DHAKA: When Doli Barman founded the first food bank in Kawapara village in northern Bangladesh two years ago, she wanted to make sure her community would be safe from hunger in times of crisis. The impoverished region in Niamotpur, Naogaon district, an area inhabited by some 6,000 members of landless Indigenous groups, has often suffered food emergencies.
Around 5,000 women, mostly from the minority communities, are finding self-sufficiency with every passing day. Under an initiative formally known as "Food Bank", the women set aside a fist-sized portion of rice every day.