From fields to feeds: How content creation is transforming rural Bangladesh
In the quiet corners of rural Bangladesh, a digital revolution is underway. From humble fields to village kitchens, content creators are not just finding fame but are creating jobs, and transforming rural economies
A buffalo cart, laden with crops, struggles along the street as the buffalos bend their knees, exerting every ounce of strength to pull it out of the field, while people around shout, seemingly offering encouragement and support to the animals. The scene is captured in a short video on a YouTube channel called KrishanTV220 [Life of Village], which has attracted around 12 million views.
The channel has over 400,000 subscribers on YouTube and roughly one million followers on Facebook. It is just one of many social media channels that showcase the diverse facets of village life in Bangladesh, turning everyday moments of the villagers' lives and livelihoods into entertaining contents.
JR Babar and his brother Raz Razib are content creators from Jamalpur. The duo produces village sketches, dramas, and humorous videos for their Facebook page Raz Enter10, which has over four million followers, along with numerous other social media pages and channels.
What began in 2015 as two brothers filming skits, with little understanding of their potential or the challenges ahead, has grown into a thriving media house. Their team now includes 40 actors, a dozen editors, and half a dozen scriptwriters—nearly 70 villagers earning a living through content creation.
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"We started as a small team, but gradually our business expanded. Now we employ a lot of people in the village. This has not only become our livelihood, it has created jobs for many others," Babar said.
The brothers run 50–60 YouTube channels and dozens of Facebook pages, amassing billions of views. The hum of cameras and laughter on set has become an everyday soundtrack in Jamalpur villages, transforming ordinary fields and streets into stages and homes into studios.
Jamalpur, however, is far from unique.
Across Bangladesh, villages are bursting with TikTokers, YouTubers, and Facebook creators. As a result, anything—from fishing trips and giant cooking projects to carpentry and comic sketches—can be turned into watchable content now.
For many, it is now a livelihood. For others, it's related to a sense of identity. And for entire communities, it is transforming the local economy. Villagers are no longer just consumers of digital media; they are producers, entrepreneurs, and storytellers.
"In our locality, from housewives to school and college teachers, whoever has some spare time wants to earn some extra through content creation. People are creating content and earning money," said Omar Sunny Somrat, founder of SS Food Challenge, which boasts over 14 million followers on Facebook and more than 13 million subscribers on YouTube.
After The Business Standard covered his unique channel in 2023, which organises village competitions for women, men, and children and distributes food among them, he was featured by CNN the next year.
"It does not matter any more whether you are a housewife or a school teacher; even if he or she earns $50 a month and after three months earns $150 in total, that's a good amount for them," Omar added.
The type of content Omar developed is now being copied and recreated across the country, and many other channels similar to his are now faring well as those channels are watched by millions. Yet, this does not concern Omar, as he believes that no one can surpass the creativity and standard he has set.
"Even if 64 people from 64 districts or 400 people from 400 upazilas emulate what we do, we don't see a problem. People are winning something—that's not bad. I won't be impacted because I am almost at an industrial scale," he said.
"People are only looking at our views and income, but how we have innovated the entire ecosystem here is something they hardly notice. For example, how these games are designed, who works here— people hardly think about that," Omar added.
Omar has employed about 70 to 100 people to work for SS Food Challenge. He himself mostly remains behind the camera.
Village contents like AroundMeBD in Shimulia, Shariatpur, for example, turned oversized cooking videos into a local empire. Massive meals prepared on camera—sometimes feeding hundreds— employ dozens of villagers.
In our locality, from housewives to school and college teachers, whoever has some spare time wants to earn some extra through content creation. People are creating content and earning money. Content is creating stars in villages.
The channel's ad revenue has been utilised to rebuild houses after fires, pay medical bills for the elderly, and fund community projects, showing how viral content can also foster social welfare.
Over time, Shimulia has transformed into a tourist spot, with visitors drawn by the spectacle of cooking and the promise of authenticity.
Ripon Mia from Netrokona offers another approach: simplicity.
A carpenter by trade, Ripon films his daily life in his village—working in the heat, cycling to jobs, and cooking meals. Tens of thousands watch.
"I am working in the heat. Those who are educated but can't find jobs, contact me. I will teach you the trade, and you will earn Tk500-Tk600 a day," Ripon said in one of his Facebook reels, always ending with his trademark laughter and the new signature, "This is real."
Ripon's unpolished, authentic approach has made him a social media heartthrob, proving that honesty and relatability can be as viral as high production values. His content ranges from practical advice to humorous musings, often highlighting women's hard work or promoting simple village joys, like cycling or cooking.
Then there is Motiur Rahman Mithon of Naogaon's Ishwardebtwa village, a comedy mogul whose slapstick sketches have earned him over 30 million subscribers and over a dozen billion views across multiple channels. At peak, seventy villagers work under him, earning steady salaries.
"Most people who work with me aren't students. These young guys could become drug addicts if I didn't hire them," he said.
His content—from pranks to absurd sketches—might be considered "cringe" by some, but it created a lifeline for dozens of families, offering stability and purpose in a region with limited opportunities.
With hundreds of village-based creators like them, a digital revolution is sweeping Bangladesh's villages. What began as experimental videos has blossomed into a movement.
Social media, once the domain of city dwellers, has become a rural frontier, turning villages into hubs of creativity, employment, and digital storytelling. And for a growing number of families, the camera has become as vital as any tool or crop, shaping futures and amplifying voices that once went unheard.
"For example, one of our brothers in a village has KrishanTV with over a million followers. He shows content like how a buffalo cart carries crops with great effort. It's amazing that you can make content on very day-to-day village life and earn money," Omar said.
"There's Rana Khondoker, who covers women's football and promotes them on his channel. Some cover horse racing or boat racing—everything in the village areas is now content. A tea seller is creating content and earning money. He once had a dilapidated tea stall, and now he has a decent one. People are hiring him to launch their stores. Why? Because he can reach people," he further said.
Bangladeshi migrant workers watch these contents made in villages with great enthusiasm as it reminds them of their life back at home.
"Content is creating stars in villages," Omar said, radiating enthusiasm.
