Passing the Gift!

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?

Strong women networks, especially in the village, is critical for the growth and success of livelihoods and relationships in the village.

Ranjini is a war widow and she is out-casted by many in her village. She has to go into town at different times of the day and night, for work and to attend to her children’s needs and many of the other women don’t understand what she is doing so they begin the talk amongst each other which makes Ranjini feel very alone. Ranjini doesn’t know who to turn to and longs for the day that she can be accepted in the village, where her husband once grew up.

This project not only addresses the critical needs of livelihoods, by supporting Ranjini to grow her dairy business, but even more importantly strengthens the relationships and social capital in the village by the approach the project takes – passing the gift.

48 women come together and learn about 12 critical cornerstones from technical aspects including improved animal management to Sharing, justice and full participation. Through this 12 month program, the women learn to understand each other’s challenges, better support each other and work together to strengthen their livelihoods.

THE BENEFITS

The project will directly impact 48 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 150 people

• Build social capital in the village by adopting a pass the gift methodology – dairy farmers who receive a subsidised cow much pass on the baby calf to one of the other farmers in the programme
• Farmers have an understanding and adopt new technologies and practices that will significantly improve milk production
• Reduce the cost of maintenance by self-producing inputs, increasing the profitability of the dairy farmers businesses
• Improved milk quality to meet more profitable market requirements
• Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to them

HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?

The project will identify 48 women who are already working as dairy farmers or have previous experience to learn how to grow their dairy businesses through the introduction of high yielding cows.

The project will provide in-depth training to 48 women in:

• Intensive cow management – a technique that enables high production despite the small lands of many of the women
• Looking after the health of the cows
• Improving the breed of the cows naturally through Artificial Insemination
• Ensuring highest quality of milk to enable the women to access higher prices, and among other things
• Learning how to self-produce inputs, such as fodder (feed for the cows) to reduce the cost of maintaining their dairy businesses

The program is special because the 48 women work closely together, supporting each other and sharing their learnings and their challenges. 24 women are initially provided with a subsidised high breed cow and when the cow births a calf, they pass it on to the other 24 women in the program. In this way the women pass the gift they receive to ensure others in their village thrive!

HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER WE LEAVE?

The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. Most importantly, facilitation of farmer to farmer training enables a strong culture of support to thrive in the village as farmers begin to understand that as producers they are much stronger in the market place as a collective. With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team.

This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Irruttumadu. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!

New Farming Project

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?

Sujanani knew that to increase her income she needed to make her farm more productive, but how to do it and who to trust was difficult. Sujanani can’t afford for things to go wrong on her farm because that’s her main source of income, so she decided the best thing for her was not to try anything new and stick to the traditional practices that she was more familiar with.

This is the story of so many small scale farmers. They need to adopt new practices and technologies but they need to be certain of the financial advantage that will result.

In a previous project we introduced new farming techniques to Sujanani’s village with a group that we call the early adopters. These are farmers that have an entrepreneurial spirit and more willing to trial new ideas. We shared stories and results with Sujanani and she gained a trust in the results and an understanding of how she could have the same results on her farm. New practices are critical to increase her income from her farm and with the work that we have already supported in her village, Sujanani is now ready to join the new farming project!

THE BENEFITS

The project will directly impact 36 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 100 people

Build social capital in the village by farmers who adopted practices earlier sharing inputs and their skills/knowledge with farmers involved in this project

• Accelerate new technologies and practices that will significantly increase yield for 36 farmers
• Prevent losses during flooding
• Improved quality to meet more profitable market requirements
• Farmers will know how to assess and self-produce seeds reducing costs of production
• Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to them

HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?

Before this project commenced, we identified high performing peanut farmers in the Village of Colony that we call early adopters who trialled and tested the new practices and technologies.

After sharing their success, the 36 farmers in this project will undertake the training to follow in their footsteps and significantly increase their yield and income.

A very special part about this project is the sharing between the early adopters and the farmers in this project. This project is more cost effective that the initial project with the early adopters because the early adopters, for the subsidies that we provided for their inputs, now share their improved inputs with the farmers from this project – we call this passing the gift!

Not only are inputs shared, but knowledge as well – through mentoring and farmer training.

The estimated yield increase is approximately 50 – 60% and with the success of these 36 farmers more farmers will be sure to follow! We will be providing training on 7 key innovative practices during their harvest, providing close mentoring, linking with the agricultural extension services and facilitating the pass the gift program so these farmers also receive subsidised inputs required for these new practices.

HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER LEAVE?

The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. Most importantly, facilitation of farmer to farmer training enables a strong culture of support to thrive in the village as farmers begin to understand that as producers they are much stronger in the market place as a collective. With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team.

In the initial harvest inputs are subsidised, to encourage adoption of new technologies, but following that, farmers are independent in supporting themselves to purchase the improved inputs. As part of the technologies shared, farmers will learn how to assess and self-produce some inputs such as seeds.

This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Colony. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!

Milking it to Change Lives

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?

Sri Thanya is dairy farmer but she she lost half her cattle during the war. Luckily following the war, when she returned back home, she was able to find the three that remained. But they are all local breeds and they produce 1 – 2 litres a milk a day.

Milk production is a rapidly growing industry in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Since the conflict ended, many new private sector and semi-governmental actors have moved into the areas of dairy development such as milk collection and establishing processing centres. Milk production has long been a source of food and secondary income in the northern districts, but the arrival of businesses such as Nestle, Milco and others has raised the interest and profile of milk production as an income earning strategy. This is increasing demand for higher yielding crossbreeds that can produce three-times the daily milk production of the local cow varieties.

This project works with 48 farmers in the village to introduce higher yielding cross breeds and providing training and mentoring on best cattle practices and self producing inputs to reduce maintenance costs. This will transform the income and lives of Sri Thanya’s and the 47 other dairy farmers in her village.

THE BENEFITS

The project will directly impact 48 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 150 people

• Build social capital in the village by adopting a pass the gift methodology – dairy farmers who receive a subsidised cow much pass on the baby calf to one of the other farmers in the programme
• Farmers have an understanding and adopt new technologies and practices that will significantly improve milk production
• Reduce the cost of maintenance by self-producing inputs, increasing the profitability of the dairy farmers businesses
• Improved milk quality to meet more profitable market requirements
• Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to them

HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?

The project will identify 48 women who are already working as dairy farmers or have previous experience to learn how to grow their dairy businesses through the introduction of high yielding cows.

The project will provide in-depth training to 48 women in:

• Intensive cow management – a technique that enables high production despite the small lands of many of the women
• Looking after the health of the cows
• Improving the breed of the cows naturally through Artificial Insemination
• Ensuring highest quality of milk to enable the women to access higher prices, and among other things
• Learning how to self-produce inputs, such as fodder (feed for the cows) to reduce the cost of maintaining their dairy businesses

The program is special because the 48 women work closely together, supporting each other and sharing their learnings and their challenges. 24 women are initially provided with a subsidised high breed cow and when the cow births a calf, they pass it on to the other 24 women in the program. In this way the women pass the gift they receive to ensure others in their village thrive!

HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER WE LEAVE?

The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. Most importantly, facilitation of farmer to farmer training enables a strong culture of support to thrive in the village as farmers begin to understand that as producers they are much stronger in the market place as a collective.

With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team.

This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Irruttumadu. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!

Loans for Livelihoods

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

Creating a loan fund for women who are starting new business ventures, with repayments redistributed as new loans.

WHY ARE WE DOING IT?

We are doing this because there are limited opportunities for employment for many women in the Kuttiyapulam village. As a result, they are only just meeting their families’ very basic needs. The women want this type of revolving fund so they can start their own business.

WHAT IS THIS PROJECT ABOUT?

This project is about providing women (who are often widows, managing their households) with the opportunity to start a small business so they can earn a regular income and rely less on aid.

The loan fund is a way for these women to access the capital needed to start a small business, and the loan will be repaid in instalments that are within their means.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

The fund has been designed as a revolving loan fund. This means that once the initial loans are repaid, that money is then given out as new loans to allow more women to start new businesses.

Initially 24 families will receive a loan of Rs 30,000 (approx.. AUD$250) without interest. The project will provide loans for businesses such as tailoring, snack shops, and poultry and goat rearing.

THE BENEFITS

• The women beneficiaries are currently living in very basic conditions, not knowing what the future holds. The loans provide an opportunity to build a future.
• The beneficiaries will build confidence and independence, relying less on aid.
• The women can provide for their families, for instance, they can send their children to school.

The revolving nature of the fund means it is self-sustaining, provided the loans are repaid. Loan repayments are within the capacity of the beneficiaries so they will be less likely to fall behind on a payment. In addition, Palmera will work to monitor the loan repayments and address any difficulties with repayment, if they arise.

BACKGROUND

The residents of Kuttiyapulam Village in Northeastern Sri Lanka were resettled into their villages and lack basic facilities. There are limited opportunities for earning an income. As a result, women-headed households are struggling to build a life.

The women in this village want to do self employment activities such as small business, goat rearing, poultry and tailoring in their homes, as they do not want to go elsewhere for work. They want this revolving loan to earn an income for their families and build a life after years of just getting by.

Herding Together!

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?

“Once a herd starts moving in one direction, it is very hard to turn it, even slightly” – Dan Rather

When women work together striving for better livelihoods, nothing can stop them, not even the words or judgements of others. That is why we are investing in this project. It is not only about strengthening dairy farms and livelihoods, but it is about strengthening the social capital between women and supporting them in working together to collectively overcome their challenges and reach their goals. Together they can stand on their own two feet and earn enough income to support the needs of their families!

HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?

The project will identify 48 women who are already working as dairy farmers or have previous experience to learn how to grow their dairy businesses through the introduction of high yielding cows. The project will provide in-depth training to 48 women in:

• Intensive cow management – a technique that enables high production despite the small lands of many of the women
• Looking after the health of the cows
• Improving the breed of the cows naturally through Artificial Insemination
• Ensuring highest quality of milk to enable the women to access higher prices, and among other things
• Learning how to self-produce inputs, such as fodder (feed for the cows) to reduce the cost of maintaining their dairy businesses

The program is special because the 48 women work closely together, supporting each other and sharing their learnings and their challenges. 24 women are initially provided with a subsidised high breed cow and when the cow births a calf, they pass it on to the other 24 women in the program. In this way the women pass the gift they receive to ensure others in their village thrive!

THE BENEFITS

The project will directly impact 48 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 150 people

• Build social capital in the village by adopting a pass the gift methodology – dairy farmers who receive a subsidised cow much pass on the baby calf to one of the other farmers in the programme
• Farmers have an understanding and adopt new technologies and practices that will significantly improve milk production
• Reduce the cost of maintenance by self-producing inputs, increasing the profitability of the dairy farmers businesses
• Improved milk quality to meet more profitable market requirements
• Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to the

HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER WE LEAVE?

The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. Most importantly, facilitation of farmer to farmer training enables a strong culture of support to thrive in the village as farmers begin to understand that as producers they are much stronger in the market place as a collective.

With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team. This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Irruttumadu. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!

Healthy Smiles, Better Lives

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal!

Laavanya’s 5-year-old daughter Asheni loves going to school and playing with her friends. Yet some days she can’t because she is in so much pain from tooth aches that have been troubling her for more than a year. Asheni, nor her brother and sister, have ever been to a dentist. They live in a remote fishing village where there is none. In fact, there are no oral health services in the village and the nearest hospital is way too far for them to travel. When Asheni has a flare up, Laavanya rubs herbal medicine on her gums but it doesn’t seem to help. She has noticed Asheni withdrawing from her friends and smiling less. Laavanya is at a loss as to what to do. With her husband taking off for months at a time, she has a never-ending to do list and little time or money to spare for travelling long distances to a dentist.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

Building the infrastructure for a mobile dental clinic that will deliver oral health services and education to children, pregnant mothers and families in the most vulnerable and remote communities of the Mannar district of North Western Sri Lanka. In doing so, we will give communities access to ongoing and holistic oral health care made up of preventive treatment, curative treatment, and awesome resources showing families how to improve and keep up good dental health at home.

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

Simply put, to give kids better lives. Poor oral health in childhood is a widespread problem in areas of Sri Lanka where communities have limited or no access to dental health care. This impacts hugely on kids’ general health and wellbeing while they are young and has far reaching effects into adulthood.

As a child, mouth pain and oral disease can:

• Stop participation in schooling
• Disrupt sleep
• Inhibit growth
• Affect physical appearance, shaking self-confidence and making it harder (and physically painful!) to socialise

As an adult, these problems persist and it’s often too late for treatment. Mouth pain, infection and tooth loss exacerbate other health conditions and impair overall wellbeing – physically, psychologically and financially.

HOW WE ARE DOING IT

Over the next two years, we will work with the local health department in Mannar to:

• Design a mobile health clinic that best serves the community’s needs
• Equip the clinic to provide the critical dental care and services critical
• Design an extensive schedule and communications plan with the local government to ensure that we reach every school in the district and visit as many villages each year to access the wider community
• Establish monitoring systems to ensure that these communities are adequately served
• Design an oral education programme that can support the clinic services and create longer term improvement in oral health
• Work with the local government to resource the clinic with a full professional dental team and sufficient budget
• Engage local health and education agencies creating local buy-in for the ongoing operation of the clinic in the long-term

HOW YOU CAN HELP

With your support you can help 24,000 children and families access a dentist – in most cases, for the first time in their lives! With your support, the clinic will have the resources to reach 350 schools at least once a year, the most remote schools twice, and share educational resources on oral self-care in every community visited.

Growing Papayas for Export

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

BACKGROUND

In 2011 a number of war-affected families were resettled in Palamoddai GN division. Prior to this, they had spent more than 3 years living in welfare villages and transit sites and IDP’s. As a result of the conflict, basic social and economic needs are unmet in this area. While there is temporary housing, there has been little focus on developing livelihoods and there are few jobs for the families in this village. The families have at least an acre of land and most are currently farming.

In this project, each farmer will be provided with 160 papaya seedlings for cultivation. 50% of the cost of the seedlings will be paid back after the first successful harvest. An agreement will determine what a successful harvest is, and other conditions of payback and will be signed by the farmer.

We have arranged for a buying company to collect the harvested papaya from the individual farmer gate, with the transport cost to be borne by the buying company. The buying company will pay the rate per kg of papaya based on the existing pricing structure, which includes the cost of transportation.

The buying company will select export quality papaya and will also manage the collection of domestic quality fruits to market to other buyers in national markets.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

Most of the families in the Vavuniya District are farmers, however, many do not have the tools or market knowledge to successfully grow export crops. Some of the families have been growing crops for the local market (earning a lower income) while others have been out of the workforce for some time, so they lack the confidence and awareness of how to restart farming. The region has also seen drought conditions for many years. The project will enable the participating farmers to use drip irrigation to save water so that they can farm more efficiently and sustainably. By growing export quality papaya they can gain a higher income on which to support their families and build a promising future.

THE PROJECT

This project is about giving 30 farmers 160 papaya plants to grow on part of their land, and training them in sustainably growing papayas for export. The training will cover how to cultivate export quality papaya, and sustainable farming including using drip irrigation to conserve water. Setting up drip irrigation is an important aspect of this project as there has been a lot of drought in this part of Sri Lanka.

The farmers will also pay back 50% of the cost of the seedlings after the first successful harvest. This is a way for the farmers to stay committed to the project goals, and to experience the reality of running this type of export business.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

We will select the beneficiaries, focussing on women-headed householders and people with disability. We will provide training on farming techniques, especially those that are sustainable such as drip irrigation. The farmers will also visit and learn from existing papaya exporters. Each farmer will receive seedlings and other tools required for growing the papayas. A buying company has agreed to inspect, collect and pay for papayas for the international markets at each farmer’s gate. Papaya that don’t meet the requirements for export can be sold in the local market. The farmers will then pay 50% of the cost of the seedlings back to us, and keep the remainder as income.

THE BENEFITS

• Training 30 farmers to grow papaya plants for sale both domestically and internationally
• Connecting farmers to international markets so the farmers can get a higher price for the papayas
• Training farmers in setting up a drip irrigation system to conserve water
• Drip irrigation will be useful in farming any crop (not only papaya) given the drought conditions in this part of Sri Lanka
• The farmers will pay back 50% of the cost of the seedlings so they are both committed to seeing the papayas earn the highest price, and also exposed to the realities of the export business.

HOW WE ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY

Part of the goal of this project is to see whether farming papayas for export is a good way for farmers in this village to increase their regular income. If it is, then we can expand the project and bring more farmers into the papaya growing business (based on demand).

The farmers have to repay 50% of the cost of the seedlings. This ensures the farmers are committed to the project and invested in its success, and exposes them to the reality of the export business. Once one successful harvest has been sold, the farmers can use the income from that sale to buy more seedlings, and so on.

Regardless of the outcome of the papaya export business, the training on drip irrigation and farming papaya will be useful for the farmers to successfully grow any crops using limited water.

Goat Rearing for Women and Disabled

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

As part of Palmera’s sustainable livelihoods focus, Palmera will provide goats and the appropriate training in goat-rearing to 30 families in Korakkankaddu in the Kilinochchi District. This project will focus on widows and people with disability who are struggling to meet their basic needs such as food and shelter after returning to their village from IDP camps. The milk from the goats will provide a nourishing food source for these families, and the milk and meat can be sold to earn an income.

The village was largely goat-rearing prior to the war, so the households will possess strong skills in goat-rearing already. Palmera will work with local organizations and surrounding districts to source and deliver 2 goats to each family. Training will also be provided twice a year to the households so that they are able to successfully rebuild livelihoods in goat-rearing. The lands in the village are already suitable for goat-rearing and grazing. The necessary medical treatments such as vaccines will be given to the goats twice a year.

THE BENEFITS

• provides a regular source of income to widows and people with disability, which will enable these families to access other basic needs such as food and water
• provides a nutritional food source for the widows, people with disability and their families
• utilizes the existing skills and expertise of the community – which was largely goat-rearing before the war – and enhances these skills through further training
• will develop the local economy by improving trade within and across communities

BACKGROUND

Korakkankaddu is one of the villages in the Kilinochchi District, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. During the civil war, many women from this village lost their husbands and young ones. They have faced displacement for several years and are now returning to their village. What was once a primarily goat-rearing village, now lacks any secure form of livelihood or food source for its people. The goats were destroyed during the war. There are increased numbers of widows and people with disability in the northern parts of the country. Many survive on just one meal a day.

To begin this project, the appropriate beneficiaries will be selected from the village, with a focus on selecting widows and people with disability. Each beneficiary will be provided with 2 goats. Palmera will work with surrounding Districts to source the goats and transport them to Korakkankaddu. There is sufficient land available in the village that is suitable for goat-rearing and grazing. The selected beneficiaries will be provided with training twice a year In topics such as sheltering, breeding, feeding, caring, animal health and manure use.

It is expected that the milk from the goats will be a nutritional food source, and the meat and milk can be sold for income. This will enable this vulnerable group in society to begin rebuilding their lives.

OUR PARTNER

BOLO seeks to help and work among the poor, afflicted and oppressed to alleviate their miserable condition and improve their livelihood. BOLO has successfully completed a range of development projects in Sri Lanka and has worked with Palmera in the past to implement a successful project providing chickens and training to war widows in Sri Lanka.

Palmera looks forward to once again working with BOLO and their expert team to rebuild livelihoods in Korakkankaddu in the Killinochchi District.

Fresh Start with New Toilets

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

BACKGROUND

In 1994, 75 Indian families were relocated to Kappachchi by the Government. At the time, the Government provided 20 families with permanent toilets and the rest with semi-permanent toilets. After years of conflict and ongoing displacement of these and other families, the semi-permanent toilets have been damaged beyond use.

Today, 55 families have no toilet facilities at all, and have to use open areas. This has led to a number of health problems and security problems particularly for women and young children.

In addition to the toilet problem there is also a lack of access to water. The entire village depends on 6 common tube wells and 3 common dug wells for drinking, cooking and other domestic purposes.

Part of this project is to provide water drums to each beneficiary family for use with the toilets. The village will also receive training on how to collect and store water to avoid waterborne diseases.

THE PROJECT

Currently many families in the Kappachchi Village have to use open areas as toilets. This poses risks of attacks particularly to women and children as they walk from the safety of their homes. There are also serious health issues like diarrhoea in the Kappachchi Village, resulting from factors such as insufficient hand washing and contaminated water. According to UNICEF in 2008, more children died from diarrhoea than from malaria, HIV/AIDS and measles.

With the help of the 35 beneficiary families, we are building 35 toilets to improve sanitation and reduce the risk of attacks on women and children who currently have to use open areas. The families will receive training on proper use and maintenance of the toilets.

We will also train the Kappachchi Village in health and hygiene to reduce the incidence of waterborne illness such as diarrhoea which can otherwise prove life-threatening.

HOW IT WILL WORK

We will identify 35 of the most in need families (focusing on women-headed households and people with disability) and give a demonstration on how to build the toilets. We will then work with them (depending on their capabilities) to build toilets close to their homes. The 35 beneficiary families will receive training on using and maintaining the toilets so they are properly functioning in the future. By personally contributing to building the toilets (to the extent possible) the beneficiaries can feel a sense of accomplishment and will more likely be keen to ensure the toilets are well maintained.

The Kappachchi Village will receive training on prevention and management of waterborne diseases (eg. handwashing, how to collect and store water for domestic use) so the prevalence of health issues such as diarrhoea can be reduced.

THE BENEFITS

35 of the most in need families in the Kappachchi Village will have their own toilets (with water drums) and to the extent possible, they will help to build the toilets

The beneficiary families will learn how to clean, use and maintain their toilets into the future

Improved safety in the village as women and children from the 35 families will no longer have to go far from their home to use the toilet

Reduced incidence of waterborne disease across the community, as village members will better understand the importance of good hygiene and prevention measures such as boiling water for drinking

With access to clean water and sanitation, the 35 most vulnerable families will begin to have renewed confidence and good health to improve other areas of their lives such as seeking employment.

HOW WE ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY

The training is a key part of this project. By training the families in the use and maintenance of the toilets, the toilets can be useful for many years. By training the village in health and hygiene, they can gain the knowledge to ensure the incidence of waterborne illness continues to decrease.

Flooding Relief

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

Palmera is raising funding for urgent emergency flooding relief for 560 families in desperate need across remote villages in Batticola.

Family Food Ration Pack: $35 each

Post Flood Cash Grant: $113 each

Due to heavy flooding in the remote villages of Batticola, in Koralai Pattu South, families are urgently in need of aid and support. The remoteness of this region makes it difficult and time-consuming to mobilise such help.

However, Palmera works with a network of local agencies, who are present on the ground and able to respond quickly in times such as these.

Across 7 villages we have been notified of families who have not been able to access needed and critical support during this time.

Across 7 villages we have been notified of 1,661 families who have not been able to access needed and critical support during this time.

We are aiming to support 560 of these families with these critical supplies by raising $35 per family for a dry ration kit. These kits include basic food items which are sufficient for a families’ survival.

Once the flooding is over, we seek to provide a one off cash grant to 150 of the most affected families.

With the floods, agricultural lands will be completed destroyed. The poorest rely on labour work to feed their families, without this, the aftermath of the floods can be devastating.

Without this assistance, disasters such as this can undo years of progress.

Your donation towards the purchase of these relief kits will go a long way towards helping these families recover from this disaster and get back on their feet, and the one-off cash grants can provide a much-needed safety net for their future. Thank you for your support.

Farming for Life!

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

WHY ARE WE INVESTED IN THIS PROJECT?

Doing the same thing worked for a long time, but with the ever changing and dynamic markets that Keerthyani now finds herself in, this now means declining profits and rising costs. Lower profits means that she struggles to give the best to her children. However she has an entrepreneurial spirit and always willing to trial new techniques to improve the way her farm works. However because she is based in a hard to reach village and she has little access to new techniques and practices.

In order to increase her yield, better farming practices and technologies has been identified with the assistance of local experts that will transform Keerthyani’s farm enabling her to increase her income and better meet her family’s needs.

THE BENEFITS

The project will directly impact 30 small scale farmers and indirectly benefit over 100 people

• Introduction of new technologies and practices that will significantly increase yield
• Prevent losses during flooding
• Improved quality to meet more profitable market requirements
• Farmers will know how to assess and self-produce seeds reducing costs of production
• Increase income for families to better meet their needs and pursue goals important to them

HOW WILL THE PROJECT WORK?

We have identified high performing peanut farmers in the Village of Colony. With these farmers, we worked with local experts and identified new practices and technologies that could significantly improve the yield of the farmers in the village. The estimated yield increase is approximately 50 – 60%.

Adoption of new practices takes time and in many instances, the poorest are reluctant to engage with these practices because of the risks of the unfamiliar.

In this project we will be working closely with 30 small scale farmers in the village who we call early adopters. They are stronger peanut farmers who see the potential of these practices and are willing to trial and test the method.

We will be providing training on 7 key innovative practices during their harvest, providing close mentoring, linking with the agricultural extension services and subsidising the inputs required for these new practices.

Through the engagement of these early adopters and through the results they produce, we can accelerate adoption through the village to significantly improve their production and quality. This will in turn enable Ranjini and the other farmers to better access profitable markets, increase their incomes and improve their ability to meet their daily needs.

HOW DO WE ENSURE THE PROJECT IS SUSTAINABLE AFTER WE LEAVE?

The program will support the training of the new techniques and provide intensive mentoring so that in time, farmers understand and have fully adopted these improved practices. With improved skills, farmers will be able to stand on their own two feet without the continued support from our local team.

In the initial harvest inputs are subsidised, to encourage adoption of new technologies, but following that, farmers are independent in supporting themselves to purchase the improved inputs. As part of the technologies shared, farmers will learn how to assess and self-produce some inputs such as seeds.

This program forms part of a 5 year village program in the village of Colony. For 5 years our local team will be based in the village supporting farmers to learn new techniques and supporting them as they adopt the practices. After 5 years our team exists from the village and the farmers and the village will continue to thrive!

Emergency Flood Relief

Thank you to all our donors, we have met our fundraising goal.

Providing emergency support to meet the food and health needs of families affected by devastating flash flooding.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

Thousands of people have been affected by devastating flash flooding throughout North and East Sri Lanka. This has destroyed homes, destroyed livelihoods, and left many families displaced.

We will be providing 691 families with emergency relief packages including basic necessities like nutritious food, soap, mosquito coils, candles and matchboxes.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Natural disasters like flash flooding affect already vulnerable people the most. Recently resettled refugees and internally displaced persons are particularly in danger because they live in temporary housing which is easily washed away.

Young children, elderly people and those with long term illnesses are particularly affected by temporary periods of malnutrition, waterborne diseases and unhygienic conditions in emergency camps.

By providing emergency relief to families in their time of need we can prevent the long term affects of this disaster.

HOW WILL THIS PROJECT WORK?

We have identified 691 families who have been severely affected by flash flooding in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Batticaloa Districts of North and East Sri Lanka.

With your help, we will provide each of these families with emergency relief packages containing basic foods such as rice, flour, milk, dhal and tinned fish. This means parents will be able to feed their children nutritious food while they are waiting to return home.

We will also provide each of these families basic supplies such as soap, tooth powder, mosquito coils, matchboxes and candles to ensure health and safety.

THE BENEFITS

• Meeting the basic food and health needs of 691 flood affected families.
• Preventing the long term affects of the malnutrition and ill-health caused by this natural disaster.
• Supporting those most vulnerable to be healthy enough that they can rebuild their homes and restart their livelihoods once the flood waters have receded.