About Us

Initially, Palli Chetana was established as a local club to organize social and cultural activities, sports, and charitable initiatives. It was founded by a group of young and educated social volunteers in Jordia Village of Satkhira District. By the end of the 1990, environmental disasters and various social crises had intensified in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh. In response to these changing circumstances and the growing needs of local communities, the club gradually transformed into a local non-governmental organization named Palli Chetana (A Rural and Urban Development Organization of the Southwest Coastal and Border Belt of Bangladesh). Palli Chetana was formally established as a local NGO in 1992 in Jordia Village, Bnagdaha, under Satkhira District, Bangladesh. In 1996, the organization was registered with the Department of Youth Development. It began organizing poor and vulnerable men and women into homogeneous community groups, enabling them to participate in social planning, decision-making, and local development initiatives.

The organization currently addresses a range of development issues, including climate resilent, health and nutrition, primary education, water and sanitation, environmental conservation, income-generating activities, gender equality, poverty reduction, and social empowerment. Palli Chetana acts as a facilitator by providing capacity-building training, financial and tecnical support, livelihood assistance, and issue-based social awareness programs. In recent years, it has also focused on the needs of extremely poor and marginalized households, including landless people and fisher-folk communities seeking access to khas land and khas waterbody rights.

Climate change poses increasing risks to the southwestern coastal region through cyclones, flooding, water logging, salinity, environmental degradation, and livelihood insecurity. Therefore, strengthening climate resilience is essential for protecting vulnerable households and ensuring sustainable development. Palli Chetana are integrate climate-resilient practices into its capacity-building and livelihood activities, enabling communities to better anticipate, adapt to, and recover from climate-related shocks.As a locally rooted organization, Palli Chetana develops its programs based on the needs and priorities of the communities it serves. Its participatory approach encourages local people to identify their own problems, contribute to solutions, and take ownership of development initiatives. As a result, the organization is widely regarded by community members as their own organization, with strong local acceptance, participation, and trust. Given its strong local acceptance, community trust, practical experience, and participatory approach, Palli Chetana is well positioned to promote inclusive, sustainable, empowered, and climate-resilient development in the southwestern coastal and border areas of Bangladesh.