I once again worked with my sustainability class in Bangladesh and studied the dynamic environment of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta and the people who live there. Our 25-member group – 10 Columbia University students, a professor from the Czech Republic, a student from Dhaka University No. 10 (DU), two DU professors and my daughter – have two people joined the two people of BRAC, the world’s largest non-governmental organization, Tapas and Sakib. Snacks and sakib are working with me to provide adaptive projects for Southwest Bangladesh, where freshwater is insufficient, heat waves are increasing, and agriculture and aquaculture need to adapt to climate change. We were all crowded on the 85-foot M/v Kokilmoni in the mangroves of the San Dalbans. All students become quick friends in our journey.
We woke up at Andharmanik, a new tourist site in the north of Sundarbans, where we will spend the next two days. After a few days of bus rides and oppressive interviews, it was a nice episode. After breakfast we took a walk along the newly created path of the forest. There is not much wildlife except for a deer near the entrance, but we can traverse the forest with a wide variety of trees and plants, including many epiphytes or aerial plants that live in the trees.
We then continued south towards Katka and arrived 5-6 hours later. We got off the boat and headed for another longer forest walk, with countless deer, monkeys, wild boars, various birds and cobras along the way. After a few hills of pottery, we see a 300-year-old salt kiln. People make salt pots at the spring climax level. During the two weeks between the orgasm of spring, the water will evaporate into salt water. The pot is then filled with brine and heated on the kiln to make salt. We believe that salt production was destroyed by a cyclone in 1699. Coastal areas, we can see remains of a building destroyed by Cyclone Sidr in 2007, which hit the coast due to a Category 4 storm.
After a walk, we crossed the passage and walked a short walk to the new observation tower, passing through the tiger fern where the big cat likes to hide. In the late afternoon, dozens of deer grazed in the open patches of the forest, while birds were visible in nearby trees. Some people tried to walk to deer to deer, but as people approached, they dispersed.
The evening on board is in the US-Bongladshire students include many card games, but we also teach lectures on climate change programs at BRAC’s Tapas and Sakib, including our joint projects and my talk on Bangladesh groundwater hydrology. Both raised many questions and discussions. New York’s theory and distant are now real and personal.
The next morning, we all climbed onto the country boat and rode the silent boat in wildlife on the tide channel at dawn. We saw mainly birds, but deep into the forest, we heard two loud, very low roars that we thought must be tigers. Then we sailed to Dimer Char. In the past, it was a great place to go from bare sand to grass to shrubs to trees to mangroves. However, the places we landed eroded, so we mostly saw transitions from sand to mangroves, with many dead stumps on the shore and underwater. We swam on the beach for a long walk. The water entering the head of the Bay of Bengal has no land until Antarctica, 10,000 kilometers.
Our last stop at Sundarbans was postponed by a thunderstorm. Once we were over, we went to Kochikhali and walked to the Tiger’s Horn Observation Tower. Apart from deer, monkey, bird and wild boar, we encountered frogs less than half an inch. After a walk, we began to walk north out of the forest. By morning we arrived at the Sharankhola district. We tried to visit a different village than in 2023, but Kokilmoni was trapped on the sand pole in front of Kumarkhali. Fate determines that when Kokilmony releases himself, we should return here. Onshore, students in Colombia and Du were dispersed in the face of climate change, immigration and thermal pressures of residents, while Elizabeth and I walked with our guide Romeo. We ended up hanging out with a lovely family who fed us green coconuts and we watched the kids play more games.
After meeting with everyone in the town that was previously destroyed by Cyclone Sidr on the embankment that protected the town, we had lunch at the nearby elementary school and whirlwind shelter. Instead of the expected lunch, the Kokilmoni crew regularly canned food with Sterno to keep the dishes warm. After lunch, the students continued to conduct more interviews, but then bought a lot of watermelon and green coconut on board.
The last meal was a bunch of delicious chicken, fish and grilled vegetables. Last night’s discussion on the top deck made friends. One of my students went to Bangladesh with one of the DU students. Many students stayed up late and chatted and played cards together last night.
We left the boat early in the morning and visited 60 dome mosques on our way back to Dhaka. It was completed in 1459 by the early “Pir” or the Muslim saint Khan Jahan, who cleared the land and established a community centered on what is now the city of Baghart. The columns of the mosque are stones, which means they have to be shipped from India at a huge cost. Behind the mosque is a huge freshwater pond that enjoys 21 acres of fresh water, a huge sight that must be dug by hand. Then we continued to Dhaka and crossed the Padma Bridge over the river of that name, Ganges and Brahmaputra. The bridge opened in 2023 and is 6 km long, with piles extending 127 meters to the ground to support it on this sandy delta land.
This bridge means we save a lot of hours of travel compared to the ferry crossing the river. We drove to Dhaka University and visited the schools including Curzon Hall in British Raj in 1904-1908 and Shahid Minar, a monument to students who died in 1952 in language protests, when East Pakistan protested against Urdu and Urdu, which was the language of all Pakistan. Starting from university, we went to the large new Aarong nearby, the largest craft shop in the world. It was launched by BRAC in 1978 to enhance the capabilities of rural artisans and now supports more than 75,000 Fair Trade artisans. After the big breeze we had dinner together and then said goodbye with lots of hugs and tears as we headed home to the airport and came with an extra suitcase for all the gifts we bought.
Many of my students say the trip has changed them forever, seeing this flat but vibrant landscape, connecting with DU students, and taking the time to hear stories of rural villagers living on this sometimes fickle land. Although poor, we opened our arms to us and shared the food they had to make us welcome. Now, my students and daughter know why I’m back in Bangladesh year after year.
