6rimary Aducation
'l.
no.
1ature of child education Ruality 7 very goodK1, 2oodK.,
'atisfactoryK3, adK#8
1. Course materials
.. Course contents
3. Course presentation method

1.# 0s there any obstacle of going school except distance= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1.% 0f yes, mention the nature of obstacle
CodeD Have to cross river K1, Have to cross bridgeK., Bnavailability of
boat to cross river<canalK3,
:ue to social barrier unwillingness to send girl to school K#, Others
7specify8 K%
-arriage
1.> 0s there any case of marriage in your household during last one year=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
1.5 :escription of H.H marriages
'l.
1o
1ame of the
married
men<women
Ag
e
'ex
7-K1,;K.8
:escription of
dowry 7Without
dowryK1, With
dowry K.8
Whether the marriage is
registered 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1.
..
3.

1." 0n what ages do you desire to marry your daughter and son= :aughter 'on
1.! :o you *now, what is the government law for the minimum marriage age of son and
daughter= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1.14 0f yes, at which ages= :aughter 'on
..Training
..1 Have you received any 7s*ill< human8 training from 6?O'H0GA= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
'''(AssignmentPoint(com "%
... 0f Training received, give the information
1 . 3 # % > 5 "
'l.
no
1ame
of
training
7Code8
6lace
of
training
7Code8
Ruality
of
training
7Code8
;re)uency
of training
Ruality
of
trainer
7Code8
The areas of life
where training
have been used<
effective= 7Code8
?eason why
training have
not been used<
effective 7Code8
1.
..
3.
#.
%.
>.
5.
".
Training )ode:
'*ill development training codeD
,ivestoc*D ,ivestoc* vaccination K1, ,ivestoc* raising and disease
control K., ,ivestoc* health care and management K3, Artificial livestoc*
insemination K#, -il* processing K%, Animal feed production and )uality
control K>, 6oultry rearing and pro+ect management K5, goat rearing K",
6oultryD ,ivestoc* 6reserving and 6ro+ect -anagement K!, oiler rearing
and pro+ect -anagement K14, ,ayer ?earing and 6ro+ect -anagement K
11, 6oultry @accination K1., Chic ?earing K 13, main 6oultry ?earing
K1#, 6oultry 0deal ?earing K1%,
;isheriesD ;ish culture and pro+ect management K1>, 6ond ?e$excavation
and preparation K 15, 1ursery pond processing and pro+ect management
K 1", Open water fisheries and -anagement K 1!, integrated fish farming
K .4, Hatchery Operation and ;ingerling production K .1, 'hrimp
culture and pro+ect management K .., ;ish Technology Transfer and
:emonstration K .3, -ini Hatchery K.#, ;ish processing and
mar*etingK.%
Housing and Health 0nfrastructureD ?.C.C. 6illar production and pro+ect
-anagement K.>, -.C Angel Trass ma*ing and pro+ect -anagement
K.5, Housing materials preservation and pro+ect -anagement K.",
-.C.?. Tails production and pro+ect management K.!, Housing in low
cost and tills setting method K34, 'anitary latrine production and pro+ect
'''(AssignmentPoint(com ">
management K31, Tub$well sin*ing and pro+ect management K 3., Tub$
well sin*ing and pro+ect -anagement 7:eep set8 K33, Tub$well repair
and preservation K3#, Tube$well Y sewerage managementK3%, 6urifying
water and ?emoving ursenic Technology of waterK3>
ApicultureD Apiculture and 6ro+ect -anagement K35, Apiculture and
1ursery -anagement K3", Apiculture Training K3!, Api$food
management K #4,
'ocial forestryD 1ursery ma*ing and 0mplementation techni)ues K #1,
6articipatory afforestation, protection and -anagement K #., 'ocial
;orestry and Techni)ues K#3,
Acological AgricultureD Acological Agriculture and pro+ect -anagement
K ##, Homestead 2ardening K #%, 'eed production K #>, 'eed
production, preservation and mar*eting K #5,
0rrigationD 0 Angine pump and power Tiller :riving and -aintenance K
#", Angine pump power Tiller and -echanics K #!, -otor pump :riving
and -aintenance K %4, Advance course on Angine and power Tiller
mechanics K %1, 0rrigation pro+ect -anagement K%..
'ericultureD -ulberry 1ursery and pro+ect -anagement K %3, 'ericulture
-anagement K %#, Chaw*i ?earing K %%,
WeevingD Char*a Operation and maintenance K %>, ?iling Operation and
-aintenance K%5,
:evelopment support CommunicationD 6rimary @:O Training K %",
6articipatory @:O K %!,
Human development Training codeD Women and :evelopment K >4,
Health and 1utrition Aducation K >1, :evelopment organisation K >.,
:evelopment -anagementK>3, Training on ATT6K>#, 'ustainable
development and poverty alleviation K>%, Adult literacyK>>, 6eopleNs
theatreK>5, Others 7specify8K>".
Trainer and training )ualityD @ery goodK1, 2oodK., 'atisfactoryK3,
adK#.
Bsefulness < utili/ation of trainingD ChildrenNs school enrollmentK1, 'afe
drin*ing waterK., 'anitary latrine useK3, Awareness about dowryK#,
Awareness about environmentK%, Awareness about early marriageK>,
Capable to *eep accountK5, Awareness about self rightK", Health and
nutrition awarenessK!, Awareness about women abuseK14, :evelop '*ill
on productive activityK11, Others 7specify8K1..
Bnusefulness < initiali/ation of trainingD ,oan 'carcity K1, Time
constraintK., 0nade)uate training, lac* of understandingK3, Others
7specify8K#, 1ot applicableK%.
6lace of trainingD ?esidencialK1, 1on residencialK., CentralK3, 'amity
basedK#, Others 7specify8K%
..3 Have any of your household members received '*ill and human development training=
..# 0f yes, mention the number of persons
3. Credit < ,oan related information of the Household 7This part should
fillup by the 6?O'H0GA member of the Household8
Household -ember 'l. 1o 7R.1.18 1st mem. .nd mem. 3rd mem.
3.1 Total 1umber of pro+ect receivedD 1st mem. .nd mem. 3rd mem.
3..Btili/ation of 6G ,oan
'l.1o
of
,oan
1
Amount of
loan 7in T*.8
.
Jear of
pro+ect
received
3
Whether pro+ect
repayment was
in time
#
1ame of
the pro+ect
Actual ,oan Btili/ation
1st
Btili/ation
'econd
utili/ation
Third
utili/ation
7JesK1,
1oK., 1AK38
1ame of Activities
7Code8
Amount
7T*8
1ame of
Activities
7Code8
Amount
7T*8
1ame of
Activities
7Code8
Amount
7T*8
;irst member
'econd member
1.
..
3.
Third member
1.
..
3.
See )ode list
Code for 6ro+ect name< purposes< uses of ,oanD Agricultural modern
e)uipment 7:TW, 6ower Tiller, ,,6, 'TW etc K 1, Agricultural
traditional e)uipment K ., Agricultural input 7fertili/er, pesticide, seed
etc.8 K3, 6sciculture K #, ,ivestoc* K %, 6oultry K >, ;ruit Cultivation
<1ursery < afforestation K 5, @egetable cultivation K ", Other agriculture
K !, Cultivable land, mortgage or lease of water bodies etc. K 14, Agri$
crop processing and sale K 11, ;ood processing and sale K 1., Tailoring K
'''(AssignmentPoint(com ""
13, Ambroidery etc K 1#, WeevingK1%, 'mith, 6otter, Qewelry K 1>,
Carpenter<amboo<Cane wor* K 15, 6etty trade<-edium<,arge scale
business K 1", ?ic*shaw<@an<Cycle K1!, oat K .4, Constructor<
carpenter capitalK.1, ;or ma*ing toilet K .., -a*ing and reconstruction
of living room K .3, ApicultureK.#, HandicraftsK.%, Cottage
industryK.>, 'mall enterpriseK.5, 'ericultureK.", 'eed productionK.!,
Household expenditure K 34, Treatment expenditure K 31, ,oan
repayment K 3., 2oing abroad K 33, Axpenditure for getting +ob K 3#,
Axpenditure for education K 3%, :owry and other expenses for weeding K
3>, Other 7to be mention8 K 35.
3.3 Have you or any of your HH members ta*en any collaborative pro+ect with government < non$
government organi/ation by the help of 6?O'H0GA staff during last three years=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
3.# Who have decided to utili/e your last or ongoing pro+ect loan=
:ecision ma*er codeD 'elfK1, HusbandK., WifeK3, othK#, Other male memberK%, Other female
memberK>, 'elf and other male member e)uallyK5, 'elf and other female member e)uallyK", Others
7specify8K!.
3.% How was the technical support during the pro+ect implementation period=
'upport codeD Ade)uateK1, 0nade)uateK., 1o supportK3, 1ot applicableK#.
3.> Was their sufficient monitoring by 6?O'H0GA staff during the pro+ect implementation
period= 7CodeD JesK1, 1oK.8
3.5 Was their any effect on the pro+ect income during the pro+ect implementation period for
the increase of the price of pro+ect related materials= 7JesK1, 1oK., 'ame as beforeK38
3." Have you faced any *ind of crisis during the pro+ect implementation period=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
3.!0f yes, give the information
'l. 1o. 1ature of crisis
7code8
The person who have
given support 7code8
The nature of
support
The amount
lost 7T*.8
1ature of crisisD ;loodK1, CycloneK., ?iver errosionK3, HartalK#,
6lagueK%, 'lum eviction K>, :eath of livestoc*K5, Household or any HH
member seriously ill K", :eath of any HH memberK!, ;iring K14,
Communalism K11, Others 7specify8K1.
6erson who has given supportD 6arentsK1,brother<sisterK., 0n$laws
relativeK3, other relativeK#, parallel neighbor< villagersK%, rich
villagersK>, B6 <parliament memberK5, 2overnment officialK", Other
'''(AssignmentPoint(com "!
12OK!, 1o bodyK14, Other 6?O'H0GA membersK11, 6?O'H0GA
staffK1., ;ederationK13, Others 7specify8K1#
1ature of supportD 6rovide loanK1, 2rant moneyK., 2rant other
materialK3, give adviceK#, give acompanyK%, ma*e wor* doneK>, give
legal supportK5, Others 7specify8K"
3.! Have you or any of your family members faced any *ind of pro+ect related
harassment by any person, organi/ation or social barriers during last one year=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
3.14 0f yes, mention the nature of harassment=
CodeD 0nsecurityK1, 2iving subcriptionK., Harassment by any personK3, Harassment
by any organi/ationK#, Others 7specify8K %
3.1. Where do you go primarily for the vaccination and treatment of your livestoc*
and poultry=
CodeD 6roshi*aNs 6aravetK1, 6roshi*aNs vaccinatorK., Bpa/illa livestoc* doctorK3,
6roshi*aNs livestoc* staffK#, 2overnment livestoc* staffK%, Other 12ONs 6aravetK>,
Other 12ONs vaccinatorK5, Other 7specify8K".
3.13 'uccess of loan Btili/ationD Opinions of the loan user. 7Code8
Opinion codeD @ery successful K1, 'uccessful K ., 'atisfactorily
successful K3, 1ot successful K #, 1ot applicableK%
3.1# 2ive the information of you and any of your HH members who have
given self$labor or hired labor for the ongoing or completed pro+ect
'l.
no
6ro+ect name<
purpose of the
loan
:uration
7month8
HH labor Hired labor
6erson given
maximum
time
6erson given
minimum time
Total
person
Total
person
days
1.
..
3.
CodeD 'ee the pro+ect or purpose code at page >
#. 6?O'H0GA and other 'avings
Total 6?O'H0GA savings Other savings 7T*.8
?egular
savings
76''8
'avings
in
'amity
Own
hand
savings
'avings under
social and
economic security
prg. 7A''68
1st member
.nd
member
3rd
member
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !4
%. ,oan received by the Household in the last one yearD
OThe eldest 6G member in the household 7incase of more than one
member8 is to be interviewedP
'ources of ,oan Amount
7in T*8
?ate of service
charge< interest
Amount of outstanding
debt. 7in T*.8
1. Commercial an*
.. G< 'chedule an*
3. 2rameen an*
#. 6?O'H0GA
%. ?AC
>. A'A
5. Other 12Os
". ;riends<relatives
!. -oney ,ender
14. ,andowner
11.Other 6erson
1.. 'hop*eeper
13. Wholesaler
1#. :adondar< userer
1..Others 7to be mention8
%.1 Why did you receive loan from other sources rather than
6?O'H0GA=
CodeD 0nterest free K1, 2et loan much )uic*er K .,
?epayable at any time K3, Only in emergency situations K #, 0nsufficient
amount K%, Other 7to be mention8 K >.
%.. :o you thin* your social statuses have increased after receiving
6?O'H0GA pro+ect=
7CodeD JesK1, 1oK.8

%.3 0f the social status increases mention the nature of status
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
>. 'ocial 6osition Y Awareness
>.1 :o you thin* that your opportunities have increased to attend various
social gathering after +oining 6?O'H0GA 'amity=
CodeD Highly 0ncresedK1, 'atisfactorily increasedK., -inimally
increasedK3, 'ame as beforeK#, Others 7specify8K%
>.. 0s the respondent aware about the issues given below=
'l. 1o. Ruestions Code 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1. 0nterval for the 1ational election
.. Total seats of the 6arliament
3. 'election process of the 6rime minister
#. 1umber of main political parties
>.3 Why do you thin*, the democracy is essential=
CodeD Opportunity to ensure every ones rightK1, ;reedom to express
every ones opinionK., Avery one can get the shelter of lawK3, Can cast
vote by own selectionK#, Opportunity to ensure accountability in every
stageK%, Option to create leadership from pro$poor K>, Opportunity to
create law for the development and security of the poorK5, Others
7specify8K"
>.# What do you thin*, why we are not getting the benefits of
democracy=
CodeD 6olitical miscreantsK1, ,ac* of accountability K ., Terrorism in
6oliticsK3, lac* money in politicsK#, 6oliticians dishonesty K%, Others
7specify8K>
>.% 0nformation about casting vote
'l.
1o.
Type of election :id you cast vote or
not 7JesK1, 1oK.8
Who has selected candidate
for casting vote 7Code8
1. 6arliamentary election
.. City corporation election
3. -unicipality election
#. Bnion 6arisad election
:ecision ma*er CodeD 'elfK1, Husband< wifeK., -ember of the in$lawNs
familyK3, -ember of the paternal familyK#, 1eighborsK%, 'amity
decisionK>, 0nfluential person <local eliteK5, 'ubstantial decision K",
Others 7specify8K!
>.> Was there any threat for casting vote freely= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
>.5 0f yes, mention the nature of threat.
CodeD Threatening K1, 1ot allowed to go to vote centerK., @iolationK3,
0nfluenced by any organisationK#, Women are restricted by the familyK%,
Others 7specify8K>
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !.
>." How was the presentation )uality of the peoples theatre team in your
village or areas on the issues of adult literacy, early marriage, dowry less
marriage, women abuse, health awareness, bargaining capacity of wage,
awareness of democracy etc=
CodeD @ery goodK1, 2oodK., satisfactoryK3, ,ow )ualityK#, 1ever
watchedK%.
>.! Were there any cases of following women abuse in your village<
slum< union< thana during last one year=
'l.
1o.
Type of abuse Occurrence happened
in the last one years
7JesK1, 1oK.8
6rotested or
not 7JesK1,
1oK.8
Type of
protest
7code8
1. :ivorce
.. :owry
3. eating
#. Acid throwing
%. ?ape
>. -urder
5. Abuse through verdict
6rotest codeD 6articipate in protest rallyK1, 6articipate in local
+udgementK., 6articipate in protest meetingK3, Try to convince or
confinement personally K#, ,egal support K%, Others 7specify8K>
5. Health education and awareness
5.1 0n the case of household memberNs sic*ness from where have you
ta*en health advice in the last one year=
CodeD 'peciali/ed :octor 76rivate 6ractitioner8K1, :octor in Thana
Health Complex K., :octor in Bnion Health Complex K3, @illage :octor
K#, Homeopathy K%, Herbal<Gabira+ K>, 'ales man of 6harmacy <
Compounder K5, Curing diseases by exorcism K", Water treatment 2iven
by religious worship 76anipara8 K !, Others 7specify8K 14.
5.. :o you *now in what age what type of vaccine or in+ection should be
ta*en for child immuni/ation=
CodeD :onNt *nowK1, 6artially *nown K., ?elatively *nown K 3, Antirely
*nownK#, 1ot applicableK%.
5.3 Which sources of water do you and other HH memberNs use for
drin*ing=
CodeD ?iver K1, 6ond K., Well K3, Tube$well K#, Tap K%, ;ilter K>,
Other 7specify8K5.
5.# Which sources of water do you and other HH memberNs use for
different household wor*s= 7e.g. athing, Washing8
CodeD ?iver K1, 6ond K., Well K3, Tube$well K#, Tap K%, ;ilter K>,
Other 7specify8K5.
5.% :o you *now about arsenic contamination of tube$well water 7JesK1,
1oK.8=
5.> :id you test your tube$well water, whether it is arsenic free or not=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
5.5 0f yes, is your tube$well water arsenic contamination free= 7JesK1,
1oK.8
5." What type of latrine do you use=
CodeD Open field< Qungle K1, 0n hole K ., Water sealed< ?ing 'lab K 3,
Gantcha K #, 'anitary K %, Hanging K>, Others 7specify8 K 5.
5.! How do you wash your hand after defecation=
CodeD Only water K1, 'oap K., Clay<ash K 3, :o not washK#, Others
7specify8 K%.
5.14 Have any of your HH members suffered from any *ind of water born
diseases during last one year= 7JesK1, noK.8
5.11 0f yes, mention the type of water born diseases.
CodeD TyphoideK1, :hirroheaK., :isentryK3, WormK#, 2oendisK%,
6ollioK>, Arsenic contamination K5,
Others 7specify8 K"
5.1. :o you have any children in your HH up to one year old= 7JesK1,
noK.8
5.13 0f yes, how many children=
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !#
5.1# 0nformation about HH children immuni/ation up to one year
'l. 1o. 1ame of children Age
7month8
1umber of vaccine<
in+ection ta*en 7total no.8
1.
..
3.
irth and 0nfant -ortality ?ate
5.1% :elivery information of household women during last one year
Child
information
The place of child birth Helping hand< assistant
7code8
1st
.nd
3rd
6lace codeD At homeK1, HospitalK., ClinicK3, ;amily health clinicK#,
Others 7specify8K%
Helping hand< assistant codeD :octorK1, 1urseK., 6HO'H0GANs trained
birth attendant K3, Other trained birth attendantK#, Bntrained birth
attendant K%, ;emale HH member K>, 1eiboughersK5, Others
7specify8K"
5.1> 0nformation about the alive birth and less than one year age death
children of the household
Jear 1umber of alive
birth
1umber of death children less than one
year age
.441
.444
1!!!
-aternal -ortality ?ate
5.15 Whether any mother has died at the period of her pregnancy to
delivery Ns #. days in this household in the last three years= 7Jes K 1, 1o
K .8
5.1" 0f yes, how many mothers have died=
". Housing
".1 At present how many house structure in your courtyard after became
6?O'H0GA member=
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !%
".. How many house structures did you have in your courtyard before
+oining 6?O'H0GA=
".3 :escription of the house structureD
:escription 1umber of
structure
Type of roof 7code8 Type of wall 7code8
efore
+oining
6?O'H0GA
After +oining
6?O'H0GA
efore
+oining
6?O'H0GA
After +oining
6?O'H0GA
6rinciple living
house
Gitchen
Cattle shed
Other house

CodeD Type of roof and wallD 6uccaK1, TinK., 'traw K3, amboo K#,
amboo slips K %, Hard board K >, ClayK5, Qute strawK", leafs K !,
TilesK14, Others 7to be mention8K11
".# :o you have electricity at home= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
Access to private <government resources and participation in local
institutions
!.1 Have you or any of your HH members ac)uired access to any of the
2ovt.< private resources= 7Jes K 1, 1o K ..8
!.. 0f yes, mention the information bellow
'l. 1o. 2ovt.< private
resources
Have access or
not 7JesK1,
1oK.8
Ac)uired
access by
whom 7code8
6urpose of
uses 7code8
1. Ghas land
.. Ghas water$bodies,
rivers, canals, la*es,
ponds etc.
3. 2ovt. reserve forestry
#. ?oad
%. Amban*ment
>. esides ?ailway line
5. Afforestation in
0nstitutions
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !>
CodeD Bnion council K1, Bpa/illa council K., Eilla council K3, ;orestry
department K#, ?ailway department K%, Water :evelopment oard K>,
-inistry of land K5, 0ndividual< private organi/ationK" Others 7to be
mentioned8 K!.
6urpose codeD AgricultureK1, 2ra/ing cattleK., :rying paddyK3,
HousingK#, ;ishing or fish cultureK%, ;uel collectionK>, Home stead
gardeningK5, Wood sellingK", Tree plantationK!, Others 7to be
mentioned8 K14
!.. What *ind of support 6?O'H0GA has given to gain access to these
resources=
a. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
b. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
!.3 :o you have sufficient seed, seedlings and land for plantation in your
area< locality=
'l. 1o. Type of plantation 'upply of seed
7JesK1, 1oK.8
'upply of
seedlings
7JesK1, 1oK.8
,and
7JesK1,
1oK.8
1. Homestead plantation
.. 'trip plantation
3. loc* plantation
!.# How many fruit <wood trees have you planted <cut during the last one
year=
,ocation 1umber
Cut 6lanted
1. Homestead
.. Other land out side homestead
3. 2ovt. land < ;orest$area
#. ,eased or mortgaged land
%. 'trip plantation 7member own portion8
!.% Whether you or any of your family members or your samity is
involved for the plantation protection and afforestation activities you
have in your homestead or areas< locality 7all type8=
7JesK1, 1oK.8
!.> 0f yes, How do you protect=
6rotection codeD -a*e fenceK1,2ive waterK., 2uard by ownK3, Appoint
guardK#, 6rotect by all of the member of 'amityK%, 6ut fertili/erK>,
-a*e stumbling bloc* in the case of deforestationK5,
,egal support K", Others 7specify8K!.
!.5 :o you or any of your family members are the member of the 6?O'H0GA
;ederation, mention the household member 'l. no.
!." 0f yes, mention the type of ;ederation
;ederation codeD @illage< 'lum federationK1, Bnion federationK.,
Bpa/illa < area federationK3,
!.! Have you or your family ever get help or assistance from the @illage<
'lum federation committee < Bnion federation committee < Bpa/illa or
area federation committee= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
0f yes, then how=
',.1
o.
Type of ;ederation and samity Way of getting assistance
7code8
1. Bpa/illa or area ;ederation
committee
.. Bnion ;ederation committee
3. Bnion ;ederation committee
#. 6rimary group
Help< assistance codeD 6rotection of women violation< abuseK1,
Assistance for gaining access to *has resourcesK., Assistance in
afforestrationK3, Assistance for getting village salishK#, Help for getting
legal wage in timeK%, -itigate household conflictK>, Help for dowry less
marriages K5, Help for getting treatmentK", Others 7specify8K!.
!.14 Have you or any of your household member been elected < ran for a
membership position of the executive committee in any of the local
bodies= 7Jes K1, 1o K.8
!.11 0f yes, mention the type of membership 7Code8
-embership codeD B6 chairmanK1, B6 memberK., 6ourashava
commissionerK3, 6rimary school committeeK#, High school
committeeK%, -adrasa committeeK>, -os)ue<temple<Church
committeeK5, Hat<ba/aar committeeK", Others 7specify8K!.
!.1. 1umber of member run for the membership= 7Household member
'l. no8
!.13 1umbers of member have been elected= 7Household member 'l.no8
!.1# Have you or any of your household member participated in any *ind
of social or cultural function< festival= 7Jes K1, 1o K.8
!.1% 0f yes, mention the type of function< festival
CodeD @ictory day celebration K1, -others language dayK., 0ndependent
day celebrationK3, celebration of first bangla month < 1st oisha*h K#,
0nternational women dayK%, literacy dayK>, Anvironment dayK5, labour
day< 1st mayK", Others 7specify8K!.
!.1> Have any of your household members played the role of a local +ury<Qudge
in the village<slum salish during last one year= 7Jes K 1, 1o K .8

'''(AssignmentPoint(com !"

!.150f yes, how many members=
!.1" 0nformation about Qudgement, ?ole and +ustice=
Type of
Qudgment<'alish
1o. of
+udgment
?ole
7code8
Whether women have
got +ustice in the case
of women issues
Whether the
poor have got
+ustice.
1. ,and or assets
.. ;amily altercation
3. 6olygamy
#. :ivorce<'eparation
%. Women abuse
>. -oney transaction
5. Others
?ole CodeD -ain +udge< +ury K1, 2eneral +udge< +ury K.
Qudgement codeD Completely fair +udgement K1, 'atisfactory
+udgementK., 6artially fair +udgement K3, Completely unfair +udgement
K#
!.1! 0s there any +udgement occurred by verdict in your locality during
last one year=
!..4 0f yes, what type of punishment has given=
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Household Assets, 0ncome, Axpenditure and 0nvestment
14. Household Assets 7Without land8
'''(AssignmentPoint(com !!
14.1 2ive the information about your HH Assets, number and its value=
',
1o
1ame of Asset Ruantity<
1umber
6resent value 7Ta*a8 Have these assets increased after
membership of 6?O'H0GA
7JesK1, 1oK., 'ameK38
Trees<:omestic
Animal<irds D
1. -ilch Cow < uffalo
.. Calf
3. ulloc*< cow<
Oxen<uffalo
#. 2oat<sheep
%. 6oultry
>. Trees
Agricultural A)uipment9sD
5. 0rrigation 6ump
". 6ower tiller
!. 'prayer
14. Thatcher machine
11. 6lough<ladder etc.
1.. Other agricultural e)uipment9s
1on$agricultural e)uipment9sD
13. Cart 7cow<uffalo8
1#. oat<Angine boat
1%. ?ic*shaw< @an
1>. icycle
15. -otor @ehicle<aby taxi
1". us<truc*
1!. Weaving machine<oil mill
.4. ?ice mill
.1. ;ishing net
... Other non$agri. e)uipment9s
.3. 'hop
.#. Capital 7business8
;urniture D
.%. Chair, table, Cupboard, fan etc.
.>. ?adio < cassette player
.5. Television
.". watch<cloc*<
.!. Ornaments
34. Other valuable asset
%.3 Household Axpenditure
'l.1
o
1ame of Commodity
7last one wee*8
Own 6urchased
Ruantity
7*g,8
6rice
7ta*a8
Ruantity
7*g8
6rice
7ta*a8
1 ?ice
.. Wheat< flour<
3. 6uffed rice< chira
#. ;ish<dry fish
%. -eat< Chic*en
>. Agg
5. -il*
". 6ulses<vegetables< fruits
!. 'alt, Adible oil, spices
14 Gerosene< attery
11 etel$leaf< etel$nut<
idi, cigarette
1.. ;uel
13 Others 7to be mention8
1ame of the commodity 7,ast one year8
1% House rent 7if rental house8
1> Alectricity
15 Aducation
1" Treatment
1! Clothes <shoes
.4 Weeding< festival
.1 Transportation
.. Others 7to be mention8
Household investments
14.3 Household investment and expenses in the last one year
'ectors of investment Amount 7in T*.8
1. ,and purchased
.. @ehicle purchased 7aby taxi, ?ic*shaw, @an,
oat etc.8
3. 6ower tiller, ulloc*
#. 0rrigation machine 7:TW, 'TW, ,,6 etc.8
%. House construction 7;or rental purpose8
>. 'mall and medium business
5. ,ivestoc*, poultry rearing
". ;ishing gear and other inputs purchased
!. 2ong abroad< send to abroad< service<
14. Others 7to be mention8
Household 0ncome
14.# Household 0ncome and Amployment
',1o 'ources of income HouseholdNs net income in
the last one year 7Ta*a8
1. Agriculture
.. ,ivestoc*
3. 6oultry
#. ;ish
%. ;ruits< @egetables products
>. ;orest<;uel<trees
5. Agri$day laborer
". 1on$agri day laborer
!. 0ndustryD 'elf
14. Wage labor
11. usiness D 'elf
1.. Wage labor
13 TransportD 'elf
1#. Wage labor
1%. Construction D 'elf
1>. Wage ,abor
15. 'ervices D 'elf
1". Wage labor
1!. 'ervice
.4. 0ncome from ,easing < 'hare$
cropping
.1. 0ncome from rent
... 2leaning vegetables$fuel, food
.3. 6resentation
.#. ?emittances
.%. Other 7to be mention8
14.% :o you thin* your incomes have increased after +oining
6?O'H0GA= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
0f yes, in what extent 7in percent8=71$.%&K1, .>$ %4& K., %1$ 144 & K3,
Above 144& K#8
11.1ature of land ownership
11.1 0nformation about HH land ownership
'l 1o 1ature of
land
Amount of
land at present
7:ecimal8
Amount of land
before +oining
6?O'H0GA
7:ecimal8
Amount of land during
the membership of
6?O'H0GA 7:ecimal8
1. Homeste
ad land
.. Cultivabl
e land
3. Houses
#. 2arden
and other
%. 6ond
>. Other
7specify8
1.. Anvironmental awareness and production pattern
1..1 :o you have homestead garden= 7Jes K 1, 1o K .8
0f yes, give the information,
1... What type of fertili/er do you use for vegetable gardening=
7Chemical K1, Compost K ., oth K 3, 1othing K #8
1..3 What type of pesticide do you use for vegetable gardening=
1..# :o you have fish culture= 7Jes K 1, 1o K .8
0f yes, give the information,
1..% What type of fertili/er do you use for fish culture=
CodeD ,ime K 1, Cow$dung K., Brea K3, T'6 K#, Compost K%, 1othing K >,
Other 7to be mention8K5
1..> :o you have farming= 7Jes K 1, 1o K .8
0f yes, give the information.
1..5 What type of fertili/er do you use for agriculture=
1.." What type of pesticides do you use in agriculture for your own land=
1..! What type of pesticides do you use in agriculture for mortgage and other land=
1..14 What type of pesticides do you use in agriculture for mortgage and other land=
1..11 0s the material of ma*ing pesticide available< easy to get for use it in producing
crops=
7Jes K1, 1o K.8
13. -ar*eting 'ystem
13.1 :id you sale your products during last one year= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
".. 0f yes, give the following information.
',
1o.
6roduced item 7two
principal items8
-ention the
selling
amount <)uantity
7codeD
AntirelyK1,
6artiallyK.8
Where do
you sale=
7code8
Where do you thin*
it would be
profitable to sale=
7code8
1. 6addy
.. Wheat
3. Crops
#. @egetables
%. Other agri$products
>. -il*<2hee<utter
5. Honey
". Agg
!. ,ivestoc*
14. 6oultry< livestoc*
11. Handicrafts items
1.. Chira< 6uff rice
13. 2arments
1#. Weaving Cloth
1%. Tiles, ?.C.C pillar
1>. ?ing slab
15. 0ronic material
1". 6ottery
1!. Others 7to be
mention8
CodeD Where do you sale< profitable to saleD @illage mar*etK1, -ar*et
outside the village K., At home K3, 1earest Bpa/illa< :istrict Town K#,
1ot re)uired mar*eting 7;or consumption only8K5, @endor K", Others
7To be mentioned8K!.
13.3 -ention the distance of the nearest mar*et from your home= 7in
Gm.8
1#. ,abor -ar*et
1#.1 Have you or any of your HH member wor*ed as a day labor during
last one year or at present= 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1#.. 0f yes, give the information
1ature of the labor 6ic*
season
'lac* season
-ention the number of days you wor*ed as a day
laborer last year
.. :eterminants of wage 7code8
3. Wage payment pattern 7code8
#. :aily wage rate 7cash, food, *inds8
%. Average wor*ing hours per day
>. 0f wor*ed as a contact labor, mention the monthly
wage 7in Ta*a8
CodeD :eterminants of wageD Amployer K1, Wage labor K., Through
mutual understanding K 3, Axisting mar*et wage K #, Others 7to be
mention8 K !!.
CodeD 6attern of wageD 0mmediately paid after completion of wor* K1, A
portion paid immediately Y the rest later on K., Advance payment K3,
Antirely late payment K#, Other 7to be mention8 K%.
1#.3 How is the employerNs behavior=
Well$behaved K1, 'colding K ., 6hysical torture K3, Others 7to be
mention8 K#.
1#.# :o the men and women get e)ual wage= 7Jes K 1, 1o K .8
1#.% 0f no, mention the reason=

1#.> :o you thin* the rate of wage should be e)ual for men and women=
7Jes K 1, 1o K .8
This part of the )uestionnaire is applicable only for the women 70f the
respondent is male then the information have to ta*e from his
wife<mother<sister8
1%.Opinion and decision ma*ingD
Rueries ?esponses 7code8
1. To whom will you go for help at the time of
monetary crisis= 7CodeD 'ee below8
.. Who is the decision$ma*er of your household
expenditure= 7CodeD 'ee below8
3. Who is the decision$ma*er of your children
education= 7CodeD 'ee below8
#. Who is the decision$ma*er of your household
memberNs weeding= 7CodeD 'ee below8
%. Who is the decision$ma*er of your HH investment=
7CodeD 'ee below8
>. Can you ta*e decision about any *ind of HH
expenditure by own=
5. Who is the decision$ma*er of your family planning=
Code of row 1D Husband K1, 6arents< 'iblings K., ?elatives K3,
1eighbor<@illager K#, 0nfluence<?ich$man of the @illage K%, B6
-ember K>, 2overnment employee K5, 6?O'H0GA staff K",
'amity member K !, Other 12O K14, 1one K11, Others 7to be
mention8 K1..
Code of row ., 3, #, %, >, 5D -ainly Herself K1, -ainly Husband K.,
'elf and other family member e)ually K3, -ainly other male member
of the family K#, -ainly other women of the family K%, Own and
husband both are e)ually K>, 1ot applicable K5, Others 7to be
mention8 K".
1>. -obility
Can you go alone to the following places= ?esponses 7JesK1, 1oK.8
1. 1earest mar*et
.. Bpa/illa <Thana Health Complex
3. Bnion Health Complex
#. 6olling Centre
%. Training Centre
>. an*
5. ?elatives house
". Bpa/illa 'adar
!. Any *ind of gathering
14. Cultural program
11. Others 7to be mention8
*4(Abuse
15.1 Have you been abused by any one in the last one$year= 7Jes K 1,
1o K .8
15... 0f yes, mention the type of abuse and abused by whom=
Abuser
Types of abuse Husband
7JesK1, 1oK.8
Other male
members of
in$lawNs
;amily
7JesK1,
1oK.8
Other female
members of in$
lawNs ;amily
7JesK1, 1oK.8
6aternal
members
7JesK1,
1oK.8
Other male
members
outside the
household
7JesK1, 1oK.8
1. eating
.. 'colding
3. Threat to divorce
#. :o not provide subsistence
%. Threat to turn out
>. Abandoned< re+ected by
husband
5. 6olygamy or threat to be
polygamy
*7(:ivorce
1".1 Have you had any incidence of divorce in your HH during last three
years= 7Jes K1, 1o K.8
1".. 0f yes, give the information about the HH members who have got or
given divorce during last three years
'l. no. 1ame of divorced
HH members
Causes of
divorce 7code8
Was the divorce legal
7Jes K1, 1oK.8
CodeD :owry K1, 'terile K., :o not able to born son K3, 'ic*ness most of
the time K#, HusbandNs second marriage K%, Without any reason K >,
Ruarrel with husband K5, Torture K", Other 7to be mention8 K !.
0dentificationD As* the respondent whether he< she or any or his< her
HH 6?O'H0GA member has given the same type of information more or
less than three years. 7Jes K1, 1o K.8

Thesis On Rural Poverty Alleviation Programe in Bangladesh

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