He was a youngster with big dreams, hailing from Tangpru Para of Bandarban. Thoai Sing Hla Marma came to Dhaka in 2014, to pursue his goal of becoming a civil engineer, and got admitted to the National Polytechnic Institute.

But life in Dhaka is not always easy for youths coming all the way from the Chattogram Hill Tracts. When he was in the eighth semester, he had to drop out and return to his village home due to financial trouble.

"I fell into depression during that time," Thoai told The Daily Star during a recent conversation.

"When I returned home in 2018, I had to work as a day labourer on other people's land for Tk 500 per day. As the eldest child, I had no choice but to bear the burden of my family," he added.

However, being the dreamer that Thoai is, he did not give up that easily. He decided to become an agricultural entrepreneur and saved Tk 20,000 by working relentlessly for two years.

His misfortunes continued to haunt him. After the advent of the pandemic, Thoai lost all avenues to earn money, and his savings depleted quickly.

Thoai did not lose his resilience. When the lockdown eased in 2021, he took a Tk 50,000 loan from the "My house, My farm" (Aamr Bari Amar Khamar) project of the government and started cultivating papaya.

A year later, he repaid the loan with his earnings, obtained another Tk 1 lakh loan from the same project, and planted 1,000 papaya saplings on an acre of hillside land.

The wheels of his fortune started turning, finally.

"I earned Tk 2 lakh the next season by selling papayas. After repaying the loan, I planted mango seedlings and took lease of a pond with the rest of the money. I began raising fish in the pond and also set up a chicken farm," Thoai said.

Contacted, Mongsanu Marma, a public representative of the area, said, "Thoai had a difficult life. Despite dropping out of college due to the economic crisis, he did not stray. He worked very hard to become self-reliant."

He added that Thoai has become a role model for the youth in the village. "The nation will benefit if educated youth engage in farming rather than seeking jobs."