We steward the land as we also steward the souls! 

To support ourselves as a shelter, AAH has been practicing sustainable agriculture and permaculture for the last 6 years and has proven to be sustainable.  Permaculture is a life style which integrates land, resources, people and the environment through mutually beneficial synergies – imitating the no waste, closed loop systems seen in diverse natural systems. Permaculture studies and applies holistic solutions that are applicable in rural and urban contexts at any scale. It is a multidisciplinary toolbox including agriculture, water harvesting and hydrology, energy, natural building, forestry, waste management, animal systems, aquaculture, appropriate technology, economics and community development.
We practice and teach permaculture both to our residents and those in the community for continuity and awareness. Our survivors then use the skills they have learned to help support themselves when they reintegrate back into the community. We encourage them to be ambassadors of sustainable agriculture and stewards of the land.

1. We have integrated climate action and permaculture in our organizational running strategy whereby we involve all our staff and housed residents.
2. We have also adopted renewable energy and use biogas from cow dung for cooking, solar for our lighting and power, and have a borehole providing our water needs.
3. To tackle our sewer needs we have introduced grey water systems, which help us recycle our water and we have added one composting toilet.
4. The organization educates the recruited survivors (women and their children) and employees about permaculture and climate change and empowers them to drive permaculture principles and ethics in their daily work within the shelter and back at their homes and into their communities.
5. Waste management; Recycling and Reusing
6. Natural building. We have been systematically and committedly reducing energy, resource and material waste in all our shelter operations. We now have two natural building structures (Taka Houses, filled with recyclable materials in the middle and plastered with cob) and held a Natural Building Workshop last year. Our latest activity has been a Food Forest and Syntropic Workshop held last month.
7. Making of reusable sanitary pads; For menstrual hygiene management, we have been using reusable pads mainly donated to us. We have preferred reusable towels for their cost, durability and that they are also eco-friendly. As a zero-waste shelter, use of reusable pads has helped us to achieve our principles. For the children at the shelter, we also use washable dippers. 

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