On the mainland, a woman dismantles her house before she builds it again on the roadside. The river is eroding the land day by day thus forcing thousands to move somewhere else, but land is scarce on the mainland and many are unable to find new land for agriculture. Erosion may turn a land-owning farmer into a landless day labourer. Chilmari, 2007.
Men gather at a local teahouse in one of the river chars. While many chars are too poor or too new to offer such commodities, others have survived for several years and its inhabitants have opened up small shops or tea houses. Chilmari, 2007.
The effects of river erosion on the mainland. Dewanganj, 2007.
A man gives the finishing touches to his new house. He was recently forced to move to this new area on the same char because the river had destroyed his village. Only 40% of the char in the Jamuna river persists more than 6 years. It implies that char dwellers in 60% of the Jamuna chars have to migrate more than once within 6 years. It is not unusual for adults in the Jamuna region to have moved six to ten times in their lives. Chilmari, 2007.
A family walks by the edge of their char land, where the effects of river erosion can be clearly seen. Chilmari, 2007.
Fishermen use traditional methods for fishing, but the rivers carry less fish each year.
A boy examines the results of river erosion: the road was destroyed a few weeks ago. The piece of land seen on the background was once part of the mainland. In the last 20 years, the rivers have been angrier. The Jamuna (whose banks are about the most erosion-prone places in the country) has swollen and changed its course drowning some charlands for ever and creating new ones. Disaster is no longer predictabe. Chilmari, 2007.
Women build a high pass from the main path to one house, in preparation for the monsoon season which is just a month away. During monsoon, all the land will be covered by water, except those houses built over high enough ground. Chilmari, 2007.
In adition to the major physical risks associated with the rivers, char-dwellers in particular are marginalized from the benefits of mainland Bangladeshi society. Chilmari, 2007.
A woman returns to her house after collecting water from the nearby water pump. Sariakandi, 2007.
Char-dwellers wake up to discover that the heavy rains from the night before have had a devastating effect on their land. Disaster is no longer predictable, and every morning they check how much land the river has eroded during the previous night. Chilmari, 2007.
A woman takes her cattle for grazing. Cattle is common in every char but it's rarely owned by the char-dwellers, who are too poor to afford more than a hand-to-mouth existance. Sariakandi, 2007.
Children plan by their village's riverbank. Dewanganj, 2007.
A family works on their chilly crop. Their land is just a few feet away from the river on the mainland, and the river is eroding and destroying the land everyday. They process leaves them landless while their crops gradually disappear. They will soon have to move to a new area where land will be scarce, which will undoubtly push them further into poverty.
Children follow the lesson as the teacher continues reading. Education is available in some of the older or bigger chars, although male adult literacy in Bangladesh is still around 50%, while 30% for female adults. Chilmari, 2007.
A family works on their land, just a few feet away from the river, which is eroding the land day by day and will soon force the family to look for land somewhere else.
Men work on their land, which is highly threatened by the river everyday. As they work, they hear how the river continues to destroy the land, and wonder how longer they will be able to remain there before the river finally makes their crops disappear. Dewanganj, 2007.
Children play on one of the chars.
Several generations from the same family often live in nearby houses, which are built around a common area. This family was forced to move to a new village because the river was eroding all their land. But usually this changes mean that each time a family has to move, the land they get access to is much smaller than the one they have just lost, which pushes them further into poverty. Chilmari, 2007.
Men take a local boat to go to the mainland market at sunset. Many char-dwellers go to the mainland markets once or twice a week for selling or purchasing different kinds of merchandise. Sariankandi, 2007.
A group of children check the effects of river erosion on the mainland. In the last 20 years, the rivers have been angrier. The Jamuna (whose banks are about the most erosion-prone places in the country) has swollen and changed its course drowning some charlands for ever and creating new ones. Disaster is no longer predictabe. Dewanganj, 2007.
Women work on their house's common area. Sariakandi, 2007.
The efects of the erosion rivers are causing in the char lands. Everytime a family has to move to a new village in the same char or in a different one, the process pushes them further into poverty. Chilmari, 2007.
At sunset, fishermen get ready to go back to their village on a nearby char. In certain areas, char-dwellers fish as the 'last resort' activity (for example, when they lose their land to erosion). But river fish has become scarce in the last years. Sariakandi, 2007.
Children play on one of the chars. Sariakandi, 2007.
Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world (around 140 million), and land is a major source of conflict. The proportion of landless people has been increasing with nearly 50% of rural households functionally landless, which forces them to colonize very marginal areas including the chars. But even in the chars it is a major source of conflict. Chilmari, 2007.
A man checks the effects of river erosion on the mainland's riverbank. Dewanganj, 2007.
A young girl and her mother stand in front of their house. Char-dwellers get ready for the monsoon season by placing their households on higher ground. Even this does not guarantee that the river will not be angrier and higher each time, therefore flooding not only the land but the houses to, forcing their owners to seek refuge on the mainland. Sariakandi, 2007.