Mili Rani Das is a mother of two from the climate-vulnerable haor region in Moulvibazar. People in her village have observed that the frequency and intensity of flash floods have increased, in recent times. The cold season has shrunk, with summer and rains dominating the year. Erratic flash floods leave the village covered in a blanket of mud, making it impossible to grow food around the homestead. Mili often struggled to feed her young children around the year. After becoming a participant in Suchana, Mily received training in improved techniques for growing vegetables and rearing poultry. She also received high-quality seeds and a practical demonstration of climate-smart technology. Furthermore, she received household and group counseling in nutrition for mothers and children, health services, and hygiene. 

At her community pushtidol sessions, she learned about disaster risk management at the household level. She received leaflets in the pre-monsoon and warning periods on preparedness and precautionary measures for floods. Mili Rani became aware of the early warning system and knows she can access it by calling 1090, which is written on her Suchana card. Utilizing the knowledge and inputs from Suchana, Mili Rani built an impressive climate-smart village model farm in her homestead. Mili shares, “During the wet months, often my family would have survived on jaubhat without any curries or vegetables. In my climate-smart village model farm, I can grow vegetables in tower and sack gardens even when there is waterlogging. My children are eating nutritious meals. The surplus vegetables and eggs are adding cash to my family income.” 

Suchana has helped women like Mili build climate-smart village model farms that serve as a source of nutritious foods and additional income for the family and a learning hub for the community. Over its six years of implementation (2017-2022), the programme sustainably increased household dietary diversity and food security through homestead food production and income-generating activities working with 235,579 households in Sylhet and Moulvibazar.