MFF small grant gives 'a sense of importance' to families in Naguleliya Village, Sri Lanka

Naguleliya is a remote coastal village in Arachchikattuwa DS Division in the Puttalam District. It is a village devoid of any infrastructure facilities. The village occupies a strip of land 1 km long and 200 m wide, on the Muthupanthiya land projection between Chilaw Lagoon and the Indian Ocean.

There are 20 fisher families, with a total population of 86, living in utter poverty in Naguleliya, a village devoid of any infrastructure facilities. Most of the fisher people engage in lagoon fishing as they cannot afford to invest in fishing gear needed for fishing in the sea. Fisher families receive a fair income during the fishing season but due to their illiteracy and lack of household management skills, most resources are wasted.

It is against this backdrop that Wilpotha Women’s Savings Effort (WWSE) , a local NGO, introduced a Mangroves for the Future (MFF)-funded small grant project that focused on building people’s economic power through new income generation activities. In order to facilitate collective action that overcomes the fisher families' most pressing issues, WWSE also set up self-help development programmes and initiated the formation of a community-based organization. 

Villagers were made aware of their current situation through a socio-economic survey conducted by the NGO. The results of the survey increased villagers' awareness, and catalysed the formation of a women’s group--the Rosa Kusum Fisher Women’s Society. This society is very active and looks after the interests of the 20 families in Naguleliya.

WWSE then introduced training for new income generating activities that may supplement household income. Women, who traditionally stay at home, were targeted for these trainings. Forty-one women benefited from skills development training, such as dress making; fabric painting; as well as dry fish and ‘jadi’ (preserved fish preparation) production. Twenty women were trained in home gardening, and all were provided with gardening tools and vegetable seeds. Twenty women received 100 coconut seedlings including the know-how for plant care.

WWSE’s  small grant project recognized that new income generating projects should become a sustainable livelihood for the village. Hence, five women were trained in keeping accounts and maintaining financial reports.

The twenty fishing families also underwent seminars on household management and responsibilities. Most families use firewood for cooking. Firewood is taken from the nearby small shrubs and mangroves. Thus, WWSE also conducted a seminar about environment and mangrove protection, in particular about the advantages of energy saving hearths that did not use wood from the mangroves. After the seminar, families were provided with these energy saving hearths and were trained on how to use them. It is hoped that these hearths will reduce dependence on mangrove wood as fuel, and will assist conservation of mangroves in the village.

Nagulehiya's twenty fishing families, in particular its women, attest to a positive change in their lives since the project began. One woman, to supplement her household income, has taken into full time dress making, and had bought a second-hand sewing machine to undertake sewing orders from other villagers. Women have reported that they also applied fabric painting on pillowcases and frocks. Dry fish and Jadi preparation, however, is limited, as it is dependent on the fishing season.  Women have began to keep records of daily expenses, which is a new practice for them. Being members of a society, the women say, is a new experience altogether and gives them a sense of importance.

The MFF Small Grant Facility project "Improve the living standard of 20 fisher families at Naguleliya Village" was implemented in Sri Lanka from August 2012 to May 2013.

For more information, please visit the project page.