The Millennium Fellows of 2021: KriShop

As Bangladesh begins its journey in collaboration with the prestigious Millennium Fellowship, a cohort of Brac University students were selected for the programme. Team KriShop was among the 5 teams selected – focusing on health and wellbeing, creating sustainable cities and communities, and taking climate action. The team comprises Arisha Hossain (Senior, CSE), Srijan Banik (Senior, CSE), Ikramul Hasan (Senior, CSE), Saleh Sazzad, and Tithi Chowdhury.
Srijan shares that the concept and execution of this project were set off months before their association with the fellowship through a different workshop. The seedling of KriShop generated from a deep empathy towards Dhaka city, a city on the verge of facing devastating consequences due to the volatile impact of climate change. KriShop presents itself as an environmentally aware food supply ecosystem that will breathe life into the nooks and crannies of the city.
“The constantly decreasing farmland and cultivable land in Bangladesh prompted us to consider urban gardening as an active tool to resist climate change”, recalls Srijan. To Arisha, KriShop is a community-building project that will lead to better options for city dwellers, while nurturing interconnectedness between small entrepreneurs and independent business owners.
The creation of a local online-based platform presented itself with many challenges. From creating a bridge between the idea generation and implementation process to finding a suitable business model to understanding the project’s social impacts, each step had its challenges. Although each step required the team to create their specific pathways, thanks to the Millennium Fellowship programme, the result was both fruitful and collaborative. Moreover, the supervision provided by the programme has enabled the team to carve their skills with the utmost efficiency.
According to the team, the idea of farm to work required them to think outside of the box and ignite their entrepreneurial spirits. The team’s journey throughout has been equally fascinating; starting from them becoming confident speakers, to creating effective workspaces during a pandemic, nothing could restrict their hopes for creating a better future through Krishop.
Krishop’s core value lies in creating self-sustaining food supply chains. With the inventiveness of connecting consumers and producers, KriShop hopes to transform urban jungles into sustainable ecosystems.
Written by- Saniya Ahmed