How a $5 Kitchen Garden is Changing Lives in Rural Bangladesh

In the rural villages of Bangladesh, one of the most urgent challenges families face is malnutrition—especially for those living in extreme poverty. It’s a critical issue the PEP team tackles right from the start when they begin working with a family in need.

One of the simplest yet most powerful solutions? A kitchen garden.

When families have even a small patch of land near their homes, a PEP social worker encourages them to start a garden. If the family agrees, they’re provided with a seed kit and hands-on training to help them grow and care for their vegetables.

The results are remarkable. These kitchen gardens produce fresh, healthy food right outside the home, improving the family’s nutrition almost immediately. Even better, when there's surplus produce, families can sell it to earn extra income—making it not just a meal source, but a potential stepping stone out of poverty.

The seeds we provide are carefully selected for their ease of growth and quick yields. Common choices include bottle gourd, sweet pumpkin, ash gourd, hyacinth bean, red amaranth (spinach), okra, and papaya seedlings—all nutritious staples that thrive in the local climate.

You might be wondering about the cost to start one of these life-changing gardens. Believe it or not, just $5 is enough to provide a family with everything they need to get started. That’s all it takes to plant the seeds of better health, greater independence, and real hope for the future.

Kitchen gardens are already making a huge impact—improving food security, boosting family incomes, and helping communities build resilience from the ground up. With continued support and training, more families are embracing kitchen gardening as a practical way to grow a healthier, more stable life.