Nourishing the History and Heritage and Selling the Local Famous Products: The Business Concept of "Upa Zilla Info-Museum" in  Bangladesh

1. There is an urgent need for maintaining, nourishing and caring the history and heritage of Bangladesh like a child. A country can enthusiastically nourish its own history, heritage and culture only by herself.

2. In a developing country, it is a very difficult task to nourish a sector which is not proven as 'economically profitable'. In Bangladesh 'Archiving' or establishing small 'Local museum' at Upa Zilla level is holding its position under this non-profit category. But, the situation can be changed by doing some 'home work' with the problem. Because on the other side of every problem there is a solution of the same hiding unnoticed - just we need to discover and implement it.

3. Initially, some brave entrepreneurs are needed to "make, own and show" the sample to the people technique for small and profitable entrepreneurship with archiving at some places in Bangladesh. After receiving the feed back and earning of experiences from the trial and error method, country wise expansion program may be taken later.

4. The concept is: There may be an "Upa Zilla Info-Museum" at the Upa Zilla level that can be owned by an individual or an NGO. At this moment 'Archiving' or 'Local Museum' may not come as the 'Main Dish' of the Info Museum. Let it come with a side dish or even 'Salad' or Salt, ultimately it will capture its' position by its own virtue.  

5. The "Upa Zilla Info-Museum" may collect and display local old documents, literature, relevant to the culture and the concerned Upa Zilla and the society. It can also collect and display antiques, samples of marketable local handicrafts and sale famous foods or agricultural products. People may enter in the display to see the old items and can purchase the local handicrafts, food and other agricultural products. Earning from the sales profit will help to run the center

6. At the 'Upa Zilla Info-Museum' people will supply their products, people will come to see their product and people will purchase their product. Like democracy, the salable product will be of the people, by the people and for the people.

7. If anybody can make it a successful venture in any place, people from other areas of the country will come forward to try with this business idea.  This is simply a small business concept and we hope that the later versions of the "Upa Zilla Info -Museum" will be of higher quality and more successful. 

THE BIRTH OF AN ISLAND AND EXTENSION OF FOREST IN THE SUNDARBAN AREA OF THE BAY OF BENGAL

(Steps 9,10,11 and 12)

Step 9. 

New shoots are emerging from the root system and acquiring more spaces.

Step 10. 

Grasses are growing more and acquiring spaces all over the island @ 360^o horizontally.

Step 11.

At last the green gasses have covered almost all over the new island.

Step 12. 

By this time, other species of salinity tolerant plantlets come through water streams to occupy the island. Some Sundari plantlets are seen germinating here.  

THE BIRTH OF AN ISLAND AND EXTENSION OF FOREST IN THE SUNDARBAN AREA OF THE BAY OF BENGAL

(Steps 4,5,6,7 and 8)

Step 4. Another newly grown up island is seen on the left side of the photograph. Only different types of salinity tolerant plants have started occupying the land at the moment. Consequently, animals will start coming later after ensuring their food.

Step 5. At first, the Salinity tolerant grasses start growing on the new-born island. Burgeoning roots are the vegetative propagation material of the grasses that start growing new leafs soon after anchoring their roots in the top soil. Sprouting roots are seen on the soft muddy soil.

Step 6. Constant deposition of silts soon covers up the roots of the grass that enables the root system consuming of more nutrients for a vigorous and continuous growth.

	7. Strongly established grass bushes are growing and becoming taller Step 8. Everyday and night rivers have been continuously bringing new raw materials to form the islands in the Bay of Bengal. Sunset is being seen from a new born island near Sundarban.

THE Birth of an island AND EXTENSION OF forest IN the sundarban area of the bay of bengal

(Step 2 & 3)

Step 2. Within 10-15 days, freshwater weeds like water hyacinths die due to excess salinity in the water. At the entering points of the Bay of Bengal there are no water hyacinths seen floating on the Channels. After complete decomposition of the living freshwater fauna, their residues and other river sediments are deposited on the bottom of the Bay of Bengal.

                                     (Photo: Mohammad Abdullah)

You may notice there are no water hyacinth floating in the river.

Step 3. 

A new-born island in the Bay of Bengal. Till the moment, no human being steps on this virgin island for cultivation or living.

(Photo: Mohammad Abdullah)

THE BIRTH OF AN ISLAND AND EXTENSION OF FOREST IN THE SUNDARBAN AREA OF THE BAY OF BENGAL

The Sundarban is the largest single mangrove in the world. "Sundarban" literally means "Beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bangla language. The name Sundarban may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are commonly found in Sundarban in large numbers.

The forest lies at the mouth of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The forest covers about 10,000 sq.km of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh. It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. The Sundarban is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and very small Char area (islands) of salt-tolerant mangrove forests  (Source: Wikipedia). The area is known for the Royal Bengal Tiger, as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes. It is estimated that there are now about 450 Royal Bengal tigers and 50,000 spotted deer in the area.  

The forest also has immense protective and productive functions. Constituting 51% of the total reserved forest estate of Bangladesh it contributes about 41% of total forest revenue and accounts for about 45% of all timber and fuel wood output of the country (FAO, 1995). 

A number of industries (e.g. newsprint mill, match factory, hardboard, boat building, furniture making) are based on the raw material obtained from the Sundarban ecosystem. Various non-timber forest products and plantations help generate considerable employment and income generation opportunities for at least half a million poor coastal population. Besides production functions of the forest, it provides natural protection to life and properties of the coastal population in cyclone prone Bangladesh. 

We will tell the story of the development and extension of a jungle adjacent to the Sundarban area. There will be about 30-40 photographs in this story. All of them are shoot by me during the visits in Sundarban from 2008 to 2013. We will show you the process of developing and extension of the jungle by showing you the photographs chronologically. 

If you have anything to share, you may please comment below and share your opinion with us.

                                                                   (Photo: Mohammad Abdullah)

Photo 1:

In the Sundarban area, river carries the silts, land wastage, water hyacinths and other organic garbage from all over the country towards the Bay of Bengal. 

You may notice the water hyacinth floating in the river.