In the fading light of yet another flooded evening, Rupali faced an impossible but all-too-familiar choice: risk disease by using the collapsed latrine behind her home, or wait for the cover of darkness to find privacy in the open fields. For 26 years, this was the daily reality for villagers in Bhabadaha – a low-lying area in Monirampur subdistrict, near the city of Jashore. The region remains persistently waterlogged due to man-made drainage failures, earning it the name ‘the suffering of Bhabadaha’ – a phrase that captures both the physical hardship and emotional toll of living with constant flooding.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. When engineers in the 1980s built embankments and sluice gates to control seasonal floods in the area, they accidentally created a permanent inland sea. Today, over 1 million people across southwestern Bangladesh navigate life with water lapping at their thresholds. But Rupali’s story isn’t just about rising waters, it’s about inventive solutions, and how a project designed to restore human dignity became a blueprint for environmental resilience.

No respite

Before their land was flooded, Monirampur’s residents’ suffering was only temporary – when the monsoons subsided, the land dried and their latrines were above water again. But after, there was no respite.

“We stopped eating before bedtime,” Rupali says. Her husband, Ajit, says that families rationed meals to minimise bathroom trips. The alternative – using bamboo made hanging structure (Shako)   – risked disease, snake bite, danger and humiliation. Pregnant women, children and elderly people suffered most.

In trying to control nature, humans had created a disaster that stripped away basic dignities. On top of this, plastic waste from makeshift sanitation solutions choked the remaining waterways, damaging the environment.

An innovative solution to a unique problem

When Islamic Relief’s team arrived in Monirampur in 2023, they didn’t bring prefabricated solutions. Instead, they asked, “what would work here?”

The answer emerged through months of collaboration with engineers and villagers – a deceptively simple structure that defied the waters. The climate-smart latrine stood on sturdy pillars, its concrete base rising 2 feet above the highest flood line. A clever gate valve system allows waste to be safely contained when water levels are high and processed when they lower. Equally importantly, the latrine was made using local materials – no plastic sheeting.

For Rupali, the change was immediate. “The first morning I didn’t have to plan my day around finding a private place” she says. “You cannot understand what that freedom means. After 26 years of living with shame and discomfort.”

Ripple effects

What began as 80 latrines has sparked a quiet revolution. Neighbouring villages have now replicated the design, while women’s groups are training others in climate-resilient construction. While Bhabadaha’s long-standing struggle stems from waterlogging caused by failed drainage systems – not plastic pollution – the community’s journey toward adaptation has had unexpected environmental benefits.

As people regained their dignity and stability, they also began addressing other challenges – like plastic waste that once clogged their few remaining waterways. Inspired by Islamic Relief Bangladesh, some villagers have even started making adaptive latrines using recycled rubber materials, reducing reliance on plastic sheeting and demonstrating how small innovations can lead to broader environmental gains.

This World Environment Day, as the world focuses on the theme of ‘Ending Plastic Pollution’, Bhabadaha offers a profound lesson: meaningful environmental solutions must begin with human dignity. Locally led adaptation is the best way of ensuring using local knowledge and skill for problem solution. Giving access to the financial resources vulnerable women can contribute in climate induced problem solving to improve their quality of life, and they’ll seek to protect their environment too.

Your support can help Islamic Relief change the lives of people affected by climate change in Bangladesh and worldwide. Donate today.