8th July 2014

New centre in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

On 6th July, 2014, we started a new training center at Kaptai, Rangamati for 100. Kaptai will be the first centre of HBPS in the Chittagong Hill Tracks area. Karnaphuli Hydroelectric Power Station, the only hydro-electric power plant of Bangladesh is situated just besides our training center. The local people of this area are not able to work in this power plant, so most of the people in this area live from the earnings based on the forest. Our initiative is to create employment for women so that their dependency on the forest can reduce and our environment can be safe.

The initial support for this project came from Climate Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CREL) Project funded by USAID. The objectives of this project are to reduce the threats to biodiversity, adapt to global climate change impacts, and improve livelihoods; support the GOB’s current climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and natural resources management priorities in agreement with those outlined in the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).

In total we will train 200 women from 2 different places who are mainly depending on the forest. 100 women have already started from Kaptai and 100 women from Satkhira will start soon. We very much look forward to seeing them starting to work and producing more wonderful toys under the Pebble brand.