This is a piece from my November reportage to Bangladesh. After spending a couple of days in Sunamganj District in the north, I flew south, to the edge of the Sunderbans, a protected mangrove forest. and spent time with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation visiting villages affected by Cyclone Aila.

Cyclones are nothing new to southern Bangladesh but villagers say that storms are coming more frequently and with increasing intensity. Switzerland's development agency has pioneered a program that provides villagers with cash grants to invest in business opportunities.

Lives have changed over the past couple decades here, along with the weather. Cyclones are breaking the embankments meant to protect villages and protect the rice paddies from salt water. Aila washed away shrimp and fish farms, and the increase in the water's saline content means that rice has become more difficult to grow.