Where & With Whom We Work

Focusing on the Climate Frontline

The working area of RUSTIC covers the remote, riverine, and disaster-prone southwestern coastal delta of Bangladesh. This region is home to fragile mangrove ecosystems (the Sundarbans), acute saline intrusion, seasonal cyclonic storm surges, and high levels of under-employment.

RUSTIC's grassroots operations cover 11 Upazila/Thana, 30 Unions/Wards, and 118 Villages/City Communities across Khulna, Bagerhat, and Satkhira districts, mobilizing thousands of vulnerable coastal families into organized self-help groups.

Beneficiary Demographics (Profile Page 26 & 30)

Hard-Core Poor (HCP) Target Criteria

RUSTIC adheres to stringent, participatory poverty mapping protocols to ensure development benefits reach the most destitute:

• Landless families possessing less than 0.50 acres of agricultural land.
• Households reliant on precarious, seasonal manual wage labor.
• Female-headed households, widows, and deserted coastal mothers.
• Climate-displaced families residing on vulnerable river embankments.

Group Savings & Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)

To establish economic sovereignty, RUSTIC facilitates community micro-savings mobilization and internal capital recycling:

• Weekly mandatory group savings deposited into joint commercial bank accounts.
• Low-interest internal emergency lending to avoid exploitative local loan sharks.
• Revolving capital for poultry, goat rearing, homestead nursery, and tailoring.
• 100% financial transparency with passbooks audited during monthly cluster meetings.