The Rush and Reed Conservation and Diversification Program was launched in 1999 with a grant from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). The Program seeks to rehabilitate the ecological process within rice paddy fields through the revival of traditional methods of rush and reed cultivation and conservation and thus contributing towards organic agricultural practices. At the same time the program aims to promote the production and use of traditional and modern rush and reed craft products with a particular focus on traditional techniques and design used in weaving.