Work with Indigenous people

Forgotten People

Bangladesh has approximately 45 indigenous (adibashi) minority communities living both in the hill regions and in the plain lands.

The majority of the adibashi population live in rural settings, where many practice cultivation. Most adibashis are of Sino-Tibetan descent and have distinctive Mongoloid features. They differ in their social organisation, marriage customs, birth, and death rites, food, and other social customs from the people of the rest of the country. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages.

Facing discrimination

Over the years, the adibashi minority communities have been made to experience a strong sense of social, political, and economic exclusion, lack of recognition, fear and insecurity, loss of cultural identity, and social oppression.

Development efforts have either ignored their concerns or had a negative impact on them. Often issues and actions that affect them are not discussed with these communities or organisations representing them. Mass relocation of non-ethnic minority people in the traditional indigenous areas causes land-grabbing, leading to livelihood displacement among the adibashi people.

Adibashis are susceptible to crises of cultural and social identity. They are slowly and steadily losing their own heritage, language, culture, customs, and music.

Without influence

Adibashi minorities are rarely able to influence national decisions that affect them. This prevents them from influencing changes that are necessary for reducing discrimination against them. They are often unable to protect themselves against social, political, and economic injustices.

They face a real threat in exercising their basic rights and surviving as communities. Furthermore, they enjoy fewer opportunities in education and skill development than their mainstream counterparts. As a result, the illiteracy rate among adibashis is very high.

These problems are slowly but steadily resulting in corroding their social fabric. Therefore, intervention is essential to preserve their cultural, social and economic identity.

Oxfam's work

We have been involved with adibashi communities since 1993. We developed a special programme focusing on adibashi communities in 2000. 

Since 2000, we have been using a rights-based approach that empowers adibashi people to claim services from the government, secure land rights, and address human rights abuses.

Through its Indigenous People’s Capacity Building Programme, Oxfam works with its partners to:

• strengthen local adibashi leadership and help people get involved in decisions about their lives;
• include women leaders in the traditional structures and and empower them to leed the community.
• advocate for adibashi rights amongst students, and other young people;
• help communities to recover stolen or unfairly mortgaged land.
  ( One community recently reclaimed 135 bighas (three bighas = one acre or one acre = 4840 sq yards) of land with Oxfam support.)
• protect farmers from unscrupulous money-lenders during lean times; 
• strengthen community-based organisations that promote adibashi culture;
• ensure that more adibashi children get pre-primary education in their own language and so can be enrolled in mainstream schools. This has led to a drastic fall in the dropout rate, a greater awareness of the importance of education amongst parents, and a drop in child labour.

The Oxfam Model

We have developed ways for the adibashi people to be confident as a community, and to develop their skills and knowledge for a better life and future.

Oxfam’s marginalised community empowerment model uses the rights based approach by following three different steps –

1. Community trust building and capacity building of grass roots organisations
2. Training community groups in human rights and advocacy
3. Forming networks and facilitating the democratic engagement of the community. Once trust-building is established, the partners start work on establishing the rights of the community and finally, to create leadership amongst the community so that Oxfam and its partners work only as facilitators.

Oxfam's key entry points

Oxfam developed some entry points for the adibashi people to be confident as a community and to develop their skills and knowledge for a better life and future.

Pre-Primary School

Pre-primary schools and community clubs were set up to build trust and enhance relationships within the adibashi community. A mother’s forum was established within pre-primary schools for mothers to come together and discuss issues concerning them. Football matches were also organised through the clubs to break barriers and bring people together.

Support to reform and strengthen traditional community structures

Through its partners, Oxfam organises training for the members of these organisations on issues like land rights, community leadership, human rights and gender awareness. Increased membership for women and subsequent leadership in these organisations is also promoted.

Forming club/community based organisations

Isolation by the mainstream community makes adibashi people vulnerable to prejudice, and violence. It threatens the survival of their culture. Oxfam and its partners seek to reduce social exclusion and ensure better quality of life and security through promoting better social organisation and inter-community relationships. So Oxfam and its partners give support to establish and strengthen Community Based Organisations that promote adibashi culture, language, heritage and security.

Preventing distress sale of labour and crops

It is very common for adibashi people to sell their labour and crops in advance to make a living during lean periods. As a result, each family loses almost 30-50 per cent of their total wages because they are otherwise unable to make ends meet during the lean season. To protect them, Oxfam provides loans to the community, reducing their vulnerability to exploiters.

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Last updated: July 06