In the heart of Sylhet, Bangladesh, the Patro community, one of the most marginalized indigenous groups in the region—is rediscovering its voice. Although the Patro people have their own mother tongue but they have no written script. Usually they use Bengali scripts to write their own language. Over generations, their language and cultural expressions have slowly faded under the weight of marginalization and lack of recognition. But change is stirring.…

For the past year, Ethnic Community Development Organization (ECDO), with support from the Global Fund for Children (GFC), has been implementing SALT (Stimulate, Appreciate, Learn, and Transfer) process within the tea labor and Patro communities in Bangladesh.…

When I approached Geeta Munda, our newly joined facilitator, during the 'SALT' conversation kickoff and asked her to share something she loves about her life. She then conveyed the following sentiment to me;

‘As a community facilitator, I recently had the opportunity to invite a middle-aged tea…

At ECDO, our mission revolves around uplifting the most marginalized within ethnic communities, including groups like the Patro community and tea garden laborers. However, we recognize that the concept of community-led initiatives is still relatively new, and many individuals within these communities may not fully grasp their own strengths. It will take time for them to rediscover and harness these strengths effectively.

As an organization, embracing the…