In ancient times, villages were largely self-sufficient, with agriculture, livestock, handicrafts, and local trade fulfilling most needs. Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of gram swaraj (village self-rule) in the 1920s–30s, and even Mao Zedong’s rural initiatives in China, embraced self-reliance in villages.
After Bangladesh’s independence, cooperative-based self-reliant villages were envisioned as a foundation for national development. Later, NGOs such as Brac, Grameen Bank, and other community initiatives incorporated elements of this model into rural development programs. Research continues on reforming and transforming self-reliant development in villages, with a focus not just on infrastructure but on community ownership, women’s empowerment, and participatory engagement.
Traditionally, when we think of a village road, we imagine an earthen path or a strip of asphalt connecting places. However, during my recent visit to Pathardubi village in Bhurungamari upazila, Kurigram district, I realized that a road can be far more than transport -- it can be a catalyst for social change, a canvas of community ownership, a platform for women’s empowerment, and a living symbol of collective engagement.
Treating roads only as transport misses half the story. When roads are treated as shared, nurtured, and co-owned assets, they become catalysts for broader change.
It grows food and upholds dignity
In Pathardubi, roadside embankments are alive with spinach, gourds, papaya, beans, and trees -- planted and nurtured by the landowners or their representatives as well as the Labour Contracting Society’s women workers. These roads do more than connect destinations; they feed families, generate income, and symbolize sustainability. One woman tending the vegetables told me: “This road is ours. We planted it, we care for it, and we earn from it. It gives us more than transport - it gives us respect.”
What began as a government pilot project, Amar Gram-Amar Shahar (My Village-My Town) has grown beyond its original design. Currently, this project is implementing 15 villages around the country aiming at expending civic amenities and developing community ownership on public assets. Under this project, the landowner men and women of the rural road are working together with the project-assigned women. The project-assigned women earn Tk 300 per day, with Tk 100 set aside as savings. At the end of their tenure, each will have accumulated about Tk 108,000 -- an empowering sum that provides security and dignity.
Empowering women
By participating in roadside plantations, markets, and local committees, women are no longer hidden -- they are visible, respected, and influential. One woman tree caretaker explained: “This road took me out of the home and into the community. Now people ask for my opinion. I never thought that would happen.” Empowerment here is not only economic -- it is social. Women are speaking in their communities, making household decisions, and redefining their roles in society.
A symbol of community life
The roads connect villages to markets and towns but in this village, they connect something deeper. Farmers sell produce faster and at fairer prices. Families eat vegetables grown along the roadside. Embankments reduce accidents, and trees and crops contribute to greenery and climate resilience.
A farmer who shared his three-foot plot for the road said: “We no longer see development as something given to us. We see it as something we build together.” Another villager summed it up: “This road is not only for travel -- it is our road, built with our hands, growing with our care, carrying our hopes forward.”
Unlike top-down government projects, this initiative is dialogic. Farmers, teachers, women workers, and youth said they are all invited to share opinions before activities begin. This participatory approach fosters ownership, responsibility, and pride. “We do not feel like beneficiaries. We feel like partners,” said a farmer who shared land with this project.
Tourism potential
Pathardubi also holds rich potential for rural tourism. The lush roadside plantations, green embankments, and small water bodies create a picturesque landscape. Visitors can experience authentic village life and learn about sustainable agriculture. If local festivals, folk music, and cultural centres are established under the project, they will further enrich the village experience, while the traditional village charm will offer unique souvenirs for tourists.
As a development researcher, I was so amazed observing the transformation of the road. I contacted the respective authorities of Bhurungamari, Kurigram to get the background of the transformation. The officer explained to me the local context and later the project director expanded upon it. Rural roads were historically developed on donated land, donated by beneficiaries, the villagers. They were narrow and required a small portion of their owned land. With the rapid transformation of the rural economy, rural roads are getting paved and carrying significantly more traffic.
Therefore, the roads require more paved width, more shoulder, more embankment and subsequently more lands from the villagers. It has become a great dilemma for rural road development. Bangladesh has more than 300,000 kilometres of rural roads. If we go for land acquisition, the national budget will never be able to accommodate it. Therefore, we need the innovative approach of road development along with social forestry.
In this approach, the villagers are contributing with their land for road pavement, shoulder and slope; even with their earth from adjacent land. In return they are given ownership of the project's outcomes. They were tasked with widening the road embankment to a specified geometry and were provided with an incentive payment and seedlings for a variety of plants, including fruit, timber, and medicinal herbs, as well as vegetables.
They will also be given a good share of roadside trees after around 10-20 years. This innovative model transforms a public asset into a source of private benefit, aligning the interests of the community with the longevity of the road. If the approach is replicated all over the country, it will lower road maintenance cost, facilitate rural transport, and increase farmers’ incomes as well as work for adaptation of climate change.
Engagement and transformation
True development is not just concrete or markets -- it is empowerment and engagement that make lives better. If expanded nationwide, this model could reduce rural poverty, curb urban migration, empower women, and strengthen communities.
Challenges remain. Some components, such as housing projects, can spark debate-should multi-story buildings replace open courtyards in villages where traditional community life thrives? Any future development must respect the village’s environment, culture, tradition, and connectivity.
As I left, I watched women tending to roadside vegetable plots under the fading sun. Their hands were rough, their clothes simple, but their dignity was unmistakable.
Mahamudul Haque is an Assistant Professor, Dept of Mass Communication and Journalism, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur. Email: [email protected].
