Hands not land : how livelihoods are changing in rural Bangladesh

The phrase ‘rural Bangladesh’ no longer means what it once did. We believe it to be out of date as the distinction between urban and rural life is no longer clear cut. Powerful external economic forces including those of globalisation and the expansion of physical infrastructure – especially roads and bridges rural electrification and the growth of marketing outlets – are creating a rural landscape that is increasingly ‘urban’ in character and have radically transformed village life. New livelihood opportunities are emerging – often in the non-farm sector. The numbers of small shops tailoring and other craft enterprises rickshaw pullers petty traders in villages and local bazaar centres have grown substantially. Remittances now form a critical part of the rural…