Floating gardens are made of native aquatic plants like water hyacinths. Farmers arrange the plants together in a river, forming floating raised beds about three feet deep. This farming approach is traditionally used to produce food in the wetlands, especially during the rainy season. Okra, spinach, eggplant, turmeric, and ginger are the common crops grown over the hyacinth beds.
The concept of floating gardens existed hundreds of years ago. This practice has been observed not just in Bangladesh where it is considered a tradition, but also in other countries like Myanmar, Cambodia, and India.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) labeled Bangladesh’s floating gardens as a globally important agricultural heritage system (GIAHS).
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