The Sundarbans Is
Disappearing.
We Are Staying.
Bangladesh has lost thousands of homes, livelihoods, and lives to rising seas and cyclones since 1970. Shuloban was born in this crisis — and every product sold, every program run, and every story shared is our answer to it.
300,000+ lives
Sundarbans hit
50,000+ displaced
Embankments broken
Coastal devastation
Every year
Climate Change Is Not
a Future Problem
Here. It Is Today.
The coastal communities of Khulna — the people Shuloban was built to serve — live on the front line of the global climate emergency. They did not create this crisis. They absorb it first, hardest, and with the fewest resources to recover.
River erosion claims farmland. Saline intrusion destroys crops. Embankment breaches flood entire villages overnight. Every cyclone season, families who rebuilt from the last storm face another. Children drop out of school. Fathers migrate to cities. Communities fracture.
"I was just 10 years old when my school closed after Cyclone Aila. For months I had no access to even basic books. Many of my friends dropped out to catch crabs in the Sundarbans just to survive."
— Arafat Hossain, Founder & CEO, Shuloban · Grew up in Nalian, Dacope, KhulnaThis is not a distant statistic. It is the lived experience of every family Shuloban works with. And it is why climate response is not a side programme for us — it is the reason we exist.
from Dacope alone
Migration as a Climate Outcome
Across the Sundarbans buffer zone, displacement is not measured in news cycles — it is measured in empty classrooms, abandoned homesteads, and families separated by survival. Shuloban tracks and responds to this migration in real time.
At Risk by 2050
Of Bangladesh's total landmass could be permanently submerged, displacing an estimated 20 million people.
Major Cyclones Since 1970
Bhola, Sidr, Aila, Amphan, Mocha — each one leaving a generation's worth of trauma and rebuilding in its wake.
Rebuilds. Every Year.
These communities do not need charity. They need systems, income, and support that hold when the next storm comes.
Six Ways Shuloban Fights
Climate Vulnerability
Every programme Shuloban runs is designed to strengthen communities before, during, and after climate events — not just once, but as a permanent, self-sustaining structure.
Climate-Resilient Livelihoods
Traditional crafts and natural products are not dependent on farmland or embankments. When cyclones destroy agriculture, women's artisan income continues. Shuloban builds income that survives weather.
Education After Disaster
When cyclones close schools, Shuloban and Humanity Public Library keep children learning through emergency education support, materials distribution, and counselling for families under displacement stress.
Mangrove Planting
Every Sundarbans homestay guest plants a mangrove sapling. Every community program includes environmental awareness. Shuloban builds love for the forest into every interaction — because the forest is the first line of defence.
Renewable Energy Access
Shuloban's Green Solutions programme brings solar installation services to rural communities — reducing dependence on diesel generators, cutting household costs, and keeping power on when grid infrastructure fails after storms.
Disaster Preparedness
In partnership with Humanity Public Library, trained community volunteers mobilise before, during, and after cyclones — coordinating evacuation, relief distribution, local research, and recovery support across Nalian and surrounding areas.
Clean Water Initiatives
Saline intrusion from sea-level rise makes fresh water scarce in coastal Khulna. Shuloban supports pond sand filter installations — a practical, low-cost solution that provides clean drinking water to families without electricity or infrastructure.
The Sundarbans Is Not
Just a Forest.
It Is a Shield.
The Sundarbans — the world's largest mangrove forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site — acts as a natural buffer absorbing cyclone energy, tidal surges, and storm winds before they reach the villages behind it.
Every mangrove tree lost is a meter of coastline surrendered. Every hectare degraded brings cyclone-force winds closer to homes, fields, and families who have no other protection.
Shuloban was named after the local word for the Sundarbans. It is not marketing. It is a declaration that everything we do is rooted in — and in service of — this extraordinary, fragile, essential forest.
- The Sundarbans spans 10,000+ sq km across Bangladesh and India
- Home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, estuarine crocodile, and 300+ bird species
- Absorbs up to 70% of cyclone wind energy before it reaches inland communities
- Mangrove roots sequester carbon at 3–5× the rate of tropical forests
- Provides direct livelihood to over 3.5 million people in the Khulna region
Natural Storm Barrier
Mangrove roots and canopy density reduce tidal surge height by up to 50% — a living seawall that no engineered structure can fully replicate at this scale.
Carbon Sink of Extraordinary Value
The Sundarbans stores carbon in its soil and biomass at rates that make it one of the most climate-critical ecosystems on Earth — protecting it is a global priority.
Biodiversity Under Threat
Rising salinity, habitat loss, and human pressure push the Bengal Tiger and hundreds of endemic species toward collapse. Healthy commerce around — not inside — the forest is part of the solution.
Sustainable Harvesting as Conservation
Shuloban's honey, crab, and natural product programmes follow ethical harvest practices — giving forest communities economic reason to protect the ecosystem, not deplete it.
Eco-Tourism as Advocacy
Every homestay guest who experiences the Sundarbans firsthand becomes an advocate. We turn tourism into conservation funding and global awareness — simultaneously.
The Climate Story of
Dacope, Khulna
This is not a history of distant places. This is the timeline of the communities Shuloban serves — told in the storms they survived and the homes they rebuilt, again and again.
Bhola Cyclone — The Deadliest in Recorded History
An estimated 300,000–500,000 lives lost in a single night across coastal Bangladesh. Entire coastal villages erased. A generation of fishing communities shattered. The Sundarbans and its people entered a pattern of cyclone survival that continues to this day.
Cyclone Sidr — The Forest Took the Blow
Sidr made landfall at the Sundarbans with 220 km/h winds. The mangrove forest absorbed much of the energy — but at enormous cost to the forest itself. Thousands of coastal homes destroyed. The Sundarbans proved its value as a shield; communities began rebuilding on embankments for the first time.
Cyclone Aila — The Storm That Inspired Shuloban
Aila breached embankments across Dacope Upazila, flooding villages for weeks. Schools closed for months. Families moved to high embankments to survive. Arafat Hossain, then 10 years old and in Class 3, lost access to school and watched friends drop out permanently. This experience, years later, became Shuloban's founding story.
Cyclone Amphan — The Pandemic Storm
Amphan struck during the COVID-19 pandemic, compounding displacement with health emergency. River erosion accelerated across Khulna. Over 2.5 million people evacuated. Communities that had finally stabilised after Aila faced the process of starting over — again.
Cyclone Mocha — The Pattern Continues
Mocha brought 195 km/h winds to Bangladesh's southern coast, displacing hundreds of thousands and causing widespread damage to coastal infrastructure. Climate scientists noted that cyclone intensity is increasing as sea surface temperatures rise — confirming what coastal communities already knew from living it.
Shuloban Is Here. Working.
While the storms continue, so does Shuloban. Women train in skills that survive cyclones. Children access education through programs that mobilise after every disaster. Host families earn income from tourism that funds resilience. The Sundarbans is planted, one sapling at a time. This is what climate response looks like from the inside.
What We Are Actually
Doing on the Ground
Not pledges. Not targets. Programmes running right now in Nalian, Dacope, Khulna — the most climate-vulnerable district in Bangladesh.
Community Disaster Volunteering
Humanity Public Library members are trained to respond before, during, and after cyclone events — coordinating evacuation support, relief distribution, and community recovery across Nalian village and surrounding areas.
Mangrove Reforestation
Through our Sundarbans Homestay programme, every guest plants a mangrove sapling. Local women and community groups participate in planting drives along coastal embankments to restore natural storm barriers.
Solar Energy for Rural Homes
Shuloban's renewable energy initiative brings solar installation to rural households and community buildings — reducing costs, eliminating generator dependence, and ensuring light and power when grid infrastructure fails post-storm.
Pond Sand Filter Water Access
Rising salinity from sea-level intrusion makes fresh water scarce across coastal Khulna. Shuloban supports pond sand filter installations — a proven, low-cost technology providing clean drinking water to families who have no other reliable source.
Resilience Over Relief
Emergency aid is essential. But Shuloban is building systems that function before, during, and after disaster — so communities never start from zero again.
Commerce as Climate Response
When a woman earns stable income, she can evacuate safely, rebuild faster, and keep her children in school. Economic dignity is a climate adaptation strategy.
Protect What Protects Us
The Sundarbans is not a backdrop for our brand. It is the reason we are here. Protecting it — through sustainable harvesting, eco-tourism, and reforestation — is non-negotiable.
"We did not choose this coastline— Shuloban Climate & Environmental Aid
because it was easy.
We chose it because
it needed someone to stay."
Three Ways to Support
Climate-Affected Communities
You do not need to be in Bangladesh to make a difference. Every action you take from wherever you are reaches directly into the Sundarbans.
Shop with Purpose
Every product you buy from Shuloban — Nakshi Katha, Sundarbans honey, traditional crafts — generates income for women in the exact communities most exposed to climate events. Fair trade is climate resilience.
Browse the Shop →Donate to Our Programs
Your donation directly funds education support after disasters, disaster volunteer training, water security installations, and renewable energy access for families who have no other safety net.
Donate Now →Visit & Experience
Stay with us at the Sundarbans Community Homestay. Plant a mangrove sapling. Walk the forest. Meet the families. Every visit brings income to the community and turns you into a permanent advocate for this place.
Plan Your Visit →The Coast Is Changing.
The People Are Staying.
So Are We.
Shuloban exists because the Sundarbans and its communities deserve more than sympathy. They deserve systems, income, education, and a global audience that cares. That is what we are building — one product, one program, one person at a time.