Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future.

Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

Chapter 8 Depicting Bangladesh Culture in Terms of Sustainability Rumana Islam Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University 1. Introduction Yencken and Wilkinson (2000) consider culture as the fourth pillar of sustainability, ecological, social and economic sustainability being the other three pillars. In my view, culture is the overarching arch of the other pillars and Bangladesh is an example of a culture acting as the driving force for achieving sustainability. The focus of the paper is to depict the role of culture for social, economic and environmental sustainability of Bangladesh. There are two interrelated aspects in understanding culture. The first is the social production and transmission of identities, knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes and understanding; and the second is the way of life, including customs, codes and manners, dress, cuisine, language, arts, technology, religion and rituals; norms and regulations of behaviour, traditions and institutions. Therefore, culture is both the medium and the message the inherent values, means and the results of social expression (Hawkes, 2001). In this paper, Bangladesh culture is seen as: the culture of God fearing, socially syncretistic and nature abiding. Cultural manifestations include, among others, inclination to procreation, brotherhood, respecting people, happy with less and naturalism. The paper argues that the countrys culture is the tool that keeps the social, economic and environmental sustainability of Bangladesh healthy. Bangladesh culture is rural and agriculture1 based, for, in Bangladesh more than 80% of people live in the countrys 68,000 villages. Its geographical position2 and tropical monsoon climate are favourable for agriculture which attracted people from other parts of Asia to settle in this land. These multinational people started their living with agriculture and their religions were also based on agriculture (Banarjee, 2005)3. They used to worship various Gods and Goddesses for good harvest, and Hinduism and Buddhism were native to this region. Later on people accepted other religions such as, Islam and Christianity but the Bangladesh culture integrated all these religions and made their own Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam4. They gave these religions a new shape according to their preference and local conditions (Sharif, 1994). For this reason religious taboos have never been given priority. Instead, sociality and
1 2

Cultivation of field crops; homestead gardening; fish, poultry and cattle farming. Bangladesh is a low-lying, riverine country located in South East Asia. Formed by a deltaic plain at the confluence of the Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra (Jamuna), and Meghna rivers and their tributaries, Bangladeshs alluvial soil is very fertile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Bangladesh 3 See Banarjee, 2005: 73. 4 This does not imply that all religions live in harmony and there are examples of religious unrest (e.g. the persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh the 1990s, following the demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu fanatics in India); however, the important aspect is the sharing of common values that promote sustainability. 63

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

brotherhood have a great importance. The basic moral values which are common in all religions are accepted, such as to consume less, be good to all living beings, not to exploit nature all these are obeyed commonly by people in all religions. People of different religions live together in harmony with respect, care and share. The interdependence of all professionals that is required in a sustainable society exists in Bangladesh culture through the adherence of the same moral values. With regards to economic sustainability, Bangladesh culture believes in selfsufficiency in basic necessities. People manage their own food from their agricultural activities. They meet any other needs with the money obtained from the sale of excess agricultural produces. Bangladeshis value the environment more than economics (Hossain, 2001: 168) because people are aware that their livelihood depends on nature through agriculture, not on money. They have profound knowledge in managing food from nature without harming its integrity. Their religious values and practices are also environmentally friendly. Muslims plant and care for trees as their religious duties, Hindus and Buddhists also worship trees as part of their religious activities. Their care and consciousness towards the environment help them sustain environmental health. 2. Social Sustainability The social sustainability of any country relies on the state of its population growth. Negative growth is unsustainable. So is the case with imbalanced positive growth. Population increase can be sustainable to the extent that the land supports its people, which is easier when the consumption levels are low. Although Bangladesh has relatively higher fertility rates than required to maintain its population stable and within the carrying capacity of the land, the countrys total fertility rate has been falling steadily in the last 15 years1. Bangladesh also has varieties of professions to provide an essential balance in the society, such as fishers, handicraft workers, carpenters, smiths, weavers observed in villages alongside with the agricultural peasantry. The predominant characteristic observed within villages is that of social cohesion. Social cohesion in Bangladesh culture reinforces social sustainability through sharing, caring and responsibility. People are closely linked to each other in their happiness and miseries. For example, in marriage, elder members of society play an important role by providing suggestions, decisions and economic help. In the case of death, neighbours are the first comers who support and console the family of the deceased person and arrange the burial. Social problems and crimes are solved and judged by rural leaders. Socio-religion integration in Bangladesh culture is another reason for a sustainable society. Although there are four main religions (i.e. Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism), each religion overlaps in relation to behaviours and customs observed in clothing, food habits and daily life style. Dhoti and Sari were the dress of Hindu males and females respectively, but now Sari has become common to females of all religions and Dhoti is replaced by Pajama (trousers, which came from Muslims) and
1

Bangladeshs total fertility rate has dropped from 3.9 children per woman in 1991 to 3.1 in 2006 (http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbsprd) and if the current trends continue unchanged is likely to reach replacement level (i.e. 2.3) within 50 years or so. 64

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Shirt-pants (which came from western world i.e. Christians) for male people of all religions. Before, Hindus and Buddhist were vegetarian. Now most Bangladeshi people have become non-vegetarian like Muslims. The Bengali language, which originated from Sanskrit, used to be treated as Hindu language but is now the national language of Bangladesh. People of one religion attend the festivals and ceremonies of others. This cultural interchange and religious alliance and friendship show the sustainable socio-religious structure of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh culture family is a sustainable unit. The family identity is more recognised than the individual one. An adult is recognised by the family title. A junior is identified as a son/daughter of someone. An elder is known by his/her children. Joint families are still common in Bangladesh where up to three generations (head of the family, children and grand children) live together. Care, respect, love and sharing bind the family members together. Retired/old people are cared for by the youths of the family. Children grow up under the guidance of the elders. Childrens education starts from the family. Therefore, in the joint family one finds the best possible security for a child. If a father dies, his children are treated by his brother(s) as their own, and the full impact of their loss is softened. If a mother dies, there are aunts or grand mothers to care for the children, with the same love and commitment as their natural mother (Wiser, 1971). Reversely children are treated as sources of social and economic security. At old age, people are cared by their grown up children. Children assist them in familys social and income related matters. As a result, people extend their family depending on their professions. For example, farmers require more children than government officials as agriculture is a labour intensive profession. Therefore, it can be said that social sustainability of Bangladesh is a result of family and social bondage in terms of dependency, responsibilities, belongings and religious harmony. 3. Economic Sustainability Bangladesh is known as a very poor country economically. At the same time it is the happiest country on the globe1. Part of the reason for this is because the rural people (who represent 80% of the countrys population) do not need much money for their survival. The four predominant religions in Bangladesh also play an important part in this respect as none encourage over-consumption and hoarding. Generally, a culture is a consumerist culture when people over-consume and this is not the case in Bangladesh. Its people consume less due to religious beliefs and practices. All religions show a common pathway to live a simple lifestyle by consuming less. For example according to the Quran: Eat and drink, but waste not by indulging in excess; surely, God does not approve of the intemperate (The Quran 7:31). According to Bangladesh culture, the blue print of rural economic sustainability is:

See http://www.despardes.com/Bangladesh/2006/20060113-BDesh_NewsBrief.html#happiest which reports the 1999 survey by The London School of Economics. 65

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

Gola bhora dhan Goal bhora goru Pukur bhora mach

(Grain-store full of paddy) (Cattle shed full of cattle, cows and bullocks) (Ponds full of fishes)

The grain-store is full when people get good harvest, which indicates there will not be scarcity of food. If people have cows and cattle, they will get milk which provides the necessary nutrients for children. Bullocks are essentially used in ploughing lands in Bangladesh. Plenty of fish indicates the availability of secondary food for consumption. Also cattle, milk and fish have good commercial value. Bangladeshi people are called Bangladeshi with rice and fish which indicates the availability of these two foods in the country. Rice is the principal crop and Bangladesh has reached self-sufficiency in rice production within the last few years.1 Being a riverine country, fish is available in its water bodies. The Bangladesh economy is not a fully developed cash economy as families are mainly self-sufficient and only the excess yield reaches the market. Women and children play important roles in achieving economic sustainability. Culturally Bangladeshi women are house oriented and their activities are centred on the familys wellbeing. Although their principal duty is home management, they are also involved in financial management and income generating activities such as farming2, harvest management and cottage industries3. Of the 55% of Bangladeshi households who own land up to three acres, women play a major role as unpaid family labour. They work in various agricultural operations involving rice and cash crops, poultry and cattle raising and other gardening activities which provide necessary nutrition for their family (Ahmed, 1992). There is also substantial involvement in field based vegetable production. There children also contribute outside schooling hours. Womens and childrens participation is prominent in weeding, watering, and specially harvesting of different vegetables and spices (Karim, 1995). By doing this they are providing economic support, which is part of their culture and at the same time they are maintaining ecological balance avoiding the use of sophisticated and often harmful technology. Bangladesh people manage economic sustainability by maintaining a joint family system where brothers share the same property, such as agricultural land, households etc., without dividing it into pieces. The consumption of food, fuel and other necessary things is less when all members live together and cook jointly. In Bangladesh culture, the principal rule of the joint family system is that sons were not allowed to have separate households or an independent family until: (a) all boys and girls of a family were duly married, (b) their parents had died, and (c) they performed or celebrated funerary socio-religious rituals and ceremonies4 (Hossain, 2001: 47). Thus, joint family is culturally treated as the best place for economic security.

Food and agriculture in Bangladesh: A success story, by Gordon West. See http://usinfo.state.gov .journals/ites/0502/ijee/bangla.htm accessed on 26/10/2006. 2 Farming includes vegetable farming, cattle farming, poultry and fish farming. 3 Includes handicrafts of mud, canes, cloth, and embroidery. 4 The principal funerary socio-religious ceremony was to organise a feast for the relatives of the family, villagers, respected figures including priests and village chiefs, and the beggars and the poor. For Hindus it is called sraddhya, for Muslims khairat. 66

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

The cultural economic sustainability of Bangladesh is derived from its consumption habits, food security, non-cash economy and family structures. 4. Environmental Sustainability According to Bangladesh culture people use nature for their livelihood without destroying its originality. Though chemical fertilisers and insecticides are also in use in Bangladesh, most of the farmers apply traditional agriculture. They are taught from their experiences about the adverse effects of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.1 Traditional agriculture includes using organic fertilisers, traditional methods to control pests and insects. The main ingredient of organic fertilisers is cow dung which is available from cattle farms. Compost fertiliser made from household waste is also used. In this way Bangladeshi people are managing their waste and at the same time protecting the soil from deterioration. Traditional knowledge and skill for controlling pests are extremely important. These methods include environmentally friendly solutions, such as using scarecrows in the field, making of smoke, planting Nim trees (Azadirachta indica), Babla (Acacia nilotica) and other trees which keep away insects. It is scientifically proven that, if one Nim tree is planted in every acre of field, Bangladesh does not need to import insecticides (Banarjee, 2005: 73). Culturally farmers are not comfortable with crops produced by modern technology. Though hybrid and GM (genetically modified) crops yield more than traditional crops, farmers are unwilling to accept these new technology crops because of the risk of loosing many traditional species. In November 2000, farmers from the district of Tangail protested against hybrid and GM crops and advocated for the use of traditional seeds to preserve their traditional agro-biodiversity (Barua, 2005). Peoples religious beliefs, prejudices and rituals towards the environment are also environmentally friendly. According to Muslims, trees have lives and they are created by God in pairs. Hindus and Buddhist also worship trees. As a result of these beliefs, touching plants and trees is totally forbidden after evening because like humans, trees also sleep at night. Likewise, fruit bearing trees should not be cut down. As a ritual, the first fruits of a tree are distributed to the neighbours and relatives so that it will bring more fruit next time. These beliefs and values prove peoples respect for nature which results in their ecological sustainability. Respect for nature is also reflected in the Bangladeshi patience in natural disasters. They are not frustrated because of frequently happening flood, river erosion, cyclone and tornados. They accept that nature is more powerful than them. They believe that, nature is a blessing for them as it gives them food and shelter. So, whatever nature does will bring something good. This belief shows new hope which helps people in rebuilding activities. They acknowledge natures bounty when they observe positive results2 following natural phenomena. Therefore, through peoples dependency on traditional knowledge and technology and care for the environment, they are attempting to achieve environmental sustainability.
1

A Country Paper of Bangladesh on Promoting Dialogue and Collaboration in Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development (SARD) Between NGOs/RPOs and Government. www.fao.org/docrep/oo6/ad693e02. htm, accessed 15/10/2006. 2 It is observed that the following year of each natural disaster, bumper production occurs. 67

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

In order to preserve the simple lifestyle, traditional skills, care for the people and nature it is very important to maintain the Bangladeshis holistic sustainability through educating the current and future generations. 5. Sustainability Education in Bangladesh Culture Bangladesh people receive sustainability education in two ways: formal education and non-formal education. Formal education is provided by schools, colleges, madrasas (Islamic community schools), universities and other institutions. Non-formal education is provided by government and non-governmental organisations, especially for girls and adults outside the normal institutional curriculum. Non-formal education organises educational activity outside the formal system of education. It is simple and flexible and can be delivered at any place convenient to the learners. It is generally designed to meet the basic learning needs of disadvantaged groups and can be available at any age. Non-formal education is provided to those sections of the community who have no access to or have dropped out from formal education. A recent study showed that NGOs' Non-Formal Education Programme covered about 8% of the total enrolment in 1998 (Education Watch Report, 1999). They play a complementary role alongside the mainstream primary schools of the country and about 8% of primary schools are run by the NGOs (Education Watch Report, 1999). However, another form of education available to Bangladesh people is informal education. Informal education is received through their surroundings, religious beliefs and practices, daily livelihood, nature, people and indigenous knowledge. Indigenous knowledge includes knowledge from personal experience and livelihood, proverbs, folk and baul songs1, ballads2, Jatra3 etc. which are transmitting generation after generation. As the majority of Bangladesh people cannot afford formal education, they pay a lot of attention to informal education. Accordingly, the family provides the more useful education for them. They teach how to be a manush (humankind). A good family can make good humankind. Formal education is of less importance to village people for two reasons. Firstly, there is a lack of employment for the educated youths from villages,4 and secondly, becoming a good, honest, healthy, wise and wealthy person can be done without formal education. Some Baul Fakirs even believe that nonformal education which is learning from nature and practical experiences is the best form of education. They say that Prophet Mohammad, Moses, Jesus or Buddha did not have formal education. They were educated by nature while grazing sheep, cows in the fields. One of the greatest Bengali poet and the national poet of Bangladesh, Kazi Nazrul Islam had very limited access to formal education but his songs and poetries were admired by scholar society in India and Bangladesh. Lalon Fakir
1

Bauls are a group of mystic minstrels, associated with devotional songs known as Baul songs. Bauls practice secret devotional rites, centering on the belief that the human body is the seat of all truths. In this there is a fusion of the Sahajiya and Sufi concepts of devotion with Sufism enjoying some predominance. Bauls do not believe in organised religion and do not frequent mosques or temples. They are iconoclasts and humanists who believe that all human beings are equal, irrespective of caste and creed. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/ht/B_0355.htm accessed 10/09/2006 2 Local songs representing peoples simple lifestyle, natural beauty, peoples sorrows and happiness. 3 Village drama 4 To get a job requires a big upfront bribe in cash, which is beyond the means of most of the village people. 68

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

(1776-1890), the greatest Baul Guru was unlettered (Hossain, 2001: 168). However their wisdom not only enlightened their own community but also influenced the people in their livelihood, cultural and behavioural characteristics as well as their journey towards civilisation en route to sustainable development. Culturally the informal education is focused on social and environmental issues. Economic issues are not importance to people who generally believe in a non-cash agriculture based economy. The informal education uses various proverbs to show a pathway to healthy lifestyle, sustainable society, economic security and environmental management. Below are some examples: Proverbs indicating healthy lifestyle: Jor vitay tule ghor Je ase tari jor Alo haoa bedho na Roge bhuge morona Nim Nisinda jotham Manush ki more totha Do not build house in damp area Otherwise it will be full of diseases. Sunlight and free air are essential for health. Where there is Nim1 tree, people will not die.

In Bangladesh culture, it is believed that the Nim and holy basil trees should be planted surrounding the house. In herbal science, it is mentioned that the house which contains holy Basil bush and Nim trees is free from diseases. This proved to be true as the World Health Organisation declared the Nim tree as the tree of the twenty-first century. This acknowledges the profound traditional knowledge and consciousness in nature, environment and healthy lifestyle management (Banarjee, 2005: 73). Evidence of Bangladesh peoples health knowledge is observed, for example, in choosing house location. When they build a house they keep an opening in the south part because the wind from the south is healthy. They also keep ponds on the east side of the house, a bamboo forest on the west side and a banana bush on the north. The house is built on a high to protect from damp, flood water and animals. Below are proverbs (called Khonas peoverbs2), which are representative of social, economic and environmental knowledge: O bhai thom thom Ulo bone ja ase tai ba kise kom Jodi thake dhan kum Te na koiro ar kum Dhan dhon boro dhon
1

Whatever you have, dont think it is little No need to do any other job, if you produce paddy. Paddy and cows

A tree which is treated as medicine tree as the leaves, buckle, root everything are used as herbal medicine. The air blows through the tree is treated as healthy air. 2 Khnonas proverb is a Bengali literature composed with the innumerable proverbs which deal with human wellbeing, poverty, stress, joy, sorrow, agriculture, horticulture, human etiquette ethics, and behaviours, dos and do donts to the environment. 69

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

Ar dhon gai Sona rupa kichu kichu Ar sob chhai

are more precious than Gold and Silver.

Khona dakia kon Paddy grows in the sun, Rode dhan chhayay pan betel leaf grows in the shade. Choite lahale ada Boishakhe lagaile adha Good yield if plant ginger in choitro (late spring) and half yield if plant in Boishakh (Beginning of summer).

Their indigenous knowledge in social, economic and environmental aspects made them successful to survive in their natural environment. Recently in developed countries, the practices of organic farming and integrated pest management are being popularised. These practices are characterised by traditional agriculture of Bangladesh and have been practised by Bangladeshs agriculture since ancient period. Moreover, people are willing to accept modern technologies which are in harmony with their indigenous practices. In accordance with this, Bangladeshi farmers are now adopting successfully a combination of modern technology with their traditional technology. By doing this, Bangladesh is becoming a major development success story in South Asia in its agricultural sector. As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh gained self sufficiency in rice, its main crop. Rice production increased from 11.7 million metric tons in 1974 to 23.1 million tons in 2000, an average annual increase of 3.6 percent.1 Wheat production climbed from 0.11 million metric tons in 1974 to 1.8 million metric tons in 2000. Cereal prices are low and stable, and production continues to increase. The economy is showing rapid diversification, particularly in the livestock and poultry sectors. Hence, Bangladeshi have something to contribute to the western world but showing that it is possible to have harmony of modern technology with Indigenous practices. Learning from nature made the people of Bangladesh adapted to natural disasters. Peoples congruousness towards situations (even in extreme adverse events such as human or mankind disasters) is unique. It was praised in a number of write-ups during the recent cyclonic event in USA. One of those write-ups is given below: Daniel Brett writes a striking post "What America can learn from Bangladesh": Saturday, September 3, 2005 "Last year Bangladesh faced a natural disaster which was an altogether larger disaster than Hurricane Katrina and the casualty figures were probably lower than the casualties sustained in the New Orleans disaster. But the disaster was contained due to the survival instincts of the Bangladeshi people, their ingenuity in the face of adversity and their culture of hard work. Rather than shoot and loot, Bangladesh immediately used its modest resources to limit the impact of the floods before international aid arrived.

Food and Agriculture in Bangladesh: A Success Story http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/ites/0502/ijee/ bangla.htm, accessed 15/10/2006. 70

Wooltorton, S. and Marinova, D. (Eds) Sharing wisdom for our future. Environmental education in action: Proceedings of the 2006 Conference of the Australian Association of Environmental Education

The fact that the economy was able to recover from the floods so soon is a testament to the ability of Bangladeshis to pick themselves up and go about rebuilding. The Americans have never really faced such adversity...Bangladeshis place great importance to social and family ties and these have brought them through a multitude of natural and man-made disasters. Bangladesh's experiences show us that, in the face of disaster, money does not make society more cohesive or better organized." 1 Many similar articles are available on the web substantiating Bangladeshis congruence towards nature and natural disasters. If biodiversity and livelihood is considered, it presents a different dimension of adaptability of the people of rural Bangladesh. More than 60% of the rural poor of Bangladesh depend on biodiversity to collect food from natural sources. Common property resource bases are providing resources to the rural poor. They gained their adaptability from sustainability education. In informal education, people are taught to be happy with little. They are warned about the future of industrialisation and money-based culture. They are advised to live simply in nature without over-exploiting it. In folk cultural institutes, such as shrines, teachers warn people about the eventual consequences of jumping towards the introduction of a large-scale industrial and a money based economy at the cost of human labour. They assert that the wisdom behind their warnings is the same wisdom which lay behind the prohibition of "interest" in Islam. According to Baul Fakir Hiru Shah (92) of Lalon Fakir's Mazar, "money-seeking modernists and bureaucrats fail to realise the vicious effect of money-is-all culture. They will soon realise that Bangladesh is the wrong place for large-scale industries." Failures of large-scale jute, textile and sugar industries in Bangladesh testify to the truth of the Baul prophecy (Hossain, 2001). As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh has been ranked as the top country in the happiness index a number of times despite prevailing poverty in rural areas. A critical review would reveal that peoples learning from nature and their adaptability to changed situations are probably two major factors for this. Understanding the importance of sustainability education, Bangladesh Government has taken some necessary steps. One of these steps is including environmental education in institutional education. In the 1992 Bangladesh Government Environmental Policy the extension of environmental education through the formal and non-formal system was given importance and its implementation was recommended. One of the proposals for the implementation of a national environmental policy was, to include environment related educational curriculum in all sectors of educational and training programmes (Das, 2005). Environment related curriculum2 has been added to all levels of formal, non-formal and madrasa3 educational (Ahammed, 2005). There are also some non-government approaches
1

Katrina & Bangladesh. See http://rezwanul.blogspot.com/2005/09/katrina-bangladesh-rising-water-has.html accessed 20/10/2006 2 Introduction to Environment, Social Science, Environmental Science depending on the age and level. 3 Islamic community institutions. 71

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which provide education for sustainable livelihood. Some of these non-government organisations are BRAC, Grameen Bank and PROSHIKA. The paper appreciates the government and non-government approaches towards sustainability education. 6. Conclusion Bangladesh is known as one of the poorest countries in the world which suffers from frequent floods, cyclones and draughts. Still it is the happiest in the midst of its poverty and unfavourable circumstances. The paper revealed that happiness of Bangladesh is linked to countrys non-cash based culture and cultural practices which drive them to sustainability. Bangladeshi peoples values and spirituality are deeply rooted in their culture. These are reflected in peoples religiosity, materialism or through the respect for nature. Their spirituality towards nature, brotherhood in their sociality, consumption behaviour in their lifestyle and wisdom in their education have been working together as driving force to sustainability. Peoples values and spirituality are also generated from sustainability education, which is mostly informally available to Bangladeshi people. Informal education suggests people for simple lifestyle which is generally sustainable. Their Indigenous knowledge helps them survive in their natural world, and their congruence to nature, adaptability in unfavourable conditions and success story in agriculture by indigenous practices can be example to other developing and also developed countries in their sustainability drive. The paper emphasises education through learning from nature, religion and practical life in achieving sustainability. The Bangladesh culture reinforces the sustainability of the country. The non-cash based culture consists of people, environment, their traditional norms and sustainability education. There is a message for the western world that spiritual culture can complement the techno-economic based sustainability drive in order to acquire a long term holistic sustainability what is observed in Bangladesh. Acknowledgement The author wants to acknowledge the helpful comments from two anonymous referees. References Ahammed, K.U. (2005). Sadhinota, Shikhkha O Poribesh (Independence, education and environment). In Poribesh Kothokota (Citizens dialogues on environmental issues in Bangladesh) (p.59). Dhaka: Gonosakhkhorota Obhijan (Campaign for Popular Education). Ahmed, K.U. (1992). NGOs: Promoting vegetable production in Bangladesh. In: Vegetable production and marketing (pp. 235-44). Taiwan: AVRDC. Banarjee, O.K.(2005). Amader Oitijjo O Poribesh (Our tradition and environment). In Poribesh Kothokota (Citizens dialogues on environmental issues in
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Bangladesh) (pp. 70-73). Dhaka: Gonosakhkhorota Obhijan (Campaign for Popular Education). Barua, B. (2005). Golden Rice O Giboboichitro (Golden rice and bio-diversity). In Poribesh Kothokota (Citizens dialogues on environmental issues in Bangladesh) (p. 305). Dhaka: Gonosakhkhorota Obhijan (Campaign for Popular Education). Das, T.K. (2005). Teksoi Poribesh Babosthapona Kormosuchi: Upanusthanik Dharay Poribesh Shikhkha (Sustainable environmental management programme: Environmental education in non-formal education). In Poribesh Kothokota (Citizens dialogues on environmental issues in Bangladesh) (pp.17-22). Dhaka: Gonosakhkhorota Obhijan (Campaign for Popular Education). Education Watch Report (1999) Non-Formal Education. Available http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/N_0203.htm, accessed 01/12/2006. at

Hawkes, J. (2001). The fourth pillar of sustainability (p.3). Victoria: Cultural Development Network. Hossain, A. (2001). Renewing self-reliance In rural Bangladesh through renewable energy. Unpublished PhD thesis: Murdoch University, Western Australia Karim, N.A. (1995). Role of women in vegetable agribusiness. In S. Shamugasundaram, A. Quasem (Eds) Vegetable crops agribusiness (p.178). Dhaka : Workshop held at BARC. Sharif, A. (1994). Bangalir Monon Boishishto (Intellectuality of Bengali). In Bangaldeshe Dorshon: Oitijjo O Poribesh Onusondhan (Bangladesh Philosophy: Search for Environment) (p. 20). Dhaka: Bangla Academy. Wiser, W.C. (1971). Behind mud walls. A classic description of village India (p.181). Berkeley, California: University of California Press. Yencken, D., & Wilkinson, D.(2000). Resetting the compass: Australias journey towards sustainability (p.9). Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing. ________________________________ Author Email: r.islam@murdoch.edu.au

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