Workshop - University Grants Commission - Sri Lanka

Rebuilding of Tsunami Affected Areas in the Southern 

and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka 

Workshop Proceedings 

27 th & 28 th March 2009 

Edited by 

Ranjith Senaratne 

Glen Charles Filson 

Jana Janakiram

© 2012 Ranjith Senaratne, Glen Charles Filson and Jana Janakiram 

All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced, stored in a 

retrieval system, or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, 

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written 

permission of the editors. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of 

information contained in the text or illustrations. 

Workshop proceedings on Rebuilding of Tsunami Affected 

Areas in the Southern and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka 

held on 27 th & 28 th March 2009 at Hotel Tourmaline, Kandy, Sri 

Lanka. 

ISBN 978-955-97159-3-1 

Organizing committee: 

Ranjith Senaratne (Chairman) 

Wasantha Wijesinghe 

Pamoda Jayaratne 

Malsha Seneviratne 

Cover design and typesetting: 

Shammika Wijewardane 

Printed and bound by 

Tharanjee Prints, 

No. 506, Highlevel Road, 

Navinna, 

Maharagama, 

Sri Lanka.

I 

L.M. Abeywickrama 

A.N. Ahmed 

Goubin Antoine 

K.K.I.U. Arunakumara 

H.S. Balasingham 

N.W.B. Balasooriya 

R.M. Ranaweera Banda 

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 

Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of 

Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, 

Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka 

Faculty of Applied Sciences, South Eastern University 

of Sri Lanka, Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka 

ENITA de Bordeaux, 1 cours du general de Gaulle, 

33170 Gradignan, France 

Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, 

University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri 

Lanka 


Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Chenkalady, Sri 




Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and 

Social Sciences,University of Ruhuna, Wellamadama, 

Matara, Sri Lanka 

I. Brintha Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, 



S.A. Buddhika 

P.G. Chandana 

Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management and 

Finance, University of Ruhuna, Wellamadama, 


Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities and 

Social Sciences, University of Ruhuna, Wellamadama, 


S. Dharshini Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Eastern 

University of Sri Lanka, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka

II 

M. Dupin ENITA de Bordeaux, 1 cours du general de Gaulle, 


P.R. Fernando 


G.K.H. Ganewatta 

James Gardner 

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Eastern 

University of Sri Lanka, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka 

University of Guelph, 50, Stone Road East, Guelph, 

Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada 

Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, 

Faculty of Management and Finance, University of 

Ruhuna, Wellamadama, Matara, Sri Lanka 

University of Guelph, 50, Stone Road East,Guelph, 


S. Guilhem ENITA de Bordeaux, 1 cours du general de Gaulle, 


V. Gunaretnam Coordinator/ Peace and Conflict Resolution and 

Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences, 



S.H.K.K. Gunawickrama 

Department of Electrical and Information 

Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of 

Ruhuna, Hapugala, Galle, Sri Lanka 

D.S. Hewamanage Department of Animal Science, Faculty of 



Y.B. Iqbal 



Regional Agriculture Research Centre, Department of 

Agriculture, Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka 

Jana Janakiram 

University of Guelph, 50, Stone Road East, Guelph, 


Z. Kerrim ENITA de Bordeaux, 1 cours du general de Gaulle, 

33170 Gradignan, France

S. Krishanthan Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Eastern 


III 

R.A.U.J. Marapana 

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of 



V. Einon Mariya Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Eastern 


Y. Moreau ENITA de Bordeaux, 1 cours du general de Gaulle, 


R. Muniyandi Deputy Project Coordinator, CIDA Restore Project, 



M.F. Nawas 

Coordinator/New Technologies, CIDA Restore 

Project, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, 

Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka 

A. Parvathakeethan Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Eastern 


H.S.C. Perera 

Faculty of Management and Finance,University of 


K. Pirapaharan Department of Electrical and Information 

Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of 

Ruhuna, Hapugala, Galle, Sri Lanka 

Ranjana U.K. Piyadasa 

K.M.Prahasan 

Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, University 

of Colombo, P.O. Box 1490, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka 

Project Leader/Peace and Conflict Resolution and 

Assistant Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences, 



M. Prishanthini Department of Zoology, Eastern University of Sri 

Lanka, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka

IV 

K.G. Priyashantha 

C.V. Rathnayake 

A.M. Razmy 

E.M.J.M. Rizvi 

M.I.S. Safeena 

Ruwan Sampath 

Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, 

Faculty of Management and Finance, University of 


Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management and 

Finance, University of Ruhuna, Wellamadama, 




Coordinator, Land-based Ecosystems, South Eastern 

University of Sri Lanka, Sammanthurai, Sri Lanka 

Coordinator/Gender Issues, CIDA Restore Project, 



Department of Agriculture Engineering, Faculty of 



S. Santharooban Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University 

of Sri Lanka, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka 


T.H. Seran 

R.T. Seresinhe 


University of Ruhuna, Mapalana , Kamburupitiya, Sri 





Department of Animal Science, Faculty of 



S. Subasinghe Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, 

University of Ruhuna, Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri 


G. Vickneswaran Project Leader/ Peace and Conflict Resolution, CIDA 

Restore Project

P. Vinobaba Department of Zoology, Eastern University, 

Vantharumoolai, Chenkalady, Sri Lanka 

V 

K.D.N.Weerasinghe 

L.M.J.R. Wijayawardhana 







S. Wijetunga Department of Agriculture Engineering, Faculty of 


Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka

PREFACE 

The Tsunami in 2004 December caused a massive destruction to life, property and 

environment in Sri Lanka. Nearly 30,000 people died of this natural disaster and over 

800,000 people were displaced. In addition, over 100,000 houses were damaged and the 

livelihood of a large number of people was disrupted. 

Thus it became imperative to rebuild and reconstruct the houses and the environment 

and restore the livelihoods of the people in tsunami-affected areas. Therefore, with 

financial assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), 

four Canadian Universities, namely Guelph, Waterloo, Manitoba and Queen’s, 

collaborated with three Sri Lankan Universities, namely Ruhuna, Eastern and South- 

Eastern, and one NGO, Sri Lanka Canada Development Facilitation (SLCDF), in 

implementing the Restore Project, a reconstruction and restoration programme under 

CIDA. 

The Project adopted a multi-sectoral approach to environmental restoration, sustainable 

livelihoods and development, with full community input and participation, specifically 

in the tsunami-affected districts of Matara, Ampara and Batticaloa in Sri Lanka, which 

were among the hardest hit by the tsunami and representative of the three main 

communities of the country, namely Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. 

In order to make a significant impact during its three-year span, the Project focused on 

six villages, two from each of the above districts, which demonstrated considerable 

need. The selected villages participated fully in community development initiatives to 

achieve the following objectives: 

1. Restore damaged and destroyed environmental assets such as coral reefs, 

mangroves and other vegetation, lagoons, beaches, agricultural lands and fresh 

water resources; 

2. Restore traditional livelihoods and develop alternative livelihoods especially 

linked to the coastal environment, including fisheries and tourism; 

3. Establish disaster resilient community infrastructure using appropriate design, 

technologies and materials; 

4. Develop community-based early warning and emergency response plans; 

5. Build community-based institutional and human capacities for environmental 

management, sustainable livelihoods, and community development. 

These objectives were supported by six crosscutting themes, namely community-based 

participation; sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation; gender equality; peace 

and conflict sensitivity. 

The ultimate aim of the Project was to develop the six selected villages as 'model 

villages' so that their achievements could be replicated in other tsunami-affected 

regions. The Project supported (i) improved planning, management and conservation of 

the marine and land-based coastal ecosystem; (ii) enhanced quality of life and economic 

status of communities including diversification of livelihood opportunities in smallscale 

industry, agriculture and marine-based ecosystems for fisher folk and fishery 

dependent communities with emphasis on improving economic conditions which will 

reduce vulnerability of women, including widows and girls; (iii) enhanced community 

VII

VIII 

safety; (iv) enhanced inter-cultural understanding and social harmony through peace 

and conflict resolution practices; and, (v) enhanced levels of empowerment and greater 

roles for women in community life and improved quality of life for other vulnerable 

groups. 

The outcomes and the findings of the rebuilding and restoration initiatives were 

presented at a Workshop held in March, 2009 at Hotel Tourmaline in Kandy. The 

papers presented were categorized under the following sub-headings: 

• Risk Reduction and Disaster Management 

• New Technologies for Rebuilding and Reconstruction 

• Environmental Restoration 

• Gender Issues and Social Harmony 

• Livelihood Restoration 

• Lessons Learned 

The Proceedings constitute the outcomes, findings, best practices and lessons learnt in 

the course of the rehabilitation, reconstruction and restoration processes in three badly 

tsunami-affected districts in Sri Lanka. It will be of value and relevance to university 

students and teachers as well as governmental and non-governmental agencies and 

institutions engaged in the realm of disaster management and allied fields. 



Jana Janakiram 

Editors

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

This volume is culmination of concerted effort aimed at rehabilitating and rebuilding of 

some villages in the Southern and Eastern provinces in Sri Lanka that were affected by 

the Asian Tsunami in 2004. This restoration programme called the Restore Project was 

funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) during the period 

of 2008-2010. The CIDA Restore Project involved four Canadian Universities, namely 

University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, University of Manitoba and Queen's 

University, and three Sri Lankan Universities, namely University of Ruhuna, Eastern 

University and South Eastern University. In addition, Sri Lanka Centre for 

Development Facilitation (SLCDF) headed by the late Dr. W.P.P Abeydeera also 

played an important role in the rebuilding process. 

Professor Jana Janakiram of the University of Guelph served as overall Project Leader 

while Professor Ranjith Senaratne, former Vice Chancellor, University of Ruhuna, 

served as Project Leader in Sri Lanka. This project was implemented through the said 

Sri Lankan Universities and the restoration programme of each university was 

coordinated by a Deputy Director, namely Professor Danny Attapattu at the University 

of Ruhuna, Mr. Ravi Muniyandi at the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and Mr. A.N. 

Ahamed at the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, under the guidance and direction 

of the respective Vice-Chancellors. 

During the formulation as well as execution of the Project, several Canadian dons 

provided valuable inputs to the Project. Contributions by Professor Glen Filson of 

University of Guelph, Dr. Brent Doberstein of University of Waterloo and Dr. James S. 

Gardner of University of Manitoba are particularly noteworthy and have contributed 

immensely to the success of the Project. Many members of the academic staff from 

each of the said Sri Lankan Universities were constructively engaged in the Project. We 

hugely appreciate their dedication and devotion to the restoration endeavours and regret 

our inability to name them individually in view of the large number involved. 

A special word of thanks goes to Mr. Calvin Pigottee (First Secretary), Dr. Nihal 

Atapattu, Dr. T. Jayasingham and other members of the administrative staff of the 

Canadian High Commission in Colombo for the support and cooperation extended 

during the execution of the Project. 

Mr. Wasantha Wijesinghe, who was responsible for overseeing the restoration 

programme at field level at Madihe village in Matara, worked with great commitment 

and distinction, which made the restoration programme in that village a singular 

success. A small, but a highly dedicated and dexterous team comprising Mr. S. 

Palliyaguru, Senior Assistant Bursar, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, 

Mrs. Pamoda Jayaratne, Mrs. Malsha Seneviratne and Mr. Lal Pathirana provided the 

necessary support, administrative and otherwise, which enabled the Project Leader to 

implement the Project effectively and efficiently. 

The editors also wish to thank the printer, Tharanjee Prints for the meticulous care with 

which the volume has been produced. 

IX

XI 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

List of Contributors ........................................................................................................... I 

Preface ........................................................................................................................... VII 

Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ IX 

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... XI 

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW......................................................................... 1 

Sri Lanka Restore’s Goal, Objectives and Operationalization ..................................... 1 

Sustainable Rural Livelihoods as a Disaster Management Strategy .......................... 11 

II. RISK REDUCTION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT ....................................... 23 

Adaptive System for the Prediction of Natural Disasters ........................................... 25 

Development of Tsunami Evacuation Sites for Gandara and Devinuwara ................ 35 

Tsunami Hazard and Preparation of Evacuation Plan- A Case Study from South 

Eastern Coastal Belt, Sri Lanka ................................................................................. 49 

Intervention of CIDA Restore Project for Providing Safe Drinking Water to the 

Villages Palameenmadu and Puthukkudiyiruppu...................................................... 57 

Study on Behavioral Changes of Animals Prior to a Tsunami Natural Disaster ........ 65 

III. NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR REBUILDING AND RECONSTRUCTION ......... 73 

A Remedy for the Problems Caused by Eichornia crassipes in the Ampara District 75 

Groundwater Distribution in the Gandara and Devinuera Areas-Southern Sri Lanka 83 

Producing Lightweight Concrete Using Tobacco Wastes .......................................... 99 

IV. ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION ................................................................ 109 

Rehabilitation of Mangroves in Paalameenmadu and Puthukudiyiruppu, Batticaloa 

and its Biodiversity ................................................................................................. 111 

Milk Fish Farming in Cages to Enhance the Income for Fishermen from 

Palameenmadu and to Preserve the Biodiversity in the Wild Ecosystem ............... 127 

A Simplified Approach to Treat Wasterwater from Dyeing Industry ...................... 139 

Sustainability of Community Based Household Solid Waste Management: Lessons 

Learned from Ruhuna - CIDA Restore Project ....................................................... 147 

Cost Benefit Analysis of Novel Fish Drying Equipment in Gandara Central, Matara163 

V. GENDER ISSUES AND SOCIAL HARMONY .................................................... 177 

The Bereft Women of the East: Micro Enterprises: The Difference Between Survival 

and Living ............................................................................................................... 179 

Group Formation and Social Harmony: A Case Study of CIDA Restore Project .... 185 

A Gender Perspective on Tsunami Restore Activities Carriedout Under CIDA 

Restore Project in Two Villages in the Ampara District in Sri Lanka .................... 193 

Perceptions and Realities: Women’s Factor in Disaster Management ..................... 201 

Impact on Selected Skill Development Programs on Women’s Income Generating 

Activities in Tsunami Affected Area in Batticaloa District .................................... 207

XII 

VI. LIVELIHOOD RESTORATION ACTIVITIES .................................................... 213 

Home Gardening as a Tool for Improving Food and Nutritional Security - A Case 

Study at Madiha and Gandara in Sri Lanka ............................................................ 189 

Crab Fattening in Wooden Cages and the Enhancement of the Economic Status of the 

Fishermen from Paalmeenmadu, Batticaloa ............................................................ 197 

Biogas as an Appropriate Technology for Resource Poor Families to Meet their 

Energy and Fertilizer Needs; A Case Study in Madiha East on the Adoption of 

Technology for a Poor Family with Marginal Resources ....................................... 209 

VII. LESSONS LEARNED ......................................................................................... 221 

Common Challenges in Post Disaster Recovery: A Civil Society Perspective ........ 223 

Lessons Learned from the Restore Tsunami Project in Sri Lanka ........................... 229 

Author Index ............................................................................................................ 235

I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

SRI LANKA RESTORE’S GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND 

OPERATIONALIZATION 

Ranjith Senaratne, Jana Janakiram, G.C. Filson and James Gardner 

Background and rationale 

The tsunami that struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004 is considered the single most 

devastating natural disaster to have affected that island. More than 1,000 km or 70% of the 

island’s coastline covering 13 districts, especially in the north, northeast, east and south, 

were directly affected. The tsunami killed approximately 35,000 people, destroyed over 

80,000 homes and 5,000 village industries and degraded natural coastal features and 

ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, lagoons, inter-tidal zones and beaches. The 

number of women and children among the dead was disproportionately high; some 

estimates suggesting twice the number ofwomen died relative to men. Considerable losses 

to village infrastructure, fisheries, resorts, economic assets and transportation networks 

resulted in overall damage estimated at $1Billion. Coastal infrastructure systems, including 

roads and railways, power, communications, water supply and sanitation systems and 

fishing ports were severely damaged. Many of the affected communities were among the 

poorest segments of Sri Lanka’s population. Particularly, vulnerable groups such as smallscale 

fisherman and farmers, local entrepreneurs and wage-workers dependent on coastal 

environmental assets, had their livelihoods destroyed and/or compromised, causing greater 

poverty. It was estimated that 443,000 persons were displaced permanently (ADB, 2005). 

The most significant environmental damage was in the coastal zone, in particular to 

fisheries, related habitats, reefs and through saline contamination of surface water, 

groundwater and soils. The northeast coastline bore the brunt of the disaster, with affected 

areas reaching 2-3km inland. Areas protected by natural barriers, such as coral reefs, 

mangroves and dunes, were largely unaffected. Coral reefs were degraded by 

sedimentation and erosion. Existing damage from excessive coral mining was exacerbated 

by the tsunami. Approximately 27,000 fishermen and their families died and 65% of 

country’s fishing fleet was destroyed. Damage to coastal agriculture included destruction 

of standing crops in paddy and home fields and soil contamination by sea-water intrusion 

which limited agriculture development for a number of years in the affected areas. 

Collectively, these impacts left the coastline and coastal communities more vulnerable to 

damage from recurring natural processes such as cyclones, floods, droughts and 

earthquakes and to other economic, social and political stresses and shocks. Before the 

tsunami, poverty in the worst affected districts was above the national average, and the 

tsunami disaster has only increased their poverty and vulnerability. 

The economic impact of the disaster was significant. Overall direct asset damage was 

estimated at US $ 1 billion (4.9 percent of GDP). Destruction of private assets in the 

affected districts was substantial with losses estimated at US $ 700 million. This figure 

includes losses in fishing (US$ 100 million), tourism (US$ 250 million), and housing (US 

$ 300-350 million).Output losses resulting from the damage of assets and the disruption in

2 

economic activity in the affected sectors were estimated at 1.5 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP. 

In terms of employment, an estimated 200,000 people (or about 3 percent of the labour 

force) lost their jobs or livelihoods including 100,000 in fisheries, 27,000 in tourism and 

tourism-related activities, and the rest in other informal sector activities. The tsunami 

slowed GDP growth in 2005 by up to 1 percentage point from an original government 

estimate of 6 percent. 

Sri Lanka is situated on the large Indo-Australian plate, far removed from any of the plate 

boundaries. Consequently, many believed that Sri Lanka was safe from risks associated 

with seismic activity. However, the tsunami disaster was a reminder that coastal zones 

were a risk from distant seismic events. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests a possible 

fracture of the Indo-Australian plate approximately 300 km off the south-west coast of Sri 

Lanka, creating a new plate boundary and thereby increasing the risk of future seismic 

activity and tsunamis. This continuing and increased risk highlighted the need for effective 

warning systems and community-based emergency response plans. 

The immediate response to the tsunami from the Sri Lankan government and local people 

was unprecedented. International relief efforts were considerable, with approximately 250 

aid organizations on the ground, up from 75 prior to the disaster. Central government 

capacity to administer and coordinate the relief and recovery effort was limited. 

The tsunami and the devastation caused to the people and the country made people all over 

the world react generously. Funds and aid items were collected all over the world and sent 

to Sri Lanka. This was the same in Canada where the people reacted very positively and 

gave money and other useful items. Development initiatives were considered by 

individuals, students and the average workers. 

At this time an NGO (non-governmental organization) named World University Services 

Canad (WUSC), which works with universities in different countries sponsored a “fact 

finding mission” in Sri Lanka and invited the universities in Canada to send representatives 

to visit Sri Lanka. Guelph was one of the universities that sent a representative on this 

mission. Other representatives that participated in this mission were from Manitoba, Trent, 

Queens and Waterloo. The team leader of this mission was from WUSC and their local 

office coordinated the visit. 

In Sri Lanka, the Canadian team along with the WUSC team visited a number of 

institutions of higher education, local NGOs and government institutions in different 

provinces. They listened to the needs of the people and had discussions with them and 

came to the conclusion that the Canadian institutions should actively participate in the 

reconstruction of the tsumani affected areas and affected people. 

The team discussed the priorities as identified by the people and requested feedback from 

the different Sri Lankan institutions who were willing to be partners in this effort. A few 

institutions responded and of them Ruhuna University in the Southern Province was 

willing to work with Eastern and Southeastern Universities in the Eastern Province. After a 

few discussions with themselves and their Canadian partners, they too came up with a 

project proposal, which was acceptable to the Canadian Partners.

The proposal was refined to suit the priorities of the Sri Lanka Tsunami Facility as defined 

by CIDA and was submitted for funding. The competition for funding was intense and 

after a few revisions, the proposal was accepted by CIDA and the project emerged. 

Long-term strategies for the restoration of coastal features and ecosystems and associated 

livelihoods were needed. Sri Lanka is endowed with significant coastal natural resources 

that were the basis of livelihoods for thousands of people and offer potential for 

livelihoods development and sustainability. However, several key issues have been 

identified. First, the loss of livelihood capacities has not been adequately addressed at the 

community level. Secondly, environmental restoration had been sporadic and, in some 

cases such as mangrove restoration, may have caused future problems. Thirdly, the lack of 

coordination among the state sector, donor agencies, and affected parties did create unrest 

among affected parties. Fourth, in certain circumstances, relief efforts had created a 

dependency syndrome among the recipients. Consequently, there was a need to change 

attitudes, perceptions and expectations of affected people and to build community-based 

confidence and independence in the affected areas. Fifth, the lack of previous experience 

related to tsunami events contributed to inadequate warning systems and disaster 

management knowledge and capacity at all levels of government and in the communities. 

Finally, all restoration efforts had to be cognizant of existing social conflicts in the country 

and take steps to promote social harmony, peace and good governance. 

3 

The development problematique (The reason for doing the project) 

The most significant environmental damage incurred was coastal, in particular the loss of 

related habitats, livelihoods, damage to reefs and corals, sea grass, saline contamination of 

surface water, groundwater and soils. Damaged coastal agriculture included standing crops 

of rice, home gardens and soil contamination by sea-water intrusion. Problems addressed 

related to repair and restoration of these tsunami-related impacts at selected sites. 

The situation on the ground called for restoration and development of coral reefs, sea 

grass, mangroves and other vegetation, lagoon systems and beaches. These response 

efforts provided the basis for the restoration and development of traditional and alternative 

livelihood opportunities in such enterprises as fishing, coir making (and retting), tourism, 

small business, handicrafts and services. Interwoven amongst the environmental and 

livelihood needs was a variety of issues relating to appropriate planning, design, 

technologies, materials, services, institutions and governance for building disaster resilient 

communities. Experience elsewhere, lessons learned and observations in the area, 

suggested that any such endeavors should be rooted in community public involvement and 

participation in order to be successful and sustainable in the long-term. 

Goal and objectives 

The purpose of this project was to implement a multi-sectoral approach to environmental 

restoration, sustainable livelihoods and development, with full community input and

4 

participation in thespecific tsunami-affected districts of Matara, Ampara, and Batticaloa in 

Sri Lanka which are representative of the three linguistic/religious groups of the country 

namely the Sinhalese, Muslims 1 and Tamils respectively. 

In order to make a significant impact over the span of 3 years, the project focused on six 

villages, two from each of the above districts and which demonstrated considerable need. 

The selection of the villages was undertaken according to an agreed set of selection criteria 

that were determined through a detailed, participatory baseline survey. The selected 

villages participated in the community development initiatives to achieve the following 

objectives: 

Restore damaged and destroyed environmental assets such as coral reefs, 

mangroves and other vegetation, lagoons and beaches. 

Restore traditional livelihoods and develop alternative livelihoods especially 

linked to the coastal environment, including fisheries and tourism. 

Establish disaster resilient community infrastructure using appropriate design, 

technologies and materials. 

Build community-based institutional and human capacities for environmental 

management, sustainable livelihoods, and community development. 

Develop community-based early warning and emergency response plans. 

These objectives were supported by the following cross-cutting themes: 

Community-based participation; 

Sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation; 

Gender equality; 

Peace and conflict sensitivity. 

The project developed the six villages into‘model villages’ that demonstrated a process of 

community development that can be replicated in other tsunami-affected regions. Specific 

results in the selected villages included: 

Improved planning, management and conservation of the marine ecosystem; 

Restored and enhanced livelihoods of fisher folk and fishery dependent 

communities; 

Enhanced quality of life and economic status of communities; 

Improved planning, management and conservation of coastal zone; 

Diversification of livelihood opportunities; 

Enhanced food security 

Diversification and expansion of small scale industries; 

Diversification and expansion of improved agriculture; 

Enhanced community safety; 

Improved relief coordination; 

1 Though Muslims are a religious group, in Sri Lanka they tend to be comprised of several non- 

Sinhalese (mainly Buddhists), non-Tamil (mainly Hindu) ethnic groups so Sri Lankans refer to them 

as if they represent one ethnic group, Mulisms.

Enhanced inter-cultural understanding; 

Improved opportunities for peace and conflict resolution through social harmony; 

Improved economic conditions and reduced vulnerability of women, including 

widows and girls; 

Enhanced levels of empowerment and greater roles of women in community life; 

and, 

Improved quality of life for vulnerable groups. 

5 

Results 

The project developed six villages into ‘model villages’ that demonstrated a process of 

community development that could be replicated in other tsunami-affected regions. Project 

activities supported (i) Improved planning, management and conservation of the marine 

and land-based coastal ecosystem; (ii) Enhanced quality of life and economic status of 

communities including diversification of livelihood opportunities in small-scale industry, 

agriculture and marine-based ecosystems for fisherfolk and fishery dependent communities 

with an emphasis on improving economic conditions which will reduce vulnerability of 

women, including widows and girls ; (iii) Enhanced community safety; (iv) Enhanced 

inter-cultural understanding and social harmony through peace and conflict resolution 

practices; and, (v) Enhanced levels of empowerment and greater roles for women in 

community life and improved quality of life for other vulnerable groups. 

The selected districts of Matara, Ampara, and Batticaloa were amongst the hardest hit 

regions of Sri Lanka. In addition, these regions represented the three main linguistic and 

religious groups that comprise the majority of the island’s population, namely the 

Sinhalese, Muslim and Tamil people. The project was delivered by the University of 

Guelph with its local sub-contractors (Sri Lankan universities) and its Canadian subcontractors 

(Canadian universities) through an integrated set of components and activities 

which were synergistic. 

The major effort of the project was environmental restoration of the chosen affected areas 

enhancing the sustainable livelihoods of the communities who live within these areas 

through associated interventions on gender equality and peace and conflict sensitivity. To 

achieve this effort six (6) “communities (villages) in need” across the three main regions 

were identified using an acceptable set of selection criteria established through a detailed 

baseline survey. The majority of the activities were focused in these communities in order 

to produce significant impacts and provide a replicable model that could be utilized in 

other regions of Sri Lanka. 

A process of ‘adaptive management’ was incorporated in the project as the duration of the 

project was only three years and tangible results were expected in that time frame. From 

the initial stages, sustainability of the efforts was a key question and was addressed at 

every stage of the project through appropriate strategies and partner involvement.

6 

The purpose of the adaptive management approach was to assess the project, make 

changes if necessary and build capacity “by doing” at various levels of the community. A 

significant component of the project was multilevel capacity building for partner 

institutions, NGOs, CBOs (community based organizations) and government agencies. The 

tsunami disaster was so devastating that it changed the established attitudes and mindsets 

of educators, government officials and ordinary community members. 

Outreach training was a focus of the project and was delivered in cooperation with the 

government agencies and project NGOs and CBOs that had the ability to work with the 

smaller rural communities through established networks. The training of trainers and the 

development of training materials was addressed through Sri Lankan and Canadian faculty 

and staff interactions and the needs of the communities. 

The strengthening of existing postgraduate programs and undergraduate programs in the 

partner institutions was limited. This was mainly due to the pre-occupation of the faculty 

and students who just wanted to complete their courses. During this period of the project 

there were a number of closures of the main partner institutions due to various reasons and 

faculty and students were literally hurrying to make up for lost time. 

Implementation methodology 

The project was led by the University of Guelph and implemented with the assistance of 

Canadian sub-contracted Universities (Manitoba, Queens and Waterloo) which are all 

comprehensive universities in Canada with most of the disciplines or expertise that are 

needed for this project. To deliver this project, University of Guelph also sub-contracted 

Sri Lankan universities from the tsunami affected districts -- Ruhuna University from the 

Matara district, Eastern University from the Batticaloa district and the South Eastern 

University from the Ampara district. 

These three universities are placed within and catered to the needs of the three major 

ethnic/religious populations in Sri Lanka-Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims. For the project, 

the Canadian and Sri Lankan universities worked with non-government and communitybased 

organizations (NGOs and CBOs) which were active in the target communities prior 

to the tsunami and whose work intensified after the disaster. These are organizations which 

had built bonds with their communities through hard work, trust and mutual respect and so 

they were well suited to work with the project. The identified NGOs/CBOs were wellestablished 

in the fields of poverty reduction and peace-building through micro-enterprise 

development, environmental conservation and management, agro-processing, participatory 

methods, psycho-social support, water supply and sanitation, gender equality, leadership, 

and vocational training for women and youth. They assisted in the identification of local 

needs and resources; managing local projects; establishing and fostering relationships with 

local communities; and, contributing to the development of replicable models to benefit atrisk 

populations, based on their experiences. The partner NGOs were: (i) Intermediate 

Technologies Development Group (ITDG), (ii) The Sri Lanka Centre for Development 

Facilitation (SLCDF), (iii) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): (iv) 

Institute for Development of Community Strengths (INDECOS); (v) Social Welfare 

Organization Ampara District and Hambantoba District Chamber of Commerce.

7 

Management and organization 

Co-Management was the management strategy followed for the project. Though one 

institution in Sri Lanka and one in Canada was the lead in each of the countries, most 

activities and decisions were undertaken in consultation with the University of Guelph and 

the main sub-contracted universities. 

The lead institutions in Sri Lanka and Canada were Ruhuna University based in Matara, 

Southern Province of Sri Lanka and the University of Guelph based in Guelph, Ontario, 

Canada. The Project Leader in Sri Lanka was elected from Ruhuna University and the 

University of Guelph appointed the Project Director in Canada. This was necessary for 

project administration and management, particularly with regard to financial management 

and accountability. 

The Vice Chancellors of each of the universities in Sri Lanka were appointed as part-time 

Co-Directors and were responsible for overseeing and facilitating the project within their 

districts. Part-time Deputy Directors reporting to the Project Leader in Sri Lanka were 

appointed at each Sri Lankan university and they were responsible for all activities 

conducted by the university in their districts. They were responsible for the day-to-day 

activities and implementation of the project through thematic program coordinators whom 

they identified in consultation with the Co-Directors. The Sri Lankan Project Leader was 

responsible for all activities of the project in Sri Lanka. 

A half-time Canadian Project Leader/Manager, reporting to the Canadian Project Director 

was appointed and based in Guelph to manage the project. The Canadian Project Director 

reported and was accountable to CIDA. Institutional Memoranda of Understanding was 

developed by the partners to assign and guide the roles and responsibilities of the 

participating institutions. 

A Project Steering Committee, consisting of representatives of the participating 

institutions, organizations and the communities in which the work is carried out, provided 

general guidance and approvals of annual narrative and financial reports and yearly work 

plans and budgets. Individuals from other Canadian and Sri Lankan institutions were 

seconded to work on the project on an as needed basis. 

Stakeholders, their roles and responsibilities 

The main stakeholders of the project were the people from the six selected villages in Sri 

Lanka and members of the participating Sri Lankan universities. This project had been 

designed in such a manner that the beneficiaries participated actively in the 

implementation of the project. Towards this end, active discussions and consultations took 

place before the villages were selected. The roles and responsibilities of the communities 

were to articulate their needs and actively participate in the implementation of the project.

8 

The personnel from the Universities of Ruhuna, Southeastern and Eastern were the lead 

institutional persons in this project in Sri Lanka. The University of Ruhuna selected and 

worked with the two villages Madihe East and Gandara Central in the Matara district. The 

people in these villages were mainly Sinhalese and the University of Ruhuna was able to 

interact with the community members and facilitate their implementation of the project. 

The Southeastern University selected and worked with the two villages Akbar and 

Maligaikadu in Amparai district in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The people in these 

villages were mainly Muslims and the Southeastern University was able to interact with 

the community members and facilitate them to implement their project. 

Eastern University selected and worked with the villages Puthukudiyiruppu and 

Palameenmadu in Batticoloa district, Eastern Province. In these two villages the people 

were mainly Tamils and the Eastern University was able to work with them. 

The roles and responsibilities of the three institutions were to interact with the villagers 

and be actively involved with the villagers in the implementation of project activities. The 

institutions were also required to encourage their students to interact with the villagers and 

thus obtain experience in rural community development. The three institutions were also 

responsible for the finances that were allocated to each district and reported directly to the 

Sri Lankan project director who had his office at the University of Ruhuna. 

In the partnership that was forged for this project, 7 NGOs had agreed to work with the 

main universities. Due to unforeseen circumstances all seven NGOs could not fulfill their 

commitments. The Sri Lanka Center for Development Facilitation (SLCDF), which served 

as an umbrella organization and had networks with smaller NGOs and CBOs agreed to 

take on a major commitment in Batticoloa. 

Batticoloa district, at the start of the project was deeply affected by the ethnic conflict 

which engulfed the country at that time. Eastern University was constantly under pressure 

both by the rebels and the armed forces. Personnel had difficulty moving out to the 

villages. At this time SLCDF, which had networks in Batticoloa offered to take on a major 

role of the project and implement them on behalf of the university. This proved to be a 

very effective partnership and strategy and as such the villagers benefited and so did the 

personnel from the Eastern University. 

The Canadian lead partner of this project was University of Guelph and the Sri Lankan 

lead partner was the University of Ruhuna. In 2008, when there was a change in the Vice 

Chancellor position, Ruhuna opted not to be the Lead any more but was happy to maintain 

the office of the project director etc. At this time all three Sri Lankan universities agreed to 

be equal partners. 

The Canadian partners were mainly facilitators and assisted the personnel from the three 

Sri Lankan universities. When a need was expressed, the project identified local resources 

and sometimes brought in Canadians to assist.

9 

Overview of the proceedings 

This Proceedings compiles the papers presented at conferences within Chennai, India, 

Kandy, and Colombo, Sri Lanka produced mainly by the Sri Lankan colleagues at the three 

universities who participated in the initial Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and/or the 

community development/livelihood activities conducted in the six villages. Part I explains 

the origin and development of the CIDA funded Sri Lanka Restore program. It ends with a 

paper which outlines the background and theoretical issues raised by the Sustainable Rural 

Livelihoods and disaster management approach which provided the modus operandi of the 

program. Risk reduction and disaster management is the focus of Part II. An adaptive 

system for predicting natural disasters is discussed prior to a paper which explains how 

tsunami evacuation sites were developed for two vulnerable villages. Several papers 

dealing with new technologies for rebuilding and reconstruction and then presented in Part 

III. Environmental restoration is the focus of Part IV prior to Part V’s detailed discussion 

of gender issues and factors that affected social harmony after the tsunami. The sixth Part 

provides several papers on the livelihood activites that have been undertaken with the 

support of Sri Lanka Restore since the tsunami. Part VII summarizes what has been 

learned including the nature of the challenges that have been faced in the post-disaster 

recovery.

SUSTAINABLE RURAL LIVELIHOODS AS A DISASTER 

MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 

G. C. Filson 

Thousands of people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were killed by the 

tsunami of December 26, 2004. While the tsunami occurred as the result of this fourth 

largest earthquake since 1899, the scale of the destruction within these and many other 

countries was unprecedented (Tsunami South Asia, 2009). This collection of proceedings 

from several conferences in Sri Lanka and India sponsored by CIDA Restore, outlines 

many of the steps that have since been taken to restore people’s livelihoods within 

southern and eastern Sri Lanka since the disaster. 

Sustainable rural livelihoods in perspective 

CIDA Restore’s Sri Lankan tsunami livelihood restoration strategy was based upon the 

Sustainable Rural Livelihood (SRL) framework first developed by Chambers and 

Conway’s (1992) and later elaborated by Ashley and Carney (1999), Ellis (2000) and 

Carney (2002). It attempts to promote sustainable livelihoods both as a method of disaster 

prevention and, after a shock, a way of mitigating the effects of the disaster on the affected 

people’s livelihoods. CIDA Restore’s purpose was to implement a multi-sectoral approach 

to environmental restoration, sustainable livelihoods and development, with as much 

community input and participation as possible. Its projects attempted to restore affected 

environmental assets including coral reefs, mangroves and other vegetation; to restore 

traditional livelihoods and develop alternative livelihoods; to establish disaster resilient 

community infrastructure using appropriate design, technologies and materials;and to 

develop community-based early warning and emergency response plans. In order to 

accomplish this, a Sri Lankan and Canadian university consortium worked at building 

village community-based institutional and human capacities, managing the environment 

more effectively, and promoting sustainable livelihoods through community development 

activities. An overview, critique and assessment of this framework’s strengths and 

weaknesses is presented here in order to provide sufficient context for the ensuing chapters 

outlining the many Sri Lanka’s CIDA Restore projects’ seminal accomplishments. 

SRL built upon the theory and practice of rural development 

Sustainable rural livelihoods (SRL) research and development is also rooted in integrated 

rural development (IRD) (Scoones, 2009), ecosystem analysis (Rapport, 1995), capacities 

and vulnerabilities analysis (CVA) (Woodrow, 1998), farming systems analysis (Filsonet 

al, 2004) and participatory rural appraisal (Chambers, 1995). IRD theory was first 

popularized in the 1970s by the World Bank but was later criticized because and centrally 

based authorities often made inappropriate assumptions about what the local communities’ 

needs were and inadequately coordinated diverse and often ineffective projects (Parker,

12 

1995). Nonetheless, there has recently been a resurgence of the IRD strategy, especially 

within the European Union. In this context IRD has been defined by Nemes (2005: 23) as 

an ongoing process involving outside intervention and local aspirations; aiming to obtain 

the betterment of local groups of people living in rural areas and to sustain and improve 

rural values; through the distribution of central resources, reducing comparative 

disadvantages for competition and finding new ways to reinforce and utilize local 

resources. 

Robert Chambers book Putting the Last First (1995) also was substantially based on IRD 

theory and practice. Several other strategies designed to achieve local development and 

reduce poverty combined a ‘basic needs’ interest with a focus on improving the livelihoods 

of the landless and poor farmers such as Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSRE) 

and Capacities and Vulnerabilities Analysis (CVA). Besides a focus on meeting people’s 

basic needs especially in the aftermath of a disaster, these strategies have increasingly had 

a participatory focus. 

Though CVA has long preceded the existence of SRL for disaster mitigation (Cannonet al., 

1997) its methods have also been incorporated into the SRL strategy. Its focus has often 

been on such shocks as earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes and tsunamis and how they 

affect households from the outside. CVA was initially conceived specifically for use in 

humanitarian interventions, and for disaster preparedness but it has also been used, after 

the shock, to ameliorate the worst consequences of the disaster.It aims to assist outside 

agencies to plan interventions in a way that meet the immediate needs of people by 

building on their strengths and supporting their livelihood efforts. CVA helps to prioritize 

and sequence actions and inputs, to determine who and what should be addressed in each 

stage. The core concept of CVA is that people’s existing strengths (capacities) and existing 

weaknesses (vulnerabilities) determine the effect that a crisis has on them and their 

response to it. 

Capability, equity and sustainability are the three building blocks of the SL framework. 

Capability is assessed via the PRAs by determining people’s assets within the human, 

social, financial, In addition to the use of wealth and well-being ranking (analogous to 

class analysis), social mapping and the analysis of differences, implementers of the SRL 

framework focus on employment and income diversification between the genders (an 

attempt to do gender analysis). These tools are connected with the deployment of daily 

time-use charts and seasonal calendars which capture cyclical variations in activities, 

seasonal variation in food availability so that the most appropriate livelihood activities can 

be identified and encouraged. 

Just as gender analysis needs to be mainstreamed into SRL (see Razavai below), 

vulnerabilities analysis should be too.Vulnerability analysis should be added to emergency 

preparedness and efforts to reduce illiteracy, exclusion and poverty. Anderson (1994) 

observed that when assistance is provided to people to meet their needs without regard to 

their existing capacities, very often the capacities that they possess are undermined and 

undertaken by the overpowering presence of the aid giver. When this occurs, 

vulnerabilities are often increased rather than reduced by aid. An adequate notion of 

vulnerability, then, must take account of people’s capacities, which some perceive to be 

the opposite of vulnerability.

13 

CVA could direct development aid interventions, protect and enhance people’s livelihoods, 

help vulnerable people protect themselves, and support institutional disaster prevention. 

People’s social vulnerability has to do with their initial well-being (nutritional status, 

physical and mental health, morale); theirlivelihood and resilience (asset pattern and 

capitals, income and exchange options, qualifications); and theirdegree of self-protection 

(the degree of protection afforded by their capability and willingness to build safe home, 

use safe site). Their social protection (forms of hazard preparedness provided by society 

more generally, through for example, the quality of their building codes and the regulation 

thereof, mitigation measures, shelters, preparedness);their social and political networks and 

institutions (social capital, insofar as it is a genuine form of capital, but also the role of the 

institutional environment in setting good conditions for hazard precautions, people’s rights 

to express needs and their access to preparedness). 

Lower vulnerability occurs when livelihoods are adequate and sustainable. Poor people 

(especially women and children) are disproportionately vulnerable as compared with 

others within patriarchal societies and they are less capable of recovering from shocks. A 

failure of much disaster preparedness and mitigation is that it often does not support 

livelihoods and future resistance to hazards by reducing vulnerability sufficiently in 

addition to dealing with peoples’ immediate needs.Instead it usually concentrates on 

meeting people’s immediate needs. This mistake is particular common when nongovernmental 

agencies (NGOs) are more supply than demand driven. 

Instead CVA seeks to strengthening people’s nutrition, health, morale and other aspects of 

well-being. It reinforces their livelihoods so they are more resilient to the impacts of 

hazards. It prepares their homes and workplaces against hazards by developing early 

warning systems, evacuation plans, coordinated disaster preparedness and practice and it 

assesses and organizes support from government, civil society community based 

institutions local and international non-governmental organizations. 

Data is collected for CVA via PRAs such as through semi-structured interviews on 

problems, vulnerabilities and capacities. Also, community mapping is done of topography, 

houses, land use, hazards, elements at risk and safe areas. Transect walks ought to be 

conducted with key informants,seasonal calendars developed, livelihood and coping 

strategies analysis are conducted, then an institutional and social network analysis is 

developed. This is also often combined with a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and 

Threats (SWOT) analysis that the people face.This then is integrated into the normal SRL 

data collection and analysis of the people affected or potentially affected by the disaster.

14 

Table 1.1 is adapted to Sri Lanka from the CVA Framework developed by Anderson and 

Woodrow’s (1998). 

Physical/material 

What productive resources, 

skills and hazards exist 

Social/organisational 

What are the relations and 

organization among people 

Motivational/attitudinal 

How does the community view 

its ability to create change 

Vulnerabilities 

e.g. loss of fishing gear, boats, 

etc.; coral reef damaged, 

housing destroyed, some 

salinated wells; much 

destruction of mangroves 

Civil strife ongoing especially 

in the East, ethnic distrust, 

patriarchal relations limiting 

women’s potential; lack of 

university faculty rural 

development experience 

Given the destruction and 

widespread debris after the 

tsunami, without physical 

capital and financial resources, 

community motivation initially 

was weak. 

Capacities 

Relatively high education for 

coastal regions in developing 

countries, etc. 

Extended family, religious and 

social ties still strong; fishing 

and farming skills widespread; 

the existence of many 

community based 

organizations (CBOs) 

Entrepreneurial spirit even 

among the less educated; 

strong willingness to rebuild 

livelihoods; support from 

CBOs & nongovern-mental 

organizations (NGOs). 

One of the techniques developed by FSRE was Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), a situational 

analytical approach preceding development work, used by the Consultative Group on 

International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). It was designed to overcome the 

time limitations associated with academic approaches to situational analysis and the costs 

of formal surveys. RRA uses many qualitative research techniques including focus groups, 

interviews and observation (FAO, 2009). 

The SRL version of IRD evolved out of work by Chambers and Conway (1992), Chambers 

(1995) Scoones (2009) among others in the International Development Studies (IDS) 

Department at Sussex University, England. Chambers transformed RRA into Participatory 

Rural Appraisal (PRA) as a generative strategy where a shift occurred from starting with 

need identification to one which discovered and built on people’s already developed 

capabilities, other assets and indigenous forms of livelihoods. PRA has since emerged as a 

widely used essential opening gambit in initiating livelihood strategies to restore or 

strengthen local development. PRAs were therefore used to launch the CIDA Restore 

livelihood projects described in the chapters below. 

Conway and Chambers (1992) felt that livelihoods were sustainable if they enabled people 

to recover from shocks and stress by maintaining their capability and passing that on to the 

next generation. Livelihoods therefore include capabilities, assets and activities. The 

central building block of livelihoods is a focus on households. In response to a shock like a 

tsunami, the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (SRL) response is to attempt to create those 

activities that enable people to recover from the shocks without depreciating the 

environment or minimizing the social and economic support of others can promote 

environmentally sustainable rural livelihoods.

Thus there has been a steady increase in interest in indigenous knowledge and the diversity 

of rural livelihoods focused around local households. Once the British Department for 

International Development (DFID) accepted the SRL framework for development projects 

and UNDP, CIDA, other international agencies including the UNDP have followed the 

SRL approach. The SRL which has been summarized on the IDS 

sustainablelivelihoods.org website as the following, 

15 

Figure 1.1: Sustainable Livelihood Framework 

As indicated above a PRA is usually conducted to establish the vulnerability context. Here 

human capital refers to people’s individual developed education and skills which they use 

to acquire jobs and interact socially. The literature on social capital has proliferated 

recently so its use in the above version of SRL does not surprise but whether it is helpful 

with respect to SRL requires close scrutiny. 

Social capital, a variation of the term cultural capital developed by Bourdieu (see Bourdieu 

and Coleman, 1991) generally refers to the networks that people have including their 

relationships of trust. As Coleman (1990) pointed out, people are simultaneously involved 

in their social and economic environments and this is reflected in the term social capital. 

For Putnam (1996: 56), on the other hand, social capital refers to the “features of social 

life—networks, norms and trust—that enable people to act together more effectively to 

pursue shared objectives.” 

Natural capital is somewhat akin to circulating forms of capital like wood, fuel and other 

naturally available assets employed used in constructing livelihoods. Physical capital 

could include fixed assets used in production from factories to even simpler phenomena 

such as looms. Financial capital is clearly closer to the classic form of money capital 

which is part of the metamorphosis of money, labour power, means of 

productioncommodity capital, then more money capital. But are these five forms of 

identified capital really capital or more simply assets used in the construction of 

livelihoods

16 

As indicated above, one potential problem with this approach is that this schema uses the 

word ‘capital’ as broadly equivalent to ‘assets’. The problem with this is that, as Marx 

observed in Capital, Volume I (1977), building on the work political economists from 

David Ricardo to James Mill, capital is really more than a mere asset. It refers to selfexpanding 

value within a capitalist society. Money capital purchases labour (L) plus means 

of production (MP) in order to produce a commodity which exchanges for more money 

than originally invested in L and MP thus it includes surplus value or profit. This extra 

money is partly removed as luxury goods by the capitalist and the rest is in turn reinvested 

in expanded reproduction through the purchase of more L and MP, generating more 

commodity capital and even more money capital in exchange. Thus, “If we pin down the 

specific forms of appearance assumed in turn by self-valorizing value in the course of its 

life, we reach the following elucidation: capital is money, capital is commodities” (Marx 

(1977: 255). This cycle continues until a glut of commodities occurs, transforming the 

prosperous period into a crisis and then stagnation until a new period of prosperity returns 

after the price of L drops due to rising unemployment and new, profitable production is 

able to commence again because industrial capitalists are once again able to generate a 

profit through this process. This is a crucial component of the growth of capitalism, 

however, the rural Sri Lankan communities we are speaking about are more mercantile 

capitalist than industrial capitalist as Dr. Banda argues in “Perceptions and Realities: the 

Women’s Factor in Disaster Management” below. For this reason rather than speaking 

about the five types of Capital (as indicated in Fig. 2) it is more reasonable to speak about 

an Asset pentagon. 

Livelihood activities include farm income from fishing, crops and livestock, rental income, 

household production, off-farm work and such non-farm income as remittances from urban 

areas and internationally. Secured livelihoods are the desired outcome of the strategy based 

on improved income levels, more equitable social and gender relations, greater livelihood 

stability as well as restored ecosystem health. While there is some debate about how 

integrated gender analysis is within the SRL framework, SRL advocates argue that gender 

analysis is part and parcel of the method (Razavi, 2009). The SRL method of development 

and disaster management also seeks to build on political ecology using local field level 

work but within the context of an understanding of “the complex realities of diverse 

livelihoods but linking to more macro-structured issues” (Scoones, 2009: 174). 

The way the SRL proceeded with CIDA Restore was to begin by identifying people’s 

assets through conducting PRA’s in 18 villages prior to selecting six, two each relatively 

near the three universities. The next step was to find the critical linkages, the livelihood 

gaps created by the tsunami and the constraints to successful livelihood outcomes for those 

six villages. CIDA Restore’s faculty within Ruhuna University, South-Eastern and Eastern 

Universities then “Interactively formulate[d], with those concerned, policies, programmes, 

and projects to overcome those constraints and allow for the use of productive assets” 

(Ellis, 2000). After identifying the livelihood assets to obtain a sense of the 

balance/imbalance in each of these essential building blocks of people’s livelihoods CIDA 

Restore personnel thus attempted to either stimulate or restore livelihoods while paying 

attention to macro-micro linkages between the local and larger economic and political 

institutions and coordinating their work with what other non-governmental (NGOs) and 

community based organizations (CBO) were doing in the region. This was essential

ecause mediating processes between assets and successful livelihood strategies include 

contextual considerations such associal relations, institutions and both NGOs and CBOs. 

Out of this analysis, livelihood strategies were identified and agreed to by the potential 

beneficiaries. These were then developed and implemented mostly over the second half of 

the three year period of the project. As this was occurring there was ongoing collaboration 

via conferences and workshops, with faculty from the Sri Lankan and Canadian 

universities in the CIDA Restore consortium. 

In retrospect, one must ask if, in the case that SRL is really so similar to IRD, whether the 

IRD really had been the failure that some people had earlier concluded than IRD had been 

(Scoones, 2009) and what is wrong with involving rural people and especially women in 

restoring their own livelihoods as a way of better managing the aftermath of a disaster like 

a tsunami. On the other hand, the criticism that the SRL approach has often been suspect 

for being too ‘local’ and insufficiently linked with larger government institutions and 

political forces, may be well taken. According to Scoones (2009: 182) “the lack of 

attention to power and politics and the failure to link livelihoods and governance debates in 

development” is indeed a failing of the SRL approach. More theoretical and empirical 

work is needed to connect SRL with climate and other global economic change processes 

in the future. However, given the ongoing nature of the Sri Lankan civil war during the 

reconstruction, the avoidance of all things overtly political probably was a saving grace of 

this project. 

17 

Gender relations and rural livelihoods 

Key to understanding household dynamics and inequality within SRL thinking and 

development is gender analysis which conceptualizes households with respect to micro and 

macro political economic categories including feudalism, the peasant mode of production, 

mercantile and even, at times, more industrialized capitalism (Marx, 1956; Chayanov, 

1966). Rural social classes intersect with gender relations insofar as how the former are 

inserted into rural markets and social relations of production, on the one hand, and 

domestic relations on the other. Whereas men tend to participate more in rural labour 

markets than women, domestic unpaid household labour is predominately done by women. 

Furthermore as Harris (1990: 410) has argued, “there are class, caste and regional 

differences in the operation of patriarchy” such that, for example, in the face of calamities 

like famines, earthquakes and tsunamis, the burden of coping falls “disproportionately on 

females in poor households” (Agarwal, 1990). One useful definition of patriarchy was 

provided by Harrison (1977) as men’s rule over women and younger men. 

Not only must poor female agricultural and non-agricultural labourers in general engage in 

the double day of intensive domestic work as well “but also in marital patterns and 

household structures, as well as in the degree of control that women of different class and 

caste households exercise over resources (common property resources, wages, land), and 

over their own sexuality and fertility” (Razavi, 2009: 206). The significance of this for 

SRL is that “livelihoods depend not only on money wages, but also on the unpaid work 

that reproduces the labour force overtime and across generations” (2009: 207).

18 

It is likely that in the aftermath of the tsunami, there was an expansion of noncommodified, 

unpaid work. An understanding of gender relations in peasant and 

mercantile capitalist households must recognize that there is much less commodification 

and industrialization of household labour than in industrial capitalist societies and that the 

extra burden of this after a tsunami falls disproportionately on women. 

Razavi (2009) reminds us as well that households are sites of inequality between men and 

women and consequently they are, in turn, sites of struggle. In male headed patriarchal 

households there often is female accommodation and cooperation but also resistance. Yet 

female headed households also may find that their access to land is still mediated by 

extended patriarchal households. Beyond the household, rural labour markets tend to be 

segmented so that females do less remunerative work, whether paid or entrepreneurial 

within the informal sector (Whitehead and Kabeerm 2001; Razavi, 2009). 

This makes one wonder whether the creation of small farm and diversified entrepreneurial 

livelihood activities in the informal sector are actually a route out of poverty and drudgery. 

It may enable subsistence but this type of work rarely forms the basis for accumulation or a 

transition to better paid formal sector work. 

Othercriticisms of the SRL approach 

One criticism of the SRL approach has been elaborated above: that is, that the asset/capital 

pentagon framework (social, human, financial, natural and physical) was a proliferation of 

meanings from the original conception of capital as self-expanding value transposed from 

industrialized capitalist societies into pre-capitalist peasant or mercantile capitalist 

societies like rural Sri Lanka. Others complained that SRL was merely a rerun of the 

relatively unsuccessful Integrated Rural Development (IRD) projects of the seventies and 

eighties which simultaneously attempted to promote improvements in agriculture, health 

care, education and governance (Bunch, 1977). Still others complained that SRL dealt 

insufficiently with the complexity of power at a macro, structural level (Scoones, 2009). 

While the participants in the restoration projects are either professors and other NGO 

professionals who facilitated the livelihoods activities, as well as peasants, fisher folk or 

rural labourers, insufficient attention may have been paid in our work to social class 

(O’Laughlan, 2004) and gender as relational and analytical categories (Razavi, 2009). 

We still don’t know enough about which social classes and castes were most devastated 

from the tsunami and which benefited most from the restoration work. Were they the same 

classes and castes We need to know more about how the tsunami and efforts to 

counteract its devastating effects impact ongoing changes in social relations of production 

and distribution within the region affected. How have the long term shifts in livelihoods 

affected local capacities and changing gender, class and caste relations in these areas 

Were the six villages which were focused on after the tsunami and more or less sustainable 

and resilient prior to the CIDA Restore sustainable rural livelihoods work How 

representative of the 18 villages in these tsumani affected areas were the 6 villages which 

were selected for livelihood restoration and to what extent, if at all, have they been affected 

by the CIDA Restore project

19 

Conclusion 

The SRL approach from which CIDA Restore is based has therefore become the most 

popular approach to restoring people’s livelihoods in the aftermath of a disaster. It’s not 

without its critics, however, as it has been accused of being a method in search of a theory 

and alternatively of being a framework which merely adds gender, class and caste analyses 

of inequality onto the framework without sufficiently integrating the understanding of 

these inequalities from the outset. Its expansive use of the term capital as a stand in for 

assets has also been criticized for transforming a stock of goods into something which has 

capacity to generate new assets independent of the level of development of local forces of 

production. 

Yet SRL advocates claim that the approach is emancipatory for the poor and for women 

based on capacity development of local people’s existing assets. The SRL framework tries 

to facilitate interventions in organizations affecting people’s livelihoods so that local 

conditions are taken into account in the light of regional and national factors.While it 

purports to be able to analyze the connections among local social relations including 

gender, age, class, religion and caste (Ellis, 2000), it remains to be seen how effectively 

this, admittedly tall order, is achieved. 

Nevertheless, it has several advantages as well. It begins with the people most directly 

affected by the disaster and asks them to build upon their capacities as a way of reducing 

their vulnerability. Thus it shares an optimistic focus akin to a related development 

process, Appreciative Inquiry. In so doing, SRL avoids the problems associated with 

supply driven development projects and responses to disaster which are notoriously 

wasteful and cater to the needs and plans of the donors instead of the recipients of aid. 

Therefore SRL consciously sets out to be demand driven and sensitive to the need to build 

on local indigenous knowledge in its support for disaster mitigation. 

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20 

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21 

Webography 

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II. RISK REDUCTION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT 

23

ADAPTIVE SYSTEM FOR THE PREDICTION OF 

NATURAL DISASTERS 

K. Pirapaharan and S.H.K.K. Gunawickrama 

Introduction 

The South Asian countries suffer repetitively from natural disasters for instance 

drought, floods, cyclones, earthquakes and recently tsunami as well. In South Asia, 

the pressure from population increase and over-exploitation of resources for 

haphazard development have disturbed the ecological balance, in turn causing 

degradation of the natural environment, deterioration of the ecological system and 

widespread destruction of the natural resources on which human life and well-being 

depend. 

Risk analysis and vulnerability assessment lead to the creation of a scenario for each 

potential disaster in terms of exposure, loss of life, property damage and the 

geographic distribution of each hazard (Van Veen, B., at.el., 2008). Early prediction 

of the risk factor of a probable disaster can help minimizing disaster losses by 

taking preventive measures. Scientific and technological advances of the 

information and communication technology especially in the information systems 

management have played a significant role in improving preparedness capabilities. 

The main objective of this work is to produce an adaptive system to predict the 

disaster warnings well in advance using the available data from scientific 

techniques, indigenous knowledge and the animal intelligence due to the unusual 

sensory powers of animals and birds. 

On the other hand, the danger of information overload and its potential for delayed 

decision-making is equally crucial that there must be a continuous development in 

more systematic data and information exchange. This entails the more effective use 

of existing resources on preparedness and risk reduction, in order to minimize 

duplication and to foster stronger partnership and exchange of experiences. 

In order to optimize the performance of the system, the data must be conserved in 

an organized manner that is called as smart database. Smart database design is the 

principle that an elegant diagram makes the data intuitively obvious and enables 

maintaining huge set-based queries that respond well to indexing. This in turn 

creates short, tight transactions which improves concurrency and scalability while 

reducing the collective workload of the database. 

Generally, natural hazards are categorized into two major categories as 

atmospheric/climate hazards and geophysical hazards due to its nature. Earthquake

26 

and tsunami are categorized into the geophysical hazards while almost all the other 

natural hazards are classified into the atmospheric/climate hazards. It is 

understandable that single data or information is vital for the prediction of particular 

hazard while the same data or information is insignificant for another hazard. 

Hence, classification of the data or information respective to the relevant hazard is 

critical for quickly making correct decisions. Hence, here we propose to classify the 

data or information into five major categories as meteorological, geophysical, 

biological, indigenous and sundry. The database system is designed to collect the 

available data and information from the appropriate resources with the date and 

time mark. 

The intelligent system will access the data from smart database and process data in 

a predefined time intervals for the listed hazards without human interface and notify 

the alert messages to the appropriate individuals for further verification and decision 

making. Since the data and information processing part is more complex, hazards 

need to be modeled with the respective data. 

Methodology 

Methodical data accumulation and trouble-free data access are the two important 

factors which decide the overall performance of the system. In order to optimize the 

function of the system, it is necessary to classify the data based on the data 

collection path as well as the data access path. After careful studies, we categorize 

the hazards and classify the data in an appropriate manner to optimize functionality. 

Categorization of hazards 

In order to accumulate the data in a methodical manner for the easy access based on 

the hazards, the natural hazards are categorized as two major categories as 

Atmospheric/Climate hazards and Geophysical hazards based on its nature. In 

addition, hazards relevant to each category are identified as shown in Table 2.1.

27 

Table 2.1: Hazards relevant to each category 

Atmospheric/Climate Hazard 

Flood 

Landslide 

Lightning strikes 

Cyclone 

Typhoon 

Hurricane 

Tornado 

Tropical storm 

Drought 

Forest fire 

Geophysical Hazard 

Earthquake 

Volcano 

Tsunami 

Classification of data 

Then again, different data need to be collected from different sources. Furthermore, 

all the data are not equally important and their significance may vary depending on 

the hazards. Moreover, it is not possible to collect all the data in the same frequent 

and some data may not be available for the system depending on the availability of 

sources. Therefore, the data accumulation path ought to be flexible enough to 

overcome above mentioned complexities. Considering all the factors, we primarily 

classify the data in five major groups as given below. 

Meteorological 

Geophysical 

Biological 

Indigenous 

Sundry 

Meteorological 

Under the classification of metrological data, we mainly consider the scientific data 

collected by the metrological department which are used to forecast the 

atmospheric/climate hazards. In our database, we update each data with its 

respective date, time and location. The following data are identified as the 

metrological data for our data base. 

Temperature 

Rain fall 

Humidity 

Pressure

28 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wind speed 

Tide heights 

Cloud motion 

Soil moisture 

Sunrise and Sunset time 

Moonrise and Moonset time 

Geophysical 

Here we mainly consider the scientific data which is necessary to predict the 

geophysical hazards discussed in the literature (Sidorin, A.Y. 2003 and Yamanaka, 

C., at. el., 2002). The following data are identified under the geophysical category. 

Again we update each data with its respective date, time and location. 

 

 

 

 

 

Seismographic measurement 

Tsunami buoy (Change of water pressure in the ocean bed) 

Electromechanical potential (Static charge intensity at the ground) 

Water electrical conductivity 

Altitude of ionosphere layers 

Biological 

Abnormal animal behaviour is widely studied to predict the natural hazards (Motogi 

Ikeya, at. el., 1998, Papathoma, M., at. el., 2003 and Sidorin, A.Y., 2003). 

Extraordinary sensory power of animals and birds can be used as an input to predict 

the natural hazards. When the earth plates started crushing each other before the 

earthquake, it radiates the electromagnetic field. However, it is very difficult to 

sense this electromagnetic field due to its low strength. In China, they have already 

tested and succeeded of using snakes to predict earthquake. However, it has not 

been universally accepted as a method to predict an earthquake. In Japan, Catfish is 

tested and proven that it reacts to electromagnetic signal due to its electrosensory 

organ (Papathoma, M., at. el., 2003). Animal Science department in the Agriculture 

Faculty, University of Ruhuna has set up a fish tank with inbuilt sensors to monitor 

the motion of a catfish. However, it may take lot of stimulated trials and studies 

before deciding the unique behavioural changes relevant to earthquake. In our 

expert system, we have included the path to incorporate the data from appropriate 

animals and birds into the system. However, we have not finalized the suitable 

animals or birds and their unambiguous behavioural changes significant to the 

hazards.

29 

Indigenous 

In the ancient days, people used their indigenous knowledge to predict natural 

hazards. Especially, in Japan, they have several Falk talks to envisage the 

earthquake and those have been proven scientifically in the recent past (Motoji 

Ikeya and Hiroshi Matsumoto, 1997 and Nikonov, A.A., 1992). Yet again, we have 

included the path to accumulate the outcome of the well-known Falk talks in our 

expert system though the system can be upgraded to incorporate many more Falk 

talks in the future depending on the reliability of those Falk talks. Initially, we have 

considered the following Falk talks as the input to our system. 

Bending of candle flame 

Dropped nails from magnet 

Bowing Mimosa leaves 

Sundry 

Under this category, we have considered some common observations observed in 

the recent past before earthquake or volcanic eruption. Also these observations can 

be scientifically explained. We have included the path to accumulate two such 

observations in our system though we can add many more such observations to our 

system in the future. The following two observations are included in our system. 

Eccentric interruptions in electronic devices (due to atypical 

electromagnetic wave interactions). 

Able to hear some strange Shortwave broadcasting (reflection from 

anomalous ionosphere layers). 

Hazard modeling 

Natural hazards need to be modeled based on the available data in order to evaluate 

the risk factor of the respective hazards. Extensive studies need to be done to 

facilitate the significance of diverse data respective of different hazards. We follow 

the following order to model a hazard respective of its data. 

Categorize the relevant data set of particular hazard. 

Recognize the significance of the data respective of the hazard. 

Estimate the severity or hugeness of the data. 

Evaluate the risk factor.

30 

While recognizing the significance of the data respective of the hazard, we assign a 

different significance factor S ij 

0 S ij 

1 

for the same data respective of the 

hazard [7]. Evaluation of severity of data is little bit complex since there is no 

reference level of a particular data. Therefore, we have taken the worst-case data as 

the maximum and normalized all the data based on the maximum value to evaluate 

A 0 A 1 . Once we have the significance factor and the 

the severity factor 

i 

i 

Ai 

Sij 

i1 

severity factor, we can evaluate the risk factor 

j 

0 

R 

j 

1 

N 

Sij 

N 

R of the 

particular hazard. Based on the risk factor, the decision can be made. 

i1 

Equipment 

We have acquired the following list of equipment given in Table 2.2 to set up a 

database at the Faculty of Engineering, Hapugala, Galle from the CIDA Restore 

project. The devices are installed and connected to the network through the existing 

network of the Faculty of Engineering. 

Table 2.2: Equipment for predicting natural disasters 

Device 

No. of Units 

Rack Mount Basic Server 1 

Rack Mount Mainstream Server 1 

Desktop computer 5 

Laptop computer 1 

CISCO Router 1 

CISCO Switch 1 

Results 

We have built up a smart database to accumulate data and provide easy access to the 

data. Also we have developed the software to facilitate the data processing for all 

defined hazards. Based on the hazards, the software accesses the required data from 

the data base and process the data based on the hazard model. Finally the risk factor 

is calculated without human interaction. Whenever the data is not available, the 

program automatically calculates the required data by interpolating or extrapolating 

from the existing data. In case, when the data is not available for a long time, the 

program set the significance factor to zero of the particular data if the significance 

factor is very small. However, if the significance factor is large then the program

31 

notify to the administrator about the non-availability of the data. In addition, 

program automatically notify to the administrator over SMS or e-mail whenever the 

risk factor is high for a particular hazard. 

Even though, we have developed the smart database and processing software, we 

are facing problem of accumulating data since it is necessary to subscribe to the 

Meteorological department to obtain the data available with them. In addition, 

seismographic data is not available from the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau 

although it maintains a Global Seismic station at Pallekele, Kandy. Furthermore, 

there are no Tsunami buoys put up around Sri Lanka. These are the major 

constraints of accumulating data for our smart system. 

We have developed a user friendly graphical interface to access and upload the data 

from remote locations as shown in following figures. 

Figure 2.1: The user interface of 

the database 

Figure 2.2: The new client request of the 

database 

Figure 2.3: The user login page 

of the database 

Figure 2.4: Part of the meteorological data 

entry interface

32 

Figure 2.5: Part of the meteorological data entry interface 

Conclusion 

We identified the set of data to predict different hazards and modeled all the hazards 

based on the respective data. Further, we built up a smart database to accumulate 

data and provide easy access to the data with a graphical user interface. In addition, 

we developed the software to facilitate the adaptive data processing for all defined 

hazards. Moreover, we developed the software program such a way that it works 

without human interaction and notifies the disaster risk to the administrator over 

SMS or e-mail. 

The system is an upgradeable system. Any time, hazard models and additional data 

sets can be included to the system or existing hazard models can be removed from 

the system without changing the basic structure of the database. 

We faced constraints of accumulating data due to the subscription fee and nonavailability 

of some important data. In addition, we need some more time to 

incorporate the biological data in our data base since further studies need to be done 

to identify the animals/birds and their specific behavioral changes respective of 

hazards. 

Acknowledgment 

This work is fully supported by the funding of Canadian International Development 

Agency (CIDA). The authors acknowledged that without the support of CIDA, this 

work would not have accomplished.

33 

Bibliography 

Motogi Ikeya, Tomonori Matsuda and Chihiro Yamanaka. (1998). Reproduction of 

mimosa and clock anomalies before earthquake, Proc. Japan Acad., vol. 74(B), 

pp.60-64. 

Motoji Ikeya and Hiroshi Matsumoto. (1997). Reproduced Earthquake Precursor 

Legends Using a Van de Graaff Electrostatic Generator: Candle Flame and Dropped 

Nails, Naturwissenschaften, vol. 84, pp. 539-541. 

Nikonov, A.A. (1992). Abnormal Animal Behaviour as a Precursor of the 7 

December 1988 Spitak, Armania Earthquake, J. of Natural Hazards, vol. 6, pp. 1- 

10. 

Papathoma, M., Dominey-Howes, D., Zong, Y. and Smith, D. (2003). Assessing 

tsunami vulnerability, an example from Herakleio, Crete, J. of Natural Hazards 

and Earth System Sciences, vol. 3, pp.377-389. 

Sidorin, A.Y. (2003). Search for earthquake precursors in multidisciplinary data 

monitoring of geophysical and biological parameters, J. of Natural Hazards and 

Earth System Sciences, vol. 3, pp.153-158. 

Van Veen, B., Vatvani,D., Kurniawan, A. and T van der Plas.(2008). A Tsunami 

Early Warning System based on database of Flood Model Results for Aceh and 

Nias, Proceeding of EGU General Assembly. 

Whitehead, N.E., Ulusoy, U., Asahara, H.and Ikeda, M. (2004). Are any publicreported 

earthquake precursors valid, J. of Natural Hazards and Earth System 

Sciences, vol. 4, pp.463-468. 

Yamanaka, C., Asahara, H., Matsumoto, H., and Ikeda,M. (2002). Wideband 

Environmental Electromagnetic Wave Observation Searching for Seismoelectromagnetic 

Signals and Simultaneous Observation of Catfish Behavior-The 

Cases for the Western Tottori and the Geiyo Earthquakes, J. of Atmospheric 

Electricity, vol.22, no.3, pp.277-290.

DEVELOPMENT OF TSUNAMI EVACUATION SITES 

FOR GANDARA AND DEVINUWARA 

K.D.N. Weerasinghe, P.G. Chandana, Ranjana U.K. Piyadasa, Goubin 

Antoine, Z. Kerrim and S. Guilhem 

Abstract 

In the present paper an appropriate model for Sri Lanka to develop Disaster 

mitigation and evacuation zones through techno-Socio economical integration is 

discussed. The study was conducted in Gandara and Devinuwara area which 

underwent the Tsunami tragedy in 2004. A field survey was conducted through a 

structured questioner to collect the data on Tsunami impact in the area of four bays 

in Gandara which were affected due to the tsunami. GPS coordinates were 

collected to locate them on a digital elevation map. Evacuation sites were 

demarcated in the outer skirt of the Tsunami hazard zone, considering the factors of 

road accessibility, availability of common places, such as temples, schools in 

coordination with the disaster management center and other stake holder 

institutions. This helps to develop Simulation maps for the planning processes of 

tsunami mitigation programs. Levels of the submergence due to 2004 tsunami in the 

inundated areas were demarcated and appropriate evacuation sites and routes were 

identified to fix sign boards to follow in case of a tsunami warning An eco touristic 

approach is adopted to maintain the sustainability of the site. People mobilization 

and training programs were initiated by cataloging the historical and cultural 

heritages, Natural resources, Local wisdom and knowledge of the people, etc to 

convert the sites in to an eco touristic zone. In the investigated areas, the flooded 

area was demarcated as 172,380 sq meters and the average distance covered by the 

wave inside the land as 90 meters with a maximum of 530m. The sustainable 

evacuation shelters for the future Tsunami mitigation programmes in Gandara and 

Devinuwara areas were identified in Purana Viharaya and Jayabhodhi Viharaya in 

Gandara, and Wawwa temple in Devinuwara. Galgane Temple in Devinuwara is 

identified as the principle evacuation site after considering of elevation of the site, 

availability of water, food, medical and communication facilities for a large mass 

of people in case of a disaster. Presence of four fresh water historical wells with 

quality drinking water, a capacious temple premises to host the refugees, a flat 

grass carpeted ground cover on the top of the hill with an archeological site where 

helicopters would be landed ,and the availability of on-site telecommunication 

towers are some of the major factors which has been considered for the site 

identification.

36 

Introduction 

World disaster data for the past decade (1997-2006) indicates that the number of 

reported disasters grew from 4,241 to 6,806, an increase of 60%.The number of 

reported deaths due to disasters were doubled, from more than 600,000 in early 

Nineties to more than 1.2 million at present. Asian Tsunami in 2004 killed more 

than 225,000 people in eleven countries, inundating coastal zones with waves up to 

30meters (100feet) high.It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. 

Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were turned to be the most affected 

countries. In Sri Lanka, the tsunami claimed over 35,000 lives and left half a million 

people homeless (World Disasters Report, 2005). 

Correct assessment and protection of the natural and environmental resources is a 

major strategy to mitigate the heavy damages caused by a disaster. One of the 

practical action which could be applicable for nature protection would be the 

promotion of agro and eco-touristic features with the community participation. It 

appears that development of eco-villages may be a viable option for the 

development of disaster evacuation and mitigation centers. This could be archived 

by exploiting and mixing the modern Information and Communications 

Technologies (ICT), Remote Sensing and GIS techniques etc. with the indigenous 

knowledge. 

In the agro and eco-touristic understanding, an ecological village is described as a 

community that is largely self reliant through the creation of integrated and 

ecological food and energy production systems. Ecological villages are situated near 

nature, and built up around the local supply of energy, water and food (Eronnr, 

1991, Malbert, 1993, Berg, 1993, Kullinger and Stromberg, 1992 and Wiberg, 

1998). As a result, the uses of natural resources in ecological villages are limited to 

a minimum because the people take care of sewage and waste products with a 

circulation of nutrients and heat their houses with environmentally friendly sources. 

As reported by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), this is one of the fastest 

growing sectors in the tourism industry at present (Eagle, 1997). In 1993, the nature 

tourism generates 7 per cent of all international travel expenditure, where the total 

annual global earning from tourism was nearly $3 trillion and 212 million people 

are employed. The year 2002 was declared as an International Year of Ecotourism 

(IYE) by the United Nations which reflects its global importance (United Nations, 

1998), 

In a disaster situation, a quick rescue and relief mission is inevitable; however, 

considerable damage can be minimized if adequate preparedness levels are 

achieved. Indeed, it has been noticed in the past that when attention has been given 

to adequate preparedness measures, the loss to life and property has considerably 

reduced. In a typical disaster management cycle, disaster prevention, disaster 

mitigation, and disaster preparedness constitute the pre-disaster planning phase 

(Pearson et al., 1991).

37 

In the present paper identification of the potential Tsunami hazard sites based on the 

2004 Tsunami experiences, in Gandara and Devinuwara area and preparation of 

the evacuation plan for the locations using GIS and remote sensing technologies are 

described. The available resources in the vicinity have been used for the preparation 

of evacuation sites and the maps. 

Materials and methods 

The Present study was commenced in January 2008 selecting Gandara and 

Devinuwara areas as the sites of investigations. These villages are situated in the 

coastal zone of Matara District at 5 46 N, 80 34 E to 5 57 N, 80 37 E 

(Fig.2.6). 

Figure 2.6: Coastal belt of Devinuwara to Gandara in Devinuwara D.S. Division 

Both villages are administratively belonged to Devinuwara District Secretariat 

(DS). Typical landscape of the area is the repetition of hilly terrains with bays 

opened to the sea. Total population of the Devinuwara DS is 45783 (Department of 

Census and Statistics (2005). Most of the families living in the area have at least 

one member engaged in fishing. They wish to have their houses next to the 

seashore, which are vulnerable to a new Tsunami. In between the bays, there are 

hilly terrains which can provide enough shelter during Tsunamis. 363 housing units 

and 1806 people were directly affected due to the 2004 Tsunami in Devinuwara DS 

Division (Department of Census and Statistics, 2005).

38 

The main objectives of the present study were to, identify and map the tsunami 

inundation area of 2004, demarcation of future Tsunami risk areas, and prepare 

Tsunami evacuation plan and the sites for future disaster management and 

mitigation programs. 

In order to achieve the objective Tsunami affected areas were identified through a 

field visit and structured survey. During the field survey, Tsunami height, 

inundation distance and other tsunami related data were recorded. A location map 

was prepared using the ArcGIS software. 

For the present study the height of the wave was considered as most significant 

factor to understand the magnitude of the damages. Potential hazard evacuation 

sites were identified using the GIS and GPS techniques. Criteria such as nature 

reserve, energy, food, water, waste and sewage, service and natural resources were 

specially considered in developing evacuation sites. A tsunami evacuation plan was 

developed and Tsunami hazard maps were developed for the Tsunami affected 

coastal belt from Gandara to Devinuwara. 

The most important aspect of the survey was the demarcation of the area submerged 

by water by the tsunami wave in 2004, to locate the evacuation sites and the 

facilities. Based on the results Hazard Zoning map and evacuation route maps were 

developed. 

Methodology 

In order to understand the 2004 tsunami situation a field survey was conducted in 

the Tsunami affected area through a structured questioner. Data obtained from the 

ground survey and topographic maps (1:50000), digital maps (1:250,000, 1:50,000 

and 1:10,000) prepared by the survey department of Sri Lanka were used for the 

study. The survey was conducted to catch the entire affected areas which included 

four bays (Gandara bey, Noonna Wella, Wawwa Wella and Kirala Wella) between 

the cities of Devinuwara and Gandara. The elevation and the number of destroyed 

houses were the main criteria adopted for the hazard mapping. GPS coordinates 

were collected to develop the location map. Tsunami inundation map was 

developed for the Tsunami in 2004 using the actual data. Future risk areas were 

identified and mapped based on the 2004, Tsunami inundation map and Digital 

Elevation Model. Based on these maps suitable areas for the evacuation sites were 

demarcated. Quickbird images, ESRI ArcGIS and its extensions (Spatial Analyst, 

3D Analyst) were used for the GIS analysis. This software was linked with 

Microsoft Access to work with Geodatabase. The Kandawala coordinate system 

was used with Transverse Mercator projection for the mapping. A correlation and a 

regression analysis was conducted to establish the relationship between the wave 

height and distance with the magnitude of damages.

39 

Results and discussion 

Hazard zone identification 

In January 2008, which is four years after the Tsunami, the traces of the disaster 

were observed as broken houses or boats brought to the interior by the tsunami 

Wave. By this period reconstruction has commenced and the new vegetation has 

masked most of the material evidences. The only way to obtain the data was 

through the survey of the witnesses of the disaster (Fig.2.7 and 2.8). 

Figure 2.7: Field survey and data collection 

Figure 2.8: Ground survey 

Tsunami inundation area map for 2004 Tsunami prepared for Gandara and 

Devinuwara is given in the (Fig.2.9). Accordingly inundation areas can be observed 

in the bays of Gandara and Devinuwara area. In the four investigated areas, the 

flooded area was demarcated as 172380 square meters and the distance covered by 

the wave inside the land as 90 meters in average with a maximum of 530m. The 

maximum ground elevation reached by the wave was around 10 meters. 

The results revealed the total inundation area in Gandara, Noonna wella, Wawwa 

wella, and Kiralawella bay areas were approximately 4.2ha, 4.4ha, 3.2ha and 5.4ha 

respectively.

40 

Figure 2.9: 2004 Tsunami inundation map of the Gandara and Devinuwara area. 

The correlation between the damage intensity and the wave height was high with a 

coefficient equal to 0.71. But no correlation could be found between intensity and 

the distance from the sea with R2 inferior to 0.1. Thus the variability of damage 

intensity may probably depended on other factors like building quality or local 

phenomena which were difficult to quantify. 

Development of evacuation sites 

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the area was developed using digital contour 

data and spot heights. DEM was used to find the evacuation sites. Space, transport, 

shelters, space and water availability were also considered in location and 

identification of the sites. Using the Digital Elevation Model, area above 10 meters 

high was extracted and overlaid with the location map of the evacuation sites. These 

sites are the ones where people have to gather first in case of a disaster. These sites 

were demarcated based on the location of the outer skirt of the Tsunami hazard 

zone, accessible by the road, with the availability of common places such as 

temples, schools etc in coordination with the Disaster Management Center 

(Fig.2.10). Accordingly Purana Viharaya and Jayabhodhi Viharaya in Gandara, and 

Wawwa temple in Devinuwara are demarcated as the primary evacuation sites. The

41 

plan for the improvement of the physical structures in the temples to handle the 

disaster situations, were worked out by the CIDA restoration project. 

Figure 2.10: Tsunami evacuation sites and 10m boundary in Gandara area 

Evacuation routes detection 

Based on the shortest possible distance to move, routes from the bays to the 

emergency sites and from the emergency sites to the main evacuation site has been 

demarcated and demonstrated in the Fig. 2.14. In the map Vectors were traced along 

the roads and their lengths were calculated. Road markings and boards has been 

prepared according to the international standards and fixed on the roads for the 

people to follow the routes to the evacuation sites in case of a disaster. 

Sign boards 

The main objective of installing signboards was to identify the Tsunami danger 

areas and divert the people to evacuation routes and safe areas with minimal 

confusion, after receiving a Tsunami warning. These boards are internationally 

accepted boards in all other countries affected by tsunamis. Accordingly three types 

of boards were prepared.

42 

The direction boards (Fig.2.11) had to be located in each junction to guide towards 

correct directions. The appearance of the boards installed in the main evacuation 

site and in Primary shelters are illustrated in the Fig.2.12 and 2.13. The locations of 

the boards were initially marked on the map (Fig.2.16) and, then visited through the 

routes and the position of the boards was demarcated in the map precisely with a 

GPS. 

Figure 2.11: Direction board 

Figure 2.12: The main evacuation 

Figure 2.13: The emergency 

Initially 16 direction boards, 3 primary evacuation site boards and 1 main 

evacuation site board have been installed in coordination with other stake holder 

institutions (Disaster Management Center, Coast Conservation Department and the 

Pradeshiya Sabha) (Fig.2.14) . 

Figure 2.14: Sign boards establishment

43 

Evacuation map 

The final evacuation map prepared for the site is illustrated in Fig.2.11. All the 

locations of the Tsunami sign board which were positioned using the GPS data are 

illustrated in the final evacuation map. The pathways towards the shelters and the 

principal evacuation site in Galgane temple are also depicted in the map. The map 

gives a clear idea about the probable hazardous areas illustrating escape routes from 

them in case of a Tsunami alarm. It is worth noting the secondary route to the 

principal evacuation site, avoiding Galle road which may be submerged in the 

transact from Wawwe well as demonstrated in Fig.2.15. 

Figure 2.15: Tsunami evacuation map 

Site maintenance and management 

An eco touristic approach is adopted to maintain the sustainability of the sites. 

People mobilization and training programs were initiated by cataloging the 

historical and cultural heritages, natural resources, local wisdom and knowledge of

44 

the people, etc to convert the sites in to an eco touristic zone. Special awareness 

programs were conducted among school children. 

After conducting a detailed analysis of the available natural resources, Physical 

structures and the social organizations, the site of the Galgane temple was chosen as 

the main evacuation site in case of a major disaster (Fig.2.16). 

Figure 2.16: Galgane temple 

Figure 2.17: Historical well after the 

restoration 

The main factors for the selection of the site were the availability of shelter, water, 

food, medical and communication facilities for a large mass of people. The 

elevation of the site is 25m with a distance about 400m from the main road. 

This was the site where people were instinctively gathered during the 2004 tsunami. 

Presence of four historical fresh water wells with quality drinking water (Fig.2.17), 

a capacious temple able to host the refugees a flat grass carpeted ground cover on 

the top of the hill with an archeological site where thousands of people could 

gathered are some of the basic features helped for the site demarcation. This site on 

the hill top could be used for the emergency landing of helicopters in case of a 

disaster. Furthermore all the telecommunication towers are installed in the vicinity 

of the site which facilitates the communication. The site has the archeological and 

landscaping beauty which can attract all the tourists who pass through the Dondra 

temple with a little improvement. Initial steps have been taken by the project to 

develop this site as an eco village to maintain the sustainability by cataloging the 

available natural and historical resources and demarcating them (Fig.2.18). 

It is evident from the Fig.2.18 that, the Dondra Temple, Light house, Fisheries 

harbor, Historical wells which has legends on medicinal value of water, 

Archeological site associated with Ramayanaya are the main heritage sites which in 

the vicinity attracts tourists. The site has tropical fauna and flora which are to be 

made attracted for foreign tourists. With the availability of the principal temple of 

Vishnu, in Dondra lot of pilgrimages are attracted to the location throughout the 

year. During the annual Essala Festival time in July, Dondra is heavily crowded

45 

with devotees and vendors who come from different corners of the country. 

Moreover it is a stopping place for all who go to Kataragama. These factors were 

considered in developing the present Tsunami evacuation site under the concept of 

an eco-village. 

Figure 2.18: Important historical and natural sites 

Activities such as home gardening and composting, waste separation, Bio gas 

technologies are also planned to address the waste management and mosquito 

problem in the eco village. 

The monks in the temple spend their time for their own meditation while welcoming 

the devotees. The monks have agreed to receive tourists to undergo meditation 

techniques, Ayrvedha treatments and teaching of Buddhist philosophy. Fisherman 

in the village is trained to make excursions in the sea with the tourists to discover 

the way they work and learn about the varieties of the fauna and flora in the ocean. 

The tourists would also have the possibility to bring back their own fish for local 

restaurants to cook and eat. A program was envisaged to develop small home 

restaurants as enterprises to prepare indigenous food for the tourists. A web site 

development and attraction of funds for the concept development is in the progress 

under a post graduate Ph.D program.

46 

Conclusion 

Physical survey and verification, the GIS, GPS and remote sensing approaches and 

mapping techniques are being successfully used for the preparation of the disaster 

assessment, preparedness and evacuation programs. Gandara and Devinuwara areas 

in the Southern Coastal belt of Sri Lanka. 

In Gandara and Devinuwara area the flooded area due to the 2004 Tsunami was 

demarcated as 172380 square meters; the average distance covered by the wave 

inside the land was 90m with a maximum distance of 530m. Demarcation and 

mapping of the levels of the submergence due to 2004 tsunami in the inundated 

areas have been successfully used to prepare the simulation maps for the planning 

processes of future Tsunamis of different magnitudes. 

The sustainable evacuation shelters for the future Tsunami mitigation programmes 

in Gandara and Devinuwara areas were identified as Purana Viharaya and 

Jayabhodhi Viharaya in Gandara, and Wawwa temple in Devinuwara. 

Galgane Temple in Devinuwara is identified as the principle evacuation site after 

considering of elevation of the site, availability of water, food, medical and 

communication facilities for a large mass of people in case of a disaster. The 

presence of four historical fresh water wells with quality drinking water, a 

capacious temple which premises to host the refugees, a flat grass carpeted ground 

cover on the top of the hill with an archeological site where helicopters would be 

landed, the availability of on site telecommunication towers are some of the major 

factors which have been considered for the site identification. 

Development of the eco touristic village concept for the principal evacuation site in 

Galgane temple would be a promising way to maintain its future sustainability. This 

could be achieved by mobilizing and introducing an awareness building program 

among the community, while giving a wider publicity on the natural, Historical and 

cultural assets in the location. 

Recommendation 

Continuation with the Community training and mobilization programs along with 

the integration programs of historical, cultural and other assets associated with 

indigenous knowledge, in harmony with the natural resources and beauty are 

recommended as a mode to maintain the sustainability of the evacuation sites.

47 

Acknowledgement 

Authors wishes to acknowledge the assistance offered by CIDA under the Tsunami 

restoration program to initiate this research and development program. Thanks are 

specially due to Dr. Jana Janakiram, Prof. Ranjith Senarathne (Project Director), 

Prof. D. Atapatu (Deputy Director) for the initiation of the present project and 

continues support extended in numerous ways to continue with it, despite of 

different difficulties. We also express our sincere gratitude to the community of the 

area including temples, schools and other social organizations for the continuous 

support extended to conduct this program. Assistance offered by Mr. Chandana Lal 

(President of the Devinuwara Pradeshiya Saba), Officers of the Disaster 

management center under the leadership of Captain Saman Balasooriya and officers 

of the Coastal Conservation Dept. is greatly acknowledged. 

Bibliography 

Berg, P.G. (1993). Biologi och bosättning.Naturanpassning i samhällsbyggandet. 

Natur och kultur/Institutet för framtidsstudier. 

Census of Buildings and Persons Affected by the Tsunami-2004, Preliminary 

Report-2. 

Department of Census and Statistics. (2005). Census of Buildings and Persons 

Affected by the Tsunami–2004, Preliminary Report-2. 

Eronnr. (1991). Ecological living in Sweden-Ideas and practical experiences.The 

Swedish Institute. Current Sweden No 378. 

Hatfield. (2006). Using Participatory Methodologies, Geographic Information 

Systems and Earth Observation Data to Map Traditional Ecological Knowledge in 

Hong Ha Commune, Thua Thien Hue, Viet Nam. EOSTEM Project Milestone 9 

Report. Hatfield Consultants, West Vancouver. 

Kullinger, B. and Stromberg, U.B. (EDS). (1992). Planera för en bärkraftig 

utveckling. Byggforskningsrådet, Stockholm. 

Malbert, B. (ED). (1993). Ekologiska utgångspunkter för planering och byggande. 

Byggforskningsrådet, Stockholm. 

Pearson, E., Wadge, G., and Wiscoski, A.P. (1991). An integrated expert system/ 

GIS approach to modeling and mapping hazards.Proc European conference on GIS, 

session 26, pp 763-771. 

Wibergk. (1998). Ecological villages, a European reality. Renewable energy, 15: 

101-106.

48 

World Disasters Report 2005, International Federation of Red Cross and Red 

Crescent Societies 

Webography 

Eagle, P.J., (1997). International Ecotourism Management: Using Australia and 

Africa as Case Studies, Protected Areas in the 21 st Century: From Islands to 

Networks, Albany, Australia, [Online] Available at:http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/ 

rec/ecotour.htm [Accessed 11.1997] 

United Nations. (1998). Economic and Social Council, 46 th plenary meeting. 

[Online] Available at: http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/res/1998/eres1998-40. 

htm [Accessed 07.30.1998] 

World Disasters Report. (2007). [Online] Available at:http://www.redcross.ca/ 

main.aspid=021504.

TSUNAMI HAZARD AND PREPARATION OF 

EVACUATION PLAN- A CASE STUDY FROM SOUTH 

EASTERN COASTAL BELT, SRI LANKA 

N.W.B. Balasooriya 

Abstract 

The tsunami affected two villages, Akbar village and Maligaikadu in the South 

Eastern Coastal Belt of Sri Lanka were selected for implementing the Disaster 

Management programmes. Field surveys of the study area were conducted to 

establish inundation levels, flow directions during the tsunami, record the extent of 

damage, identify safe areas and residents preferred evacuation routes. Locations 

were identified for both horizontal and vertical evacuation of people to safe places. 

The different types of tsunami sign boards were displayed in both villages. Public 

preparedness through proper awareness programmes of education and training is 

one of our main tasks and pre-requisites for the success of a disaster management 

programme. 

Introduction 

The South Eastern Coastal Belt of Sri Lanka is a vast coast line with a very dense 

population and it is often affected by natural hazards like surges to tropical storms, 

monsoon depressions and tsunami etc. On Sunday 26 th December, 2004, the 

tsunami occurred as a sudden event, with no antecedent features were found, 

tsunami event occurred between 8.30 am to 10 am along the SE coastal belt. 

Based on the government information, Sri Lanka’s Tsunami caused 30,196 deaths, 

21,411 injured and 516,150 displaced people. It also has had a severe economic and 

environmental impact (Fig.2.19).

50 

Figure 2.19: Impact of Tsunami in Sri Lanka 

In the aftermath of the tsunami, everybody focused attention on post disaster 

management issues strictly focused on disaster management theories and concepts. 

Post disaster management programmes were aimed at relief, rehabilitation, 

reconstruction and resettlement. 

Akbar village (07 o 26’ 22” N & 81 o 49’ 11” E) and Maligaikadu (07 o 23’ 16” N & 

81 o 50’ 30” E) village are highly affected by the catastrophic tsunami event and 

were selected for implementing a suitable disaster management programme under 

CIDA Restore Project of South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. These two villages 

are situated in the South Eastern Coastal Belt of Sri Lanka. Akbar village is located 

about 2.5 km north of Kalmunai and Maligaikadu village is located about 2 km 

south of Kalmunai in Ampara district. 

It may be understood that tsunami hazards cannot be prevented with present 

technological advances but vulnerability can be reduced by resorting to preparation 

and execution of a well thought out disaster evacuation plan which was the main 

objective of this project. 

Methodology 

Field surveys of the study area were conducted to identify the locations to establish 

inundation levels, to determine the flow directions during the tsunami, to record the

51 

extent of damage, to identify safe areas and to identify the residents preferred 

evacuation routes. 

Public preparedness through proper awareness programmes of education and 

training about tsunami and other natural hazards were conducted for the community 

and school children. Learning materials about disaster management and tsunami 

were prepared. 

Several types of tsunami sign boards were designed: Evacuation Route (L/R), Safe 

Shelter, Tsunami Zone, Safe Site, Tsunami Water Level (26.12.2004). 

Tsunami and Multi Hazards Warning Center were situated at Akbar Village and it 

was constructed by the Disaster Management Center of Sri Lanka for issuing 

warnings for the natural disasters. Under this CIDA Restore Project, renovation of 

the Tsunami and Multi Hazards Warning Center were conducted. 


On Sunday 26 th December, 2004, the tsunami occurred as a sudden event, with no 

antecedent features found. The tsunami event occurred between 8.30 am to 10 am 

along SE coastal belt. The maximum height of the wave was observed to be 

between 20-30 feet. The time of occurrence of maximum wave height varied 

between 8.40 am- 9.30 am. Maximum inundation observed in the study area was up 

to 1.2 km at Akbar village towards Kalmunai- Batticaloa main road. Observations 

indicate that the total number of waves which struck the coast was 4-6. Areas with 

less vegetation, less elevation, with flat SE coast which were badly affected. This 

resulted in the erosion of huge sand deposits and broadening of channel inlets. 

Best practices of the project 

Locations were identified for both horizontal and vertical evacuation of 

people to safe places. 

Different types of tsunami sign boards, Evacuation Routes (L/R), Safe 

Shelters, Tsunami Zone, Safe Sites, and Tsunami Water Level 

(26.12.2004), were displayed in both villages (Fig. 2.20 and 2.21).

52 

Figure 2.20: Evacuation plan: Maligaikadu Village 

Figure 2.21: Evacuation plan: Akbar village 

 

 

 

Tsunami sign boards were displayed about 10 km stretch of the SE coastal 

belt from Akbar village to Maligaikadu. Pandiruppu (07 o 25’ 42” N & 81 o 

49’ 33” E), Kalmunai (07 o 25’ 11” N & 81 o 49’ 47” E), Kalmunaikudi (07 o 

24’ 48” N & 81 o 50’ 13” E), Islamabath (07 o 24’ 35” N & 81 o 50’ 19” E), 

and Sainthamaruthu (07 o 23’ 44” N & 81 o 50’ 26” E) villages are situated 

between the above selected two villages. 

Public preparedness through proper awareness programmes of education 

and training 

Disaster Management Awareness Programmes for the community and 

school children were conducted and are listed as follows (Table 2.3).

53 

Table 2.3: Disaster management awareness programmes 

Date Location Target Group No. of 

Participants 

Male Female 

22.11. KM/Al- Hussain School Children 

2007 Vidyalaya, (Grade 6,7 and 8 

18.03. 

2008 

05.04. 

2008 

26.04. 

2008 

15.05. 

2008 

22.05. 

2008 

29.05. 

2008 

05.06. 

2008 

29.10. 

2008 

30.03. 

2009 

Maligaikadu 

KM/Pulavimani 

Sharifdeen 

Vidyalaya, 

Maruthamunai 

KM/Pulavimani 

Sharifdeen 

Vidyalaya, 

Maruthamunai 

KM/Al- Hussain 

Vidyalaya, 

Maligaikadu 

KM/Al Manar 

Central school, 

Maruthamunai 

KM/Al Manar 


Maruthamunai 

KM/Al Sham’s 


Maruthamunai 

KM/Al Sham’s 


Maruthamunai 

South Eastern 

University of Sri 

Lanka, Oluvil 

Faculty of Applied 

Sciences, 

Sammanthurai 

students) 

School Children 

(Grade 6,7 and 8 

students) 

Remarks 

80 75 Following topics were 

covered under this 

75 65 

Community 10 60 

Community 05 45 


(A/L students) 


(O/L students) 


(A/L students) 


(O/L students) 

Community- 

Divisional 

Secretaries, Police 

Officers, 

Government Agents, 

Officials from 

Disaster 

management Center, 

Researchers 

Journalist from 

Ampara District 

80 65 

85 70 

90 60 

85 65 

44 6 

48 02 

programme: 

1. Introduction 

Disasters 

2. Types of Disasters 

3. Natural disasters 

and Sri 

LankaTsunami 

4. Responsibilities to 

Public, 

Government 

officials, and 

Scientists 

5. Response to Early 

Warning System 

6. Evacuation

54 

Renovation of Tsunami and multi hazards warning center, Akbar 

village 

Ladder, Tiling of the floor area and other renovation work were completed and also 

Sign boards for this tower was constructed and fixed (Fig.2.22). 

Figure 2.22: Renovation of Tsunami and multi hazards warning center, Akbar 

village 

Maintenance andmanagement of the sign boards: 

Disaster Management Committees at the village level and District Disaster 

Management Center (DMC), Ampara agreed to maintain and to management of the 

sign boards to protect from corrosion and damaging (Fig.2.23) April 2009. 

Figure 2.23: Corrosion and damaging the sign boards

55 

Conclusion 

Public preparedness through proper awareness programmes of education and 

training is one of our main tasks and pre-requisites for the success of a disaster 

management programme. 

The disaster management progarmme and disaster mitigation should be under the 

Emergency Action Plan to be executed by government and non-government 

organizations during and after a disaster strikes a particular region. The Emergency 

Action Plan should include responsibility of all government authorities to build a 

communication link for reaching the warning to the affected people, activating 

administrative people for arranging evacuation, mobilizing and relief etc. 


Financial assistance by CIDA RESTORE PROJECT of South Eastern University is 

acknowledged. 

Bibliography 

Ranjith Premalal De Silva. Tsunami in Sri Lanka: Genesis, Impacts and 

Response, Second Edition, Published by Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Sri 

Lanka. ISBN: 955-589-077-3, pp: 5-24 

Balasooriya, N.W.B. and Rislan, M.F.M. Tsunami: What is it And what to do, 

Published by CIDA Restore Project, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, ISBN: 

978-955-8027-13-4, pp: 5-8 

Balasooriya, N.W.B., Riyas Ahamed A.M. and Murath, M.I.A. Disaster 

Management, Published by CIDA Restore Project, South Eastern University of Sri 

Lanka, ISBN: 978-955-8027-22-6, pp: 3-9 

Mahanti, N.C., Samal, S.K., Datta, P. and Nag, N.K. Disaster Management, 

Published by Narosa Publishing House, ISBN: 81-7319-727-X, pp:48-68

INTERVENTION OF CIDA RESTORE PROJECT FOR 

PROVIDING SAFE DRINKING WATER TO THE 

VILLAGES PALAMEENMADU AND 

PUTHUKKUDIYIRUPPU 

P.R. Fernando and S. Krishanthan 

Abstract 

The water crisis is one of the most significant issues in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami 

inclusive of Batticaloa district. The people those who are living in the Batticaloa 

district especially in Tsunami affected areas are suffering to get drinking water. The 

CIDA restore project targeted Palameenmadu and Puthukkudiyiruppu areas in 

order to find out the quality of drinking water. The questionnaire survey showed 

that even though 100% of the people from these two villages mainly depended on 

their home well to get drinking water before the Tsunami, none of them use their 

well for drinking purposes after the Tsunami. Based on this survey it was decided to 

test the water quality parameters in order to provide safe drinking water. There are 

332 and 252 families in the Puthukkudiyiruppu and Palameenmadu areas 

respectively. It was very difficult to convince them to use their well, because they 

believed some wrong information about their drinking well water. Several kinds of 

activities and workshops were undertaken to remove their myths and to disseminate 

knowledge about the drinking water quality. At present all the villagers have started 

to use wells for drinking purpose after some practical activities and workshops. 

Introduction 

Water is the most fundamental building block of life. Most of us are fortunate to be 

living in a place where water is literally at our fingertips. The world water crisis is 

one of the most significant public health issues of our time. One-third of the Earth’s 

population lives in “water-stressed” countries and that number is expected to rise 

dramatically over the next two decades. 

The water crisis is one of the most significant issues in Sri Lanka also after the 

Tsunami inclusive of Batticaloa district. The people who are living in the Batticaloa 

district especially in Tsunami affected areas are suffering to get safe drinking water.

58 


Location: The project was carried out in Puthukkudiyiruppu and Palameenmadu 

areas in the Batticaloa district, during the period of March 2008-January 2009. 

Palameenmadu 

PuthukudiyruppuCe 

nter 

Figure 2.24: Map of Palameenmadu and Puthukudiyruppu 

Methodology 

Field survey 

There are 252 and 332 families in Palameenmadu and Puthukudiyruppu areas 

respectively. A field survey was conducted in these villages to select the families 

those who are suffering due to the lack of safe drinking water. So initially the both 

areas were sub divided into sub areas and numbered. Ten to fifteen families were 

selected in each sub area and interviewed. After that a questionnaire survey was 

carried out in the entire villages.

59 

Figure 2.25: Palameenmadu area 

Figure 2.26: Puthukudiyruppu area 

Water quality testing 

The water quality parameters namely, pH, turbidity, conductivity, salinity and 

temperature were tested for each well in both selected areas in order to get the exact 

information about the quality of drinking water. And also biological, chemical and 

physical parameters were checked. For this initially 10 to 15 wells were selected 

from each sub area. 

Cleaning the wells 

Even though the water quality parameters belong within the acceptable range for 

drinking water, all of the wells in selected areas were cleaned by pumping out the 

water and chlorination was done to enhance the people’s trust. All these work were 

carried out by the in-kind contribution of the villagers under the supervision of PHI 

and GS. 

Workshops and training activities 

Several Workshops and training activities were conducted for villagers and school 

students (year 10, 11, ordinary and advance level). Firstly, 75 members in each 

village (10 to 15 members from each sub area) were invited. Likewise in the school 

level 60 students were invited from both villages for workshops. 

It was decided to disseminate the knowledge and to train the skills from the basic 

level. For example; testing the quality of drinking water, identifying the quality 

drinking water, purifying the drinking water, identifying the water related 

diseases,handling the water testing equipment, testing the physical parameters and 

comparing values with standard values and so on. 

Among the groups (villagers and school students) 20 members were selected for 

each village. With the assistance of the project leader the knowledge were

60 

disseminated to the entire villagers. During this time several strategies were handled 

to remove their myths. 

The head of each family was requested to measure the physical parameters of his or 

her own well water by using the water quality testing meter. Also they were asked 

to bring currently using drinking water, which was collected 2 to 3 km far from 

their home and allowed them to measure the physical parameter. After that, they 

were trained to compare both readings with our assistance. And again, the quality 

parameters of well water were compared before and after cleaning the wells. 

Finally, villagers were trained to purify the drinking water and we convinced them 

to use their wells without fear. 

Strengthening of wells and tube-wells 

As per the request of villagers 10 wells and 4 tube-wells in Palameenmadu and 15 

wells and 21 tube-wells in Puthukudiyurruppu those were damaged by Tsunami 

were strengthened. 

Installation of new tube-wells 

Based on the request of villagers 4 and 12 new tube wells were installed at 

Puthudukiyruppu and Palameenmadu respectively. 

Results and discussions 

Quality of water 

The results of interview showed that no one was using wells after the disaster. The 

questionnaire survey showed that, they believed in some myths and lacked 

knowledge about the quality of drinking water. 

The data collected from the questionnaire survey like no of wells, tube wells and 

their conditions in both villages are shown by the following pie charts.

61 

The table 2.4 shows the ranges of water quality parameters those were taken from 

the Palameenmadu and Puthukudiyruppu areas. 

Table 2.4: Range of water quality parameters (overall average value) 

Water Quality Acceptable range Palameenmadu Puthukudiyruppu 

Parameters (WHO) 

pH 6.5-8.5 7.16 7.32 

Turbidity 5 7 6 

Conductivity 1500 710 943 

Temperature 28 0 C 29.5 0 C 

The report showed that 90% of wells satisfied the WHO standard values. Therefore 

it was concluded that the well water from these selected areas can be utilized for 

drinking purposes. 

The field survey showed that the people from the Tsunami affected areas believe in 

some myths about drinking their own well water and, as a result, are finding it 

difficult to get safe drinking water.

62 

The workshops conducted for these villagers and cleaning the wells enhanced their 

awareness on drinking water quality and reduced the myths on the quality of 

Tsunami affected wells. 

Strengthening and installations of tube-wells 

At Puthukudiyruppu 36 (common and private) tube wells were found, which were 

provided by some other NGOs or INGOs after the tsunami. Out of 36 only 15 were 

in working condition. So to reduce the drinking water scarcity CIDA restore project 

strengthened 21 tube-wells as well as CIDA provided 4 new tube-wells to the BT/ 

Visnu Vidiyalam Puthukudiyruppu because this school is the focal point of the 

surrounding villages. 

At Palameenmadu 8 common tube wells were found which were provided by some 

other NGOs or INGOs after the tsunami. Out of 8 only 4 were in working condition. 

These 4 wells were strengthened. But they have a great demand for drinking water. 

Because, during the dry season (April to September) the well water becomes salty 

and therefore unpotable. This was not the effect of tsunami, but it is occurring 

naturally in this area during dry season. Therefore the people who live near to the 

coastal region have to move far away to collect safe drinking water. So as to 

overcome this long term problem, the CIDA Restore project provided 12 common 

tube-wells in 

12 places identified with the help of PHI and GS. Now the village has 20 common 

tube-wells which can be utilized to get quality drinking water during the dry season.

63 

Strengthening of wells 

Ten and sixteen wells were strengthened at Palameenmadu and Puthukudiyruppu 

areas respectively for the families those who had lost their wells due to Tsunami. 

It was observed that this was the highest achievement of this project that the myths 

of people in these selected areas about the quality of Tsunami affected well and 

tube-well water were successfully clarified and all the people are now willing to use 

this water for their drinking purposes. 

Bibliography 

World Health Organisation. (2004). Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3 rd 

edition, Vol. 1. Geneva: World Health Organization. 

Pyne, R. and David, G. (1995). Groundwater Recharge and Wells: A Guide to 

Aquifer Storage Recovery. Boca Raton. Lewis Publishers. 

Mansuy, N. (1999). Water Well Rehabilitation: A Practical Guide to 

Understanding Well Problems and Solutions (The Sustainable Wells Series). 

Webography 

Drinking Water. Health Canada [Online] Available at:http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewhsemt/water-eau/drink-potab/index-eng.php 

[Accessed 06.03. 2009]

STUDY ON BEHAVIORAL CHANGES OF ANIMALS 

PRIOR TO A TSUNAMI NATURAL DISASTER 

R.A.U.J. Marapana, D.S. Hewamanage, R.T. Seresinhe and Ranjith 

Senaratne 

Abstract 

The establishment of a pre-warning system using unusual behaviors of domestic and 

wild animals, to predict natural disasters has been given a global attention. 

Therefore, a base line survey was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire in 

order to collect observations from the people who observed unusual behaviors of 

pets, farm and wild animals prior to the Tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka in 2004. 

Information was collected from household chiefs and farmers from Tsunami 

affected in 10 veterinary ranges in Matara, Galle and Hambantota districts and 

from the field officers at the Yala National Park. Out of the total of 180 

respondents, 167 were farmers. Forty two percent farmers reported that they 

observed at least one instance of unusual behavior with farm animals prior to the 

disaster. The results revealed that neat cattle, buffaloes, and goats have shown 

more or less similar behavioral changes. Their changes included shouting, 

restlessness, looking and listening, acting frightened and behaving agitated. Pigs 

and poultry showed similar signs as well. In addition poultry birds started pecking 

of other birds’ feathers. Out of total respondents, 64% had pets at their households. 

Fifty-four percent of them revealed that they witnessed at least one instance of 

unusual behavior with their pets before the disaster. Twenty-five percent of the 

respondents observed barking and howling of dogs without apparent reasons. Dogs 

became restless, ran away and displaced before the disaster. Fifteen percent of the 

respondents revealed that cats became frightened and hiding in unusual places. 

Rabbits also became frightened, trying to hide in secret places and finally ran away. 

Wild animals such as elephants, monkeys, wild buffaloes etc. also showed similar 

behavioral changes as domestic animals or pets. The main signs included shouting, 

looking and listening, agitation, restlessness, and finally running away from the 

coastal belt before the disaster. None of the animals’ carcasses were found at Yala 

National Park after the disaster. The most frequent lead time of unusual behavior in 

animals was 0-4 hrs (68%) before the disaster. The results concluded that, although 

not taken in to an account by their masters, animals have shown significant 

behavioral changes prior to the Tsunami disaster. Therefore it is possible to use 

animal sense as an indicator to develop pre warning system to detect a tsunami 

disaster in the future. However, systemic approaches and further investigations are 

necessary before such a system can be developed. 

Keywords: behavior, disaster, pre warning system

66 

Introduction 

Natural disasters are a complicated problem which many living beings have to face. 

Natural disasters can be classified in several ways. There are landslides, flood 

conditions, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami conditions, cyclones, hurricanes, etc. 

(Sheldrake, 1995). It’s almost impossible to escape from such a disaster even in 

highly technically developed modern world. Therefore, the most successful way is 

by keeping away from these natural disasters. In order to do that it’s very important 

to predict such disaster conditions. 

A study on unusual behavior of animals can be used as a predictable method for 

such disasters. Animals have the ability of predicting the disaster earlier. Through 

studying the animal behavior, most of the eastern people have predicted the climatic 

conditions (Browns, 1990). The sensitivity of animals and humans is different from 

each other. For instance, some animals have an ability to predict some 

environmental changes before they happen (Hatai and Abe, 1932). Some animals 

are highly sensitive to the prospect of earthquakes from these natural disasters 

(Browns and Sheldrake, 1996). We can find out the records about this type of 

incidence not only from the recent. Especially Chinese people are aware of this. A 

large earthquake was occurred in Greece in 383 B.C. The records of Diodrows (383 

B.C) showed that, there was an abnormal behavior of rats, reptiles, and worms on 

the previous day of the earthquake. Diodrows reported that animal behaviors were 

alert to the impending earthquake. According to the National Earthquake Bureau 

studies of animal behavior are one of the best methods to predict earthquakes 

(Wilson, 1974). 

The tsunami which occurred on 26 th December 2004 was the largest natural disaster 

to ever hit Sri Lanka. The earthquake occurred in Western Ocean from 200km to 

Sumatra Island where 2500 km from Sri Lanka. It has recorded as 9.3 on the Richter 

scale. This was the second largest earthquake ever recorded for the world and the 

largest natural disaster with resptect to damages to the properties and living beings. 

It caused a loss about 300,000 humans in the 11 countries situated in Indian Ocean. 

It affected ¾ of the coastal areas of Sri Lanka and eastern and south beach of Sri 

Lanka (Lankadeepa, January 2005). 

Recorded deaths were 39,000 and 41,000 peoples were displaced. 63,472 of houses 

in 13 districts were fully damaged and 41,600 houses were partially damaged 

(Liyanage and Subasinghe, 2005). However, while many numbers of peoples died, 

recorded animal deaths were very low. For an instance, even a single death was not 

recorded in Yala National Park area which revealed that many animals have 

escaped from those areas before the disaster. Based on the previous records, animals 

are capable of sensing many environmental changes that humans are not sensitive to 

(Nikonov, 1991). Technical equipment and unusual behaviors of animals are two 

methods to predict the tsunami conditions in the modern world (Kalpan, 2007). 

Studying unusual animal behavior is the most suitable way for a third world country 

like Sri Lanka which is situated in highly tsunami affected area.

67 

Methodology 

Tsunami affected coastal area in the Southern province of Sri Lanka and Yala 

National Park area was selected as the study area. A field survey was conducted at 

selected Grama Niladari (GN) Division of each tsunami affected veterinary office 

area in Galle, Matara and Hambantota districts. Ambalangoda, Hikkaduwa, 

GalleandHabaraduwaveterinary office areas wereselected from Galle District. 

Matara and Weligama veterinary office areas were selected from Matara district 

andAmbalantota, HambantotaandThissamaharamaveterinary office areas were 

selected from Hambantota district. Yala National Park area mainly divided from 

five Blocks. The Block 1 and Block 2 areas were highly susceptible to the Tsunami 

disaster. The Block 1 and Block 2 areas were selected for data collection. 

The detailed list (Names and Addresses) of the farmers in Galle, Matara and 

Hambantota district was collected from the veterinary office in the area. Two main 

categories of information are Primary source of information and Secondary source 

of information were collected. 

Primary data were collected from the Personal Interview method through an 

administration of a structured pre-tested questionnaire to a sample of effected 

farmers and informal discussions with officials and community organizations. 

Secondary data were collected from Books, Journals and Reports, News paper 

articles, Publications, and past research reports in other countries. 

Collected data were tabulated using tabulation sheets and transferred subsequently 

to the computer. Necessary data were extracted from computer sheets and they were 

subjected to tabular, graphical and economic analysis. Computer packages MS 

Excel, was used for data analysis. 


In was found that neat cattle, buffaloes, poultries, goats and pigs were mainly reared 

as farm animals in coastal areas. The three main rearing methods identified were 

Intensive, Semi-intensive, and Extensivemethods. As reported by respondents, neat 

cattle and buffaloes showed more similar behavioral changes before the tsunami 

disaster. The most significant behavior changes of neat cattle and buffaloes were 

shouting (17%, 11%), frightening (11%, 14%), restlessness (10%, 13%) and 

refrained from eating (10%, 11%) respectively. 

Most significant behavioral changes were shown by goats. They included being 

frightened (15%), looking and listening (14%), restlessness (12%) and shouting 

(11%). Approximately ten percent of people reported that goats came closer to them

68 

before the disaster. By contrast, this behavior change was not evident either with 

neat cattle and buffaloes. 

Most of the poultry farmers in the Southern Province used the intensive method of 

poultry rearing. Therefore, some limitations occurred in observing unusual 

behavior. However, excitement, restlessness, nervousness, agitation (11%), shouting 

(19%), frightening behaviour (19%), and pecking (19%) were noted as unusual 

behavior patterns which were observed before the disaster with poultry birds. 

When compared with other livestock, pig rearing is not popular in the coastal area 

of the Southern Province. Therefore the number of piggeries was less and most of 

there were managed under intensive system. Similar to poultry certain limitations 

existed in that, observations of the respondents revealed that pigs were frightened 

(27%), became restlessness (18%), nervousness (18%), and started shouting (18%) 

before the disaster. 

The results revealed that 64% of the respondents were rearing pets in their houses. 

The most preferred pets were dogs (60%) followed by cats (32%).Seven percent 

respondents reared rabbits while 1% had other pets such as love birds etc. Three 

common methods were used to rear pets in collected areas were the free range 

system, either keeping pets inside thehouse or in a cage. 

Fifty four farmers have been noticed unusual behavior of the pets just before the 

tsunami disaster. Forty six percent farmers had not noticed any behavior changes in 

their pets prior to the disaster. 

Some of important behavior changes observed with dogs were barking (13%), 

howling (12%), restlessness (11%), running away (11%), missing, running around, 

nervousness, agitation and going to unusual places. Just before the tsunami disaster 

many of the dogs have shown continuous barking and howling without any obvious 

reason, running here and there and restlessness. 

Cats also showed major significant behavioral changes before the tsunami. Sixteen 

percent cats were missing, or shouting (15%), hiding in unusual places (14%) or 

refraining from eating (12%). Minor behavioral changes showed by cats were 

nervousness (3%) and excitement (1%). 

As we know rabbits are very sensitive animals to changes in the environment. 

Rabbits are reared as pets in houses and as well for commercial purposes. When 

they are reared as pets’ the semi-intensive method was mostly used for 

interviewing. Before the tsunami disaster they have shown few of abnormal 

behaviors. The main observations regarding behavioral changes were being 

frightened (38%), hiding (24%), running away and getting closer to people (19%).

69 

Figure 2.27: Percentage of animal deaths during tsunami disaster 

Figure 2.27 shows the percentage of death for animals due to the tsunami disaster. 

The highest percentage of deaths were reported for poultry (89%), pigs (100%) 

because they were kept in cages and could not have an opportunity for them to ran 

away. 

Table 2.5: Number of animal deaths or lost during disaster 

Before Disaster AfterDisaster Death/ lost 

Neat cattle 1141 955 191 

Buffalo 941 858 93 

Poultry 3915 195 2720 

Goat 465 328 137 

Pig 73 0 73 

Dog 134 115 19 

Cat 76 58 18 

120 

100 

Percentage 

80 

60 

40 

20 

In a Cage 

Tethering 

Free range 

In a House 

0 

Neat 

cattle 

Buffalo Poultry Goat Pig Dog Cat Rabbit 

Type of animals 

Figure 2.28: Rearing methods of animals during disaster

70 

Figure 2.28 shows rearing methods of the animals when the tsunami was happening. 

Pigs and rabbits were reared totally in cages and 90% of poultry were reared in 

cages. According to the figure 100% pigs and 89% of poultry have died. This 

confirms that there is a relationship between the rearing method and animal deaths. 

In case of neat cattle many of the tethered cattle died as the result of the tsunami 

while few of other deaths were reported. The reason for this is tethered animals and 

that were rearing in cages could not have a chance to escape from the tsunami 

affected areas. 

The wild animals in Yala National Park area (especially elephants, deer, monkeys, 

peacocks, and other birds) showed most of the unusual behaviors just before the 

disaster. While they showed signs of looking and listening, shouting, ran away, 

nervousness, frightening and they flawed as a flock before the disaster. Field 

officers recorded that, no animal deaths were reported after the disaster. 

It was evident that before the disaster elephants were more restless (20%), 

frightened (16%) and ran away (18%). Shouting, looking and listening and 

nervousness was least recorded behavioral changes. Thirteen percent of respondents 

reported elephants were agitated before the disaster. 

Deer are very sensitive to changes in the environment. Deer were reared as pets in 

some hotels in the Southern region and were interviewed using the semi intensive 

method. Though deer also showed similar behavior changes as elephants. They ran 

away and were frightened (23%), restless and agitated (20%). 

Normally monkeys showed a number of unusual behaviors prior to the tsunami 

disaster as well as other animals. Those were that they ran away (12%), were 

restless (21%), nervous (12%), agitated (12%), shouted (21%), and were frightened 

(15%). 

Peacocks and all other birds showed most similar abnormal behavioral changes. 

Shouting (42%) was the most pre-dominant behavior in peacocks. Flying as flocks 

(41%) were prominent behavior is other birds. None of them showed behavior 

changes such as nervousness, agitation and looking and listening. 

Sixty-eight percent of animals have shown their abnormal behaviors in the 4 hours 

before the tsunami. 18% of the animals have shown their abnormal behaviors 

throughout the 8 hours before thetsunami. Therefore the most suitable time period 

to observe animal behaviors for predict a natural disaster is 8 hour time period 

before the disaster.

71 

Figure 2.29: Difference of sensitivity in animals 

According to the above Fig.2.29 wild animals were more sensitive to the changes of 

surrounding environment than domestic animals. The reason for that is they have 

adapted well for the environment and they have many predators and then they are 

more sensitive for the environment. Out of the domestic animals dogs, cats and 

cattle are more sensitive. 

Conclusion 

The results revealed that pets, farm animals and wild animals have shown 

accountable unusual behavioral changes prior to the tsunami disaster. This may be 

due to their sharp natural sense and close interaction with the nature due 

undisturbed life style. Therefore it is possible to use animal sense as an indicator to 

develop a pre-warning system to detect disasters in the future. 

Bibliography 

Browns, D.J. (1990). Unusual animal behaviour and earthquake prediction, Etho- 

Geological forcasting, 1-5. 

Browns, D.J., and Sheldrake, R. (1996). Unusual animal behavior prior to 

earthquakes, Asurvey in North West California, 1-13 

Hatai, S., and Abe. (1932). The responses of the catfish parasilurus ascotus to 

earthquake, Proc .Imperial acad., 374-378 

Kalpan, M. (2007). Beastly power, New scientist 12 February issue, 34-37. 

Liyanage, M. de S., and Subasinghe, S. (2005). Tsunami damage to Agriculture and 

Livestock in southern of Sri Lanka. 2,24,42

72 

Nikonov, A.A. (1991). Abnormal animal behaviour as a precursor of the 7 

December 1988. spitak ameriana earthquake, Russia academy of Science. 5,6. 

Shldrake, R. (1995). Seven experiments that could damage the world, Riverhead 

books, 4-13. 

Wilson, R. (1974). California geological survey, Earthquake DOC, 1-13.

III. NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR REBUILDING AND 

RECONSTRUCTION 

73

A REMEDY FOR THE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY 

EICHORNIA CRASSIPES IN THE AMPARA DISTRICT 

A.M. Razmy, A.N. Ahmed and Y.B. Iqbal 

Abstract 

Eichornia crassipes (“Japan Japarli” or “Aathu Valai”, Water hyacinth) is nonnative 

invasive freshwater plants to Sri Lanka, which blocks the drainage & 

irrigation cannels. During heavy rainy season Eichornia crassipes blocks the flow 

of rivers and by spreading over the paddy fields causes flood frequently. This plant 

also destroys the aesthetic value of the water bodies and obstructs the fishing 

activities. Further, this plant acts as host for pests and annually farmers and the 

irrigation and local authorities spend a significant amount of money to remove this 

blocks caused by the plant. Due to very rapid growth and spread rate, farmers and 

local authorities need a large dumping area for disposing the collected Eichornia 

crassipes plant. A study was conducted to prepare compost using Eichornia 

crassipes as the main resource material along with the paddy straw and cow dung. 

Paddy straw is amply available in the Ampara district. Mostly this straw is burnt in 

the paddy field after harvesting which creates a severe environmental problem. 

Cow dung also is sufficiently available in this region and currently cow dung is just 

thrown into the water bodies. These three materials were collected from the 

environment and spread as layers on the ground. The first layer was 3 inches thick 

of paddy straw, the second layer was 3 inches thick cow of dung and the third layer 

was 6 inches thick of Eichornia crassipes. This setup of layers was repeated four 

times up to 4 feet height and covered with polythene sheet after spraying water. The 

width and length of the heap was 4 and 18 feet respectively. These heaps were 

mixed at 3 rd and 6 th weeks and the moisture content was maintained at 50-60%. In 

the 10 th week, compost was ready and it was sieved. This compost was packed with 

adding some burnt paddy husk to add some potassium, to improve the colour and 

keeping quality. The return % of compost from the input was 65. The moisture % of 

the produced compost is 50.3 and the volatile solid % is 22.8. This compost 

contains 39.5% carbon and the pH is 8.1. 73.5% of the produced compost was 

sieved through 4mm sieve. The total production cost to produce one kilogram 

compost was Rs 4.40. This compost had very good demand and the bidding price is 

Rs. 13.00 per kilogram. This compost could be a good substitute for inorganic 

fertilizer for which the Sri Lankan Government had to allocate 40 billion for 

fertilizer subsidies in the fiscal budget for 2008. Compost composition mainly 

depends on the input materials used and therefore some analysis including the 

heavy metal content for this produced compost has to be completed still in order to 

compare with the standard compost.

76 

Introduction 

Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is a member of the pickerelweed family 

(Pontederiaceae). The plants vary in size from a few centimeters to over a meter in 

height. The glossy green, leathery leaf blades are up to 20cm long and 5-15cm wide 

and are attached to petioles that are often spongy-inflated. Numerous dark, 

branched, fibrous roots dangle in the water from the underside of the plant. The 

inflorescence is a loose terminal spike with showy light-blue to violet flowers 

(flowers occasionally white). Each flower has 6 bluish-purple petals joined at the 

base to form a short tube. One petal bears a yellow spot. The fruit is a three-celled 

capsule containing many minute, ribbed seeds. 

Figure 3.1: A natural habitat of Eichornia crassi 

1.1 Economic Importance 

Water hyacinth is listed as one of the most productive plants on earth and is 

considered the world's worst aquatic plant (Fig.3.1). It forms dense mats that 

interfere with navigation, recreation, irrigation, and power generation. These mats 

competitively exclude native submersed and floating-leaved plants. Low oxygen 

conditions develop beneath water hyacinth mats and the dense floating mats impede 

water flow and create good breeding conditions for mosquitoes. Water hyacinths are 

a severe environmental and economic problem in all of the areas of the world with a 

sub-tropical or tropical climate. This species has rapidly spread throughout inland 

and coastal freshwater bays, lakes, and marshes (Fig.3.2 and 3.3).

77 

Figure 3.2: Blocked drainage and irrigation canals 

1.2 Habitat 

Figure 3.3: During heavy rainy season Eichornia crassipes blocks the flow of rivers 

and by spreading over the paddy fields causes flood frequently. 

Water hyacinths grow over a wide variety of wetland types from lakes, streams, 

ponds, waterways, ditches, and backwater areas. Water hyacinths obtain their 

nutrients directly from the water and have been used in wastewater treatment 

facilities. They prefer and grow most prolifically in nutrient-enriched waters. New 

plant populations often form from rooted parent plants and wind movements and 

currents help contribute to their wide distribution. Linked plants form dense rafts in 

the water and mud. The fibrous root system of water hyacinth provides nesting 

habitat for invertebrates and insects. Leaf blades and petioles are occasionally used 

by coots. However, whatever benefits this plant provides to wildlife are greatly 

overshadowed by the environmental invasiveness of this noxious species.

78 

1.3 Reproduction 

Water hyacinth reproduces sexually by seeds and vegetatively by budding and 

stolen production. Daughter plants sprout from the stolons and doubling times have 

been reported of 6-18 days. The seeds can germinate in a few days or remain 

dormant for 15-20 years. They usually sink and remain dormant until periods of 

stress (droughts). Upon reflooding, the seeds often germinate and renew the growth 

cycle. 

1.4 Response to Herbicides 

The use of herbicides to control water hyacinth is common. It can be controlled by 

the use of the aquatic herbicides 2, 4-D or diquat. 

1.5 Response to Mechanical Methods 

Mechanical controls such as harvesting have been used in Sri Lanka, but are 

ineffective for large scale control, very expensive, and cannot keep pace with the 

rapid plant growth in large water systems. 

1.6 Biocontrol Potentials 

Three insects have been released for the biological control of water hyacinth. These 

include two weevil species (Neochetina spp.) and a moth (Sameodes albiguttalis). 

Unfortunately large scale reductions in water hyacinth populations did not occur. 

Instead insect predation reduced plant height, decreased the number of seeds 

produced, and decreased the seasonal growth of the plants. This, in turn, allowed 

better boat access into plant mats, reduced use of herbicides, and resulted in less 

plant problems. 

The present study was carried out with the following objectives in order to use them 

in compost preparation: 

1. To minimize the problem of Eichornia crassipes in water bodies. 

2. To produce bio-compost with low cost and high nutritive plant materials. 

1.7 Compost Using Water Hyacinths 

Compost is the product resulting from the controlled biological decomposition of 

organic material. More specifically, compost is the stable, humus-like product 

resulting from the biological decomposition of organic matter under controlled 

conditions. A wide range of materials may be composted, but they must consist of

79 

principally organic components (i.e. carbon-containing remnants or residues of life 

processes). Mixtures of organic materials may be more or less heterogeneous, but 

are rendered more physically homogenous through the composting process. 

Particles are made smaller and the total volume of the original materials is reduced 

(usually by 30 to 50 percent). Volume reduction is one of the benefits of 

composting. Compost products may vary since the properties of any given compost 

depend on the nature of the original feedstock and the conditions under which it was 

decomposed. Yet, all compost contains a tremendous variety of chemical 

substances. 

This water-hyacinth has very high water content, ranging from 93 to 95 percent and 

has tremendous potential for composting. Its composition varies considerably with 

the media in which it grows. Dymond, did a composition analysis for this plant and 

reported the following. 

Table 3.1: Composition analysis–Water Hyacinth 

Water % 93.2 

Dry matter % 6.8 

Nitrogen% Dry Substance 1.7 

Ash % Dry Substance 23.5 

Table 3.2: Analysis of the Water Hyacinth Ash 

Silica % 48.7 

Chlorine % 6.4 

Iron and Alumina % 18.2 

Sulphates % 2.5 

Magnesia % 3.9 

Phosphoric Oxide % 2.4 

Potash % 8.0 

This plant absorbs nitrogen and phosphoric acid very rapidly. In one acre 96 tons of 

this plant can be collected. It is further estimated that a given area will at least 

double itself in one month. One acre will yield a maximum of 6.7 tons and a 

minimum of 4.3 tons of dry matter per month, or 80.4 and 51.6 tons per acre per 

year. Therefore this plant is a very good source for composting. 

Jen-Shaun Chen, et.al. reported that compost made from swine manure (pH 7.1, 

Organic carbon: 25%, Total N: 2.89%, C/N: 9), and mushroom waste (pH 7.3, 

Organic carbon: 37%, Total N: 1.95%, C/N: 19) were added to two different acidic 

soils and found that the availability of N in both soils was increased by the addition

80 

of both types of compost. As this water-hyacinth contains significant amount of 

nitrogen, compost made of this water-hyacinth can be used for soil amendment. 


Water-hyacinth was collected from the nearest water bodies in a large quantity. The 

other materials such as cow dung and paddy straw which were also collected from 

the surrounding environment in an adequate quantity were used as sub resources to 

prepare the low cost and high nutritive content compost. The first layer was 3 inches 

thick of paddy straw, the second layer was 3 inches thick cow of dung and the third 

layer was 6 inches thick of water-hyacinth (Fig.3.4). This setup of layers were 

repeated four times up to 4 feet height and covered with polythene sheet after 

spraying water. The width and length of the heap was 4 and 18 feet respectively 

(Fig.3.5). 

The heaps were mixed on the 3 rd and 6 th weeks and the moisture content was 

maintained at 50 - 60% and with little warm condition in order to accelerate the 

microbial activity. In the 10 th week, compost was ready and it was sieved (Fig.3.6). 

The compost was packed after mixing it with some amount of burnt paddy husk to 

add some potassium, to improve the colour and quality (Fig.3.7 and 3.8). 

Figure 3.4: Spreading water-hyacinth as layer over the paddy straw and cow dung. 

Figure 3.5: Covering the layers of compost materials with thick black colour 

polythene

81 

Figure 3.6:Sieving the compost 

Figure 3.7: Mixing the compost 

with burnt paddy husk 

Figure 3.8: Mixing, sieving and packing the compost in the compost field 


The compost produced using the Eichornia crassipes as main resource materials 

had the following properties (Table 3.3). 

Table 3.3: Physical and chemical characters of the compost 

Properties Value 

Moisture 50.3% 

Carbon content 22.8% 

Volatile solid 39.5% 

pH 8.1 

4 mm Sieve 73.5% 

The cost of production of 1Kg of compost is only Rs. 4.40 and the initial price 

determined was Rs. 10.00 per Kg (bidding price Rs. 13.00/Kg). This compost could 

be a solution to solve the burning fertilizer subsidy problem in Sri Lanka. In the 

fiscal budget for 2008, Sri Lanka allocated 15 billion rupees for fertilizer subsidies, 

in an interim fiscal report that all the money has been busted in just five months. 

Therefore 25million extra money was put into this subsidy and the total spending on

82 

the fertilizer subsidy was 40 billion rupees (368 million US dollars). Maintaining 

the fertilizer subsidy is a priority for the government as it decides the support of the 

public to the Government. Sri Lanka gives a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer at 350 

rupees but the cost of a 50 kilo bag of triple super phosphate (TSP) fertilizer now is 

Rs. 6,337.00 Muriate of potash (MOP) Rs. 6,150.00 and urea cost Rs. 4,200.00. 

Bibliography 

Dymond, G.C. (2001). The Water-Hyacinth: A Cinderella of the Plant World, ARS. 

Jen-Hshuan Chen, Jeng-Tzung Wu and Wei-Tin Huang, (2001). Effects of Compost 

on the Availability of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Strongly Acidic Soils, 

Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute 

Webography 

California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). 

Organic Materials Management, Compost--What Is It [Online] Available 

at:http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/CompostMulch/CompostIs.htm 

Lanka Business Online. Sri Lanka to more than double spending on fertilizer 

subsidy [Online] Available at:http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php 

nid=1691326782 

Washington State University. Compost Fundamentals: reclamation of nitrogen and 

other nutrients [Online] Available at:http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/ 

fundamentals/consideration_reclamation.htm

GROUNDWATER DISTRIBUTION IN THE GANDARA 

AND DEVINUERA AREAS-SOUTHERN SRI LANKA 

K.D.N. Weerasinghe, Ranjana U.K. Piyadasa, Ruwan Sampath, 

L.M.J.R. Wijayawardhana, Y. Moreau and M. Dupin 

Abstract 

The present research study was conducted in Madiha, Gandara and Devinuwara 

areas in Southern coastal strip of Sri Lanka to identify the groundwater 

distribution. A total of 50 dug wells in Madiha and 50 in Gandara were selected 

from the coastal belt for the initial survey. The ield survey program was initiated in 

the study area using questionnaires and a dug well monitoring program was 

subsequently conducted. According to the monitoring data of selected wells reveled 

that most of well’s diameter at Madiha, Gandara and Devinuwara areas are under 

1.0-1.5m range. With respect to the Tsunami affected and Tsunami non-affected 

category it has shown that higher apron height were not damaged due to tsunami 

wave. According to the total depth of the wells classification of the study area, 54% 

of wells are within 2-4m range. These changers of the dug wells characteristics 

could be explained by place-to-place morphological deference due to topography, 

elevation, vegetation cover and as well as constructions methodology. In Gandara 

area electrical condition (EC) values distribution change in the range of 263µS/cm 

to 693.7µS/cm, Devinuwara it was 918 µS/cm to 483.23µS/cm and Madiha it was 

1187.27µS/cm to 1317.12µS/cm. In Madiha there was no significant difference 

between the Tsunami affected and Tsunami non affected wells due to the 

morphological characteristics of the area. Water quality in wells at Gandara and 

Devinuwara is good for drinking purposes. However in Madiha, water quality was 

inferior in most of the wells. Well water in Madiha could be used for Agricultural 

and other purposes and quality could be improved with the better management of 

the wells. 

Keywords: alluvium, aquifer, electrical conductivity, geology, GPS,hard rock, pH 

Introduction 

On 26 December 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake off the south coast of Sumatra 

generated tsunami waves that left over 280,000 people dead or missing in Asia and 

Africa. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed resulting in a humanitarian 

crisis in the hardest hit countries. Illangasekare, T., et al. (2006), investigate the 

impacts of the tsunami on coastal groundwater resources and review well cleaning

84 

methods and their impacts, to develop a conceptual understanding of the seawater 

mixing phenomenon in coastal aquifers after the tsunami to investigate the medium 

and long-term impacts of the tsunami on coastal groundwater resources, to develop 

a joint program to study the regional aquifer hydrology and hydrogeology of Sri 

Lanka, and to transfer knowledge about coastal aquifer vulnerability to other south 

Asian nations. 

Groundwater forms an important source of potable water which is believed to be 

safe and free from pathogenic bacteria and suspended matter. Many people in the 

coastal regions of Sri Lanka depend on shallow groundwater for their domestic 

needs. Studies indicate that seepage losses from canals and reservoirs have been 

indispensable for maintaining water levels in shallow wells. Deep groundwater is 

concentrated in the fractured and weathered aquifers in hard rock areas and alluvial 

aquifers. Available information indicates that 7 to 10 percent of rainfall contributes 

to groundwater recharge in the hard rock terrain, and 40 percent in the sandy 

alluvial aquifers in coastal areas (Panabokke et al., 2002). 

According to Panabokke (2001) groundwater resources across most of the Sri 

Lankan coast are dominated by the ‘‘coastal sand’’ aquifers, which consist 

primarily of spits and bars, coastal dunes, raised beaches and paleobeach deposits 

[Cited from Panabokke 2005]. The shallow open dug wells are usually manually 

pumped whereas the deeper tube wells use electric pumps and are typically 

managed by the NWSDB or by private agricultural enterprises. Due to the Tsunami 

tragedy groundwater reserve of the southern coastal belt was highly disturbed. 

The objective of the present study was to assess the quality of the ground water in 

the two villages Viz. Madiha and Gandara in the Southern Coastal belt, which were 

seriously polluted due to 2004 tsunami to use for the domestic purposes. The wells 

in the two locations were earlier used by the people for drinking and other purposes 

and, with the introduction of the pipe borne water after the tsunami; Ground water 

resource is neglected in most of the cases. 

Methodology 

The study was conducted from 2007 July in Madiha and from February 2008 in 

Gandara and Devinuwara to July 2008. The study area falls within the WL2 agro 

ecological region. Annual rainfall of the area varies between 1875mm-2500mm, 

mean temperature is 25 0 C and RH is 75%-80%. The elevation of the area is 

between 0-30m. The top unconfined alluvium aquifer is dominant in the coastal belt 

and other minor river basins. In the study area, precrembrian metamorphic hard 

rock covered by quaternary sedimentary deposits are dominant. The basement 

consists of precrembrian rocks of the so-called Highland Complex and consists of 

granite silimants with-biotite gneiss. Topsoil mainly consists of sandy clay. Shallow 

groundwater aquifer is mainly unconfined and consists of sandy-clay, clay, siltyclay 

and laterite formations.

85 

In general, the aquifer consists of calcified sand, in case of the coastal strip of 

Matara sandstone is dominant. Recharge of the aquifer takes place mainly from 

rainfall from the Northern region of the catchment area. The hydro-geological 

conditions are very favorable for saltwater intrusion; therefore, along the coastal 

belt, alluvial and coastal sand deposits are dominating and forming higher-yielding 

local aquifers. 

To achieve the objectives fifty families have been randomly selected as a sample to 

represent the area from each location. Oral interview method was used to collect 

data. Availability of water resource, Maintenance of the water resource, hygienic 

condition of the family, water related disease history and subsidies for rehabilitation 

have been the main area of the study. Figure 3.9 shows the observation of wells by 

the study team. 

Figure 3.9: View of the well monitoring program in Madiha 

Locations of wells were identified with GPS and mapping has been done using the 

software MapInfo ® associated with surfer8 ® . The Fig.3.10 and 3.11 below show 

well network in Madiha and Gandara.

86 

Figure 3.10: Network of wells in Madiha East 

Figure 3.11: Network of wells in Gandara and Devinuwara 

Monitoring of the water quality has been done in respect to Electrical conductivity 

(EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), salinity and pH using a EC/pH meters 

commencing from July 2007. Some of these wells were monitored since 2005 in a 

groundwater study conducted by us after the Tsunami. Elevations of wells were 

recorded using 1:10000 digital map and apron heights were measured with a tape. 

From the sample of 50 wells, 20 dug wells were selected for analysis on the basis of 

three EC levels and affected and non affected nature of the Tsunami disaster. All the 

selected wells were marked by giving them a permanent reference number with the

87 

chordMOW (Matara Observation Wells). Water sampling in dug wells were taken 

once a month during the period of study. Ionic composition of the water was 

analyzed to categorize the aquifers. Bacteriological analysis has been conducted to 

assess the bacteriological contamination. Three pumping tests have been done in the 

area of Madihe East to understand the aquifer, the annual extraction potential, and 

recharge. 


Distribution and the location map of the wells in the Madiha and Gandara area are 

depicted in the Fig.3.10. and 3.11. In the map each well is identified a number and 

GPS positions of the wells are illustrated. Access roads to the wells and other 

specific information are also depicted in the map. According to the well 

characteristics, most of the wells distributed in Gandara area were shallow and were 

in the 0-10 meter depth range (Table3). However more than 35% of the total depths 

of the dug wells were in 2-4 meter depth. In Madihe area all wells were within 2-4m 

depth range, and 45% of wells were within 1-1.5m. diameter range. 

Well water in Madiha 

By the time of the survey Pipe borne water was available for 98% of the families in 

Madiha. However almost all the families have a dug well in their gardens. Some of 

them are used it for washing, bathing and irrigation purposes etc (Fig.3.9). 36% of 

dug well have been neglected after the tsunami, It was revealed in the survey that 

67% of family have neglected their wells due to the availability of pipe bone water. 

22% of the wells have been neglected due to the unpleasant taste associated with 

saline water. 

The neglected wells were used by the people as waste collection pit or waste water 

collecting tanks. This contaminated the shallow unconfined aquifer of the area. 

About 70% of wells had a properly constructed aprons and 20% were partially 

constructed. The rest of the wells didn’t have an apron due to which contamination 

of well water and this occurred due to the accumulation of the surface runoff during 

the rainy period by accelerating the biological contaminations. Water lifting 

methods that practiced in the wells also had a contribution to the water 

contamination within the sample only 16% of families used a separate bucket for 

water lifting and pumps were installed only in the 2% of the wells. 78% of the well 

didn’t have a net cower on the top. 

Howeverthere was no historical evidence on water borne diseases in the area. Most 

of the families (70%) had well built lavatory systems with the commode type or sit 

on type of fittings. The rest of the families had at least a pit type toilet.

88 

After the Tsunami most of the households used cement cylinder or bricks to 

construct the latrine pits. Only 4% of pits were not followed up with linings of 

cement. 

Most of the latrine pits (90%) have been constructed according to the WHO guide 

lines (minimum distance of 10 m between latrine pit and well). Only 10% of latrine 

pits were in the perimeter of less than 10m to the well. The survey revealed that 

most of the people had sufficient knowledge on the legal framework of the 

construction of latrine pits. 

After having the access to the pipe borne water at a very nominal cost 34% the 

families didn’t expect any subsidies for the reconstruction of their wells. However 

54% were expecting some assistance to improve their water sources. Among them 

63% had a likeness of a rain water harvesting tank. 26% of them wished to have 

another dug well. Only 4% of people wished to have a government tap line, Since 

all other people already had their own pipe borne water. 

Water quality parameters 

Electrical conductivity is the common parameter to measure the salinity of water. 

The total amount of dissolved solids (TDS) gives a gravimetric measure of the mass 

of the soluble salts present in the water (in mg/l) and can also be used to express 

salinity level. 

As depicted in the table 3.4 wells in the area could be categorized under three 

classes. The class descriptions are given in table 3.5. Accordingly EC is under 

1500µS/cm for all the wells of group 1 and 2. This water can be use for common 

purpose as Washing, bathing, garden irrigation, etc. without any risk. Water in the 

wells of group 1 are well accepted for drinking purposes. Water in the wells of 

group 2 is good water for Agricultural purposes and it is also in the accepted range 

for drinking purposes. 

Table 3.4: Wellwater quality classesin Madiha 

Classes Statistics EC TDS mg/l pH 

Median 1971 995 7.26 

3 Min 1660 786 6.84 

Max 2320 1175 7.4 

Median 1245 611 7.03 

2 Min 1053 527 6.8 

Max 1568 781 7.54 

Median 937 459 7.21 

1 Min 406 188 6.8 

Max 1015 586 7.68

89 

Table 3.5: Criteria adopted for well water classification in the study area 

Class 

TDS 

(mg/l) 

I 7500 

Impact description 

No detrimental effect on agriculture and 

acceptable as drinking water source 

Cause for rejection as source of drinking water at 

TDS above 1500 mg/l. 

May have adverse effect on many crop and on 

health 

Unfit for drinking and has adverse effect on many 

crop 

Unfit for drinking water. Salt-tolerant species may 

survive on permeable soil with 

careful management practice 

Unfit for drinking as well as for cultivation of 

most crops 

Table 3.6: Type of aquifer 

Well No Location Mg 2+ Ca 2+ Mg 2+ /Ca 2+ Aquifer Type 

MOW 723 Madiha 1.02 1.49 0.68 Limestone 

MOW719 Madiha 1.76 3.49 0.51 Limestone 

MOW818 Gandara 0.68 0.81 0.84 Dolomite 

MOW803 Devinuwara 0.48 0.39 1.2 Silicate 

MOW 804 Devinuwara 0.89 1.65 1.8 Silicate 

Wells of group 3 have a high concentration of salt above 1500µS/cm. This water 

cannot be recommended even for the Garden irrigation since it may lead to 

accumulation of salt in the soil.

90 

Figure 3.12: pH distribution map of Madiha 

Groundwater quality especially in Madiha East appeared to be more saline due to 

the proximity to the sea as evident from the analytical data. Electrical conductivity 

of water in Madiha East was more than 1000 µS/cm in almost all the locations. 

Figure 3.13: Electrical conductivity map of well water in Madiha

91 

Figure 3.14: pH distribution map 

pH distribution map of groundwater in Madiha is given in Fig.3.12. It reveals ahigh 

pH of groundwater in the inland area compare to Caostal area. This may be 

associated with the existance of Dolamitic and limestone aquifer in the coastal zone. 

The tsunami may contributed much to the dissolution of calcium, magnesium ions 

to elevate pH values. 

The analysis of water quality reveals that contrary to commonly expected high 

salinity in coastal strip due to sea water influx, there was no correlation with 

proximity to the sea, except for the wells of group 1 (p-value = 0,102), on the sea 

side. The concentration of wells belongs to other two groups which were observed 

in Madiha East (Fig.3.13). 

Negligence of wells appears to be an important factor to explain quality 

deterioration in Madiha. During the Tsunami, a number of wells have been washed 

out by the waves destructing the apron. However lots of wells have been reconstructed, 

in the mid locations of Madiha, while the wells in the eastern parts 

have been given up by the people. 

Rehabilitation (apron re-construction, manual cleaning of rubbish) associated with 

non polluting cleaning methods, exposure of wells to sun light for UV treatment and 

fish rearing helps to avoid contamination of wells by larvae reproduction in the 

wells belonging to class 3. Rehabilitation and manual cleaning of these wells will 

decrease high salinity which would help to use water for common purposes like 

irrigation, bathing, washing in the future as we have experienced in Weligama 

(Weerasinghe, 2006). Such rehabilitation would enhance the use of all the wells in 

Madiha East for common purpose.

92 

Water level analysis is also important to understand dynamics of groundwater in the 

area. Water table in the proximity to the sea undergoes a mixing with sea water 

since the water intrusion is facilitated by the existing permeable sand (f o = 2.8*10 -3 ) 2 

and shallow groundwater reserve in the area. In a pumping test conducted in the 

well No. 720, and 722 revealed the very rapid influx of groundwater into the well of 

more than 5 l/s. 

Madiha East has an elevated hilly area in the western part. Groundwater recharge 

from the locality is fully dependant on surface water comes from upper catchment 

of Madiha East and Walgama South which reaches the sea in the border between 

Madiha and Polhena, closer to polhena Maha Vidyalaya. 

The water table releasing pattern to the sea from the upper boundaries of the 

catchment in Madiha east is illustrated in the Fig.3.15 and 3.16. The map of water 

table (Fig.3.16) shows run off of Water from upper part to the sea. According to 

these maps, the area close to the river and the sea are the sinks where fresh water is 

released from there to the sea. It reveals that the wells in the influx area were highly 

contaminated and as such it is not preferable to use these wells without cleaning. 

Figure 3.15: Water table in Madiha East 

2 Kostiakov-Lewis infiltration parameters

93 

Figure 3.16: Water table in 3D dimension in Madiha 

Water quality in Gandara and Devinuwara 

The diameter of most of the wells at Gandara and Devinuwara areas were within 

1.0-1.5m range. The 58% of wells had Apron height in 50-75cm range. Tsunami 

non-affected wells had a higher apron height compared to the non-affected wells. 

According to the total depth of the wells, 54% of wells were within 2-4m depth 

range. This was 100%, in Devinuwara, and 40% in Gandara. 

Groundwater flow characteristics of the Gandera area also depended on the 

morphological features of the area. Elevation and the depth of the groundwater had 

a very closer relation. In case of the unconfined aquifers, this relationship is an 

important feature to describe the groundwater distribution of the area. In the 

Fig.3.16 depth of the wells at different elevations are depicted.

94 

Figure 3.17: Groundwater level and elevation in Gandara area 

Within the study area groundwater level fluctuate in between 2.5m to 26.5m from 

mean sea level groundwater level is deep in elevated areas of the northern boundary 

of the catchment. 

Electrical conductivity of groundwater in Gandara varies from 80-1400µS/cm 

(Fig.3.18) which is an accepted level for drinking and other purposes. Wells close to 

the coastal area had higher electrical conductivity compare to the wells which are 

away from the sea and in higher elevations. However in the coastal strip of 

Devinuwara area groundwater EC was fluctuated from 1400 to 1800µS/cm as in the 

case of Madiha. In thecoastal belt of Devinuera area elevation is very low and 

salinity intrusion was progressing from the sea side. Therefore EC values were 

much higher compare to the inland areas.

95 

A 

B 

Figure 3.18: Groundwater salinity distribution map of Gandara and Devundara 

Figure 3.19: Cross sectional view of wells penetration across Gandara from the 

coastal line to high elevations (line AB in Fig.3.18) 

In the Fig.3.18 cross sectional view of the disposition of wells across the AB line of 

the Fig.3.15 is demonstrated. Accordingly well No. 819 penetrates the bed rock. 

The rest of the wells are lying closer to the surface. A lower electrical conductivity 

below 500µS/cm is observed in the well No MOW 819 which penetrates the hard 

rock due to which recharge is not taken place. 

From top soil layers (Fig.3.18). However in the shallow dug wells, EC values were 

lower than 400µS/cm. This is associated with the recharge of the hard rock aquifer

96 

due to influx from the inland areas without any communication from the coastal 

influx. 

Figure3.20: pH distribution map, Gandara and Devundara 

Groundwater pH distribution map of in Gandara is given in Fig.3.20. It was 

revealed that coastal area has a higher pH level than the inland areas. It is evident 

that pH values change from 4.0 to 9.4 in different locations. Except in coastal zone 

of the basin, the pH of groundwater remains within 5 to 7, but in the coastal area the 

pH elevates above 7. During the period of study any fluctuation of pH was not 

observed with the atmospheric precipitation. In some localized patches, pH values 

were slightly acidic and remained around 6.8 which may be associated with local 

phenomena. Coastal area had the Dolamitic and limestone aquifer which contributes 

to the dissolution of calcium, magnesium ions to contribute to the higher pH values. 

Aquifer quality in Madiha and Gandara 

The results of the chemical analysis of water in respect to the dissolved ions are 

used to assess the aquifer quality in the study area. Based on the total concentration 

of cations and anions such as Na + , K + , Ca 2+ , Cl -- , So 4 2- HCO 3 - ions and there ratios, 

aquifer could be identified after plotting piper diagrams. Mg 2+ /Ca 2+ ratio of the 

water can categorize the Aquifer type of the particular area in relation to alkalinity. 

As per the results wells designated by MOW 803 and MOW 804 in Devinuwara had 

Mg 2+ /Ca 2+ ratio greater than 0.9 which shows that the aquifer is a Silicate aquifer. 

These wells are the wells of MOW 723, MOW 719 in Madiha had Mg 2+ /Ca 2+ ratio 

within 0.5-0.7 and on such aquifer could be identified on limestone aquifer. The 

well number MOW 818 in Gandara had Mg 2+ /Ca 2+ ratio between 0.7-0.9 due to 

Dolamitic nature of the aquifer.

97 

Conclusions and Recommendations 

Madiha 

From the above this demonstrates that the area of Madiha East has the mostfresh 

water availability; this water has been used by the people for a long period. 

However after the Tsunami, contamination of wells by salt and bacteria have 

disturbed the traditional habits. People got tap water without a cost which affected 

the senses and validity of well water that has been used by them from times 

immemorial. Even though the salt content in groundwater has escalated after the 

tsunami, water in Madiha is acceptable for common purposes like bathing, washing, 

and garden irrigation. Usage of this water will improve the Basin water use. 

In the case of the wells belonging to group 1 in Madiha Rehabilitation of them and 

physical cleaning methods as UV treatment helps to reduce the pollution. This will 

improve sanitation of the area, decreasing the spread of water borne diseases, and 

mosquito breeding. Therefore Rehabilitation and sustainable use of traditional wells 

for common purpose appear as a necessity for the area. This will help to use tap 

water and well water simultaneously for different purposes. 

Gandara 

Most of the well water quality parameters in Gandara are within the Sri Lankan 

standards for drinking water, but the wells are neglected due to the introduction of 

pipe bone water, after the Tsunami. In the coastal areas EC values are higher due to 

saline water intrusion. However ground water quality in hard rock areas have in 

elevated highs are much better with low EC values compare to the shallow 

unconfined ground water in the coastal zone. 

The pH of the ground water resources in the coastal belt of Gandara was identified 

as static and lies below WHO and Sri Lankan standards for drinking water, and as 

such it is not a reliable source to meet the water demands of the population. 

In order to develop the mind-set of people to conserve water to meet future water 

needs information and explanation must be provided on the water quality of their 

wells, dynamic of groundwater, and decrease of future water availability from the 

urban supply and the possible price escalations. 


The authors are grateful for the CIDA restoration project for providing an excellent 

opportunity to conduct the above research and development program. Special 

thanks are extended to Dr. Jana Janakiram (Canadian Coordinator), Prof. Ranjith

98 

Senarathne (Sri Lankan Director), Prof. D. Atapattu (Deputy Director Ruhuna) for 

the continuous interest and support extended to carry out the present program. The 

assistance offered by the people in Madiha and Gandara are gratefully 

acknowledged. 

Bibliography 

Bear, J. (1979). Hydraulics of groundwater. McGraw-Hill, New York 

Cooray, P.G. (1984). The Geology of Sri Lanka. National Museum Of Sri Lanka 

Publication, Colombo. Sri Lanka. 

Gavich, E.K, Lysbewa, A.A., and Semionowa, A.A. (1980). Practical problems in 

hydrogeology, Headra, Moscow. 

Hem, J.D. (1970). Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural 

waters. US. Geol. Survey. Water supply paper 147 

Illangasekare, T., et. al. (2006). Impacts of the 2004 tsunami on groundwater 

resources in Sri Lanka, Water Resour. Res., 42, W05201, doi:10.1029/2006WR 

004876. 

Ministry of Urban Development. (1993). Manual of Sewerage and sewage 

treatment. GOI 

Murthy, K.S.R. (2000). “Groundwater potential in a semi-arid region of Andhra 

Pradesh: A geographical information System approach”, International J. of 

Remote Sensing, Vol. 21 No. 9, 1867-1884. 

Panabokke, C.R. (2001). Groundwater studies of the coastal sand aquifers of Sri 

Lanka, Water Resour. Board, Colombo. 

Panabokke, C.R, and Perera, A.P.G.R.L. (2005). Groundwater Resources of Sri 

Lanka. Water Resources Board, Colombo.Sri Lanka. 

Weerasinghe, K.D.N., et. al. (2005). Salinity and microbial contamination and 

natural remediation of Tsunami-affected groundwater wells at two locations in 

Weligama, Sri Lanka, 

Weerasinghe, K.D.N., et. al. (2006). Natural water Purification system for Local 

community 32 nd WEDC International Conference, Colombo, Sri Lanka

PRODUCING LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE USING 

TOBACCO WASTES 

P.R. Fernando, A. Parvathakeethan and V. Einon Mariya 

Abstract 

This study was carried out to determine the possibilities of using tobacco wastes in 

lightweight concrete production. The mixture combinations of materials such as 

tobacco waste, pumice, sand and cement were used to produce the samples. The 

results showed that produced material samples were in the lightweight concrete 

class according to values of consistency, unit weight, compressive strength and 

thermal conductivity. It was determined that the unit weight of lightweight concrete 

material samples ranged between 0.48–0.58kgdm -3 , compressive strength values 

ranged between 0.25–0.58Nmm - 2 and thermal conductivity coefficients ranged 

between 0.198–0.250Wm -1 K -1 . According to the observations, tests, experiments and 

evaluations on lightweight concrete material samples, it was concluded that the 

lightweight concrete with tobacco waste additives could be used as a material in 

construction. 

Keywords: compressive strength, lightweight concrete, thermal conductivity 

coefficient, tobacco waste 

Introduction 

In order to provide comfortable conditions for up-to-date buildings, it is important 

to consider the most costly component, which is energy. Therefore, the most 

important component of construction designing is heat isolation. In order to take 

necessary actions concerning heat isolation in the constructed buildings, it is 

necessary to provide the needed thermal comfort for shelters so that they are not 

affected negatively from temperature effects. By taking this into account, the design 

can result in relaxing conditions for people (Postacıoğlu, 1986; Yağanoğlu et. al., 

1999). 

Due to the low unit weight and high porosity, at present time, lightweight concrete 

elements are preferred as isolation materials. Comfort temperature values can be 

provided with lower energy consumption by using lightweight concrete in the 

construction elements. Recently, due to the superiorities in the lightweight concrete, 

the production in this field has increased from the early 1980’s until present day and 

an important industry has developed in that area (Rossignolo and Agnesini, 2001).

100 

According to the density, lightweight concretes are classified in three groups. Low 

density and compressive strength concretes which are used in isolation, middle 

density and middle compressive strength concretes which are used for briquette 

producing, and the carrier lightweight concretes create the opportunity to use them 

for constructing foundations and supporting parts (Short and Kinniburg,1978; 

Bhatty and Reid,1989). 

By producing lightweight concrete, a lot of methods are used. The most popular 

method for lightweight concrete production is to use natural or synthetic lightweight 

aggregates. Some of the lightweight aggregates used for concrete productions are 

pumice, coal slag, flying ash, rice husk, straw, sawdust, cork granules, wheat husk 

and coconut fibbers and coconut shell. The organic wastes that have been used in 

lightweight concretes are mainly of plant origin and include rice husk, straw, 

sawdust, cork granules, wheat husk and coconut fibbers and coconut shell. Besides 

these, leather wastes of animal origin are worth researching (Basri et al., 1999; 

Khedari et al., 2000; Manan and Ganapathy, 2002). 

Generally, the concretes which have a unit weight under 2.0kgdm -3 are in the 

lightweight concrete class. The lightweight concretes which have a unit weight 

between 1.6–2.0kgdm -3 can be used constructive elements, unit weights between 

0.5–0.6kgdm -3 can be used isolation material (Aka,2001; TS 11222,2001). 

The lightweight concretes which have a compressive strength under 1Nmm -2 are 

used for isolation purposes. In spite of this, if the compressive strength is over 

1Nmm -2 , the lightweight concretes can be used in the load carried construction 

elements (Ujhely, 1983). 

The compressive strength of lightweight concretes are related to the mixing ratio 

and quality, quantity of moulding water, mixing and moulding methods of the used 

material. Generally, as the unit weight and compactness values increase, the 

compressive strength and heat conduction increase. The compressive strength and 

thermal conductivity decrease when porosity increases (Tekinsoy, 1984). 

The objective of this study was to determine the possibilities of using tobacco waste 

in lightweight concrete production. 

Material and methods 

The main material used in this study was tobacco waste, which was the waste left 

over from cigarette production at a Cigarette Factory (Fig.3.21). Furthermore, 

mixed pumice aggregate under 10mm sieve (Fig.3.22), river sand and Portland 

Tokyo cement were used as binding materials. The chemical composition and 

physical properties of the materials used in the study are summarized in Tables 3.7, 

3.8 and 3.9.

101 

Table 3.7: Chemical composition tobacco waste 

Component (%) 

Fe 0.46 

Zn 0.0098 

Mn 0.026 

Cu 0.0021 

Ca 5.72 

Mg 0.80 

K 1.03 

Na 0.09 

P 0.20 

Organic matter 66.21 

Water 25.45 

Source: Gülser and Candemir, 2004 

Table 3.8: Chemical composition and physical properties of pumice aggregate 

Chemical composition 

Physical properties 

Component (%) 

SiO 2 70.50 Specific gravity ( kg dm -3 ) 1.80 

Al 2 O 3 15.00 Bulk density ( kg dm -3 ) 0.65 

Fe 2 O 3 3.50 Water absorption ( % ) 42 

CaO 3.00 

Na 2 O 4.26 

K 2 O 2.75 

MgO 0.99 

Source: Gündüz et al., 2004 

Table 3.9: Mechanical and physical properties of Portland Tokyo cement (TS 

12143, 2005). 

Mechanical and physical properties 

Specific gravity ( kgdm -3 ) 3.0 

Setting time, initial (min.) 230 

Setting time, final (min.) 295 

Volume expansion (Le Chatelier-mm ) 1.0 

7 day compressive strength ( Nmm -2 ) 23.9 

28 day compressive strength ( Nmm -2 ) 35.0

102 

Figure 3.21: Tobacco waste (under 

10mm sieve) 

Figure 3.22: Pumice aggregate (under 

4mm sieve) 

To prepare the lightweight concrete materials samples, nominal mixing techniques 

were applied because of the organic origin of tobacco waste (BS 5328, 

1976).Organic material contains of the material decreases the compressive strength 

(Schieder, 1961). Due to the high organic material ratio of the tobacco waste 

(66.21%), the tobacco waste ratio of the mixing was fixed as a limit value of 40%. 

At the first stage of the study, in order to have some specifications in a mixing such 

as holding itself, limited shrinkage shrinking and having a half fluid consistency, 

the mixing ratios of the materials were used with hold the W/C value as a constant 

of 0.44 as given in Table 3.10. The experimental samples were prepared as shown 

in the Fig.3.23. In addition to these, the consistency, unit weight, compressive 

strength and thermal conductivity test were performed upon produced lightweight 

concrete samples. 

Figure 3.23: Lightweight concrete samples

103 

Table 3.10: Mixtures used in the study according to appearance of concrete samples 

(by weight) 

Sample No Mixing (%) 

Portland Cement Tobacco waste Sand Pumice aggregate 

1 40 20 40 - 

2 30 20 20 30 

3 40 20 - 40 

4 30 20 25 25 

5 35 15 25 25 

6 40 15 15 30 


The test results obtained concerning the effects of the applications on some 

specifications of Produced lightweight concrete samples are given below and 

discussed. 

1 Unit weight 

The test results of the unit weight of the produced lightweight concrete samples are 

given in Table 3.11. 

Table 3.11: Unit weight testing results 

Sample No Unit weight( kgdm -3 ) 

1 0.58 

2 0.55 

3 0.48 

4 0.55 

5 0.58 

6 0.55 

The unit weight values of the produced material samples changed between 0.48– 

0.58kgdm -3 . If there is excess porosity in the material, this is an indicator that the 

concrete has a low compressive strength (Uluata, 1981). The reflection of this 

situation was also observed in the produced material samples. Furthermore, the 

results concerning the unit weight values given in Table 3.11 showed that the 

produced lightweight concrete samples were in the heat isolated lightweight 

concrete class (Şahin et.al., 2000).

104 

Figure 3.24: Sample no.vs. unit weight 

2 Compressive strength 

The data concerning the 28 days cube compressive strength values of the materials 

are given in Table 3.12. 

Table 3.12: Compressive strength values 

Sample 28 days cube compressive 

No strength( Nmm -2 ) 

1 0.25 

2 0.34 

3 0.58 

4 0.25 

5 0.53 

6 0.46 

The 28 days cube compressive strength values of the concrete samples were 

changed according to the material mixing ratios. Due to low C/N ratio of the 

tobacco waste, using low amount of organic lightweight aggregate (tobacco waste) 

in the material composition caused maximum compressive strength values finally at 

the end of 28 days. 

The compressive strength values of lightweight concrete samples were under 

1Nmm -2 .By reason of its low compressive strength and insulating materials, the 

lightweight concrete with tobacco waste additive can be recommended for use as a 

coating and dividing material in constructions because of its insulating features.

105 

0.6 

Graph for Sample No Vs Compressive Strength 

0.55 

0.5 

0.45 

0.4 

0.35 

0.3 

0.25 

0.2 

1 2 3 4 5 6 

Sample No 

Figure 3.25: Sample no.vs compressive strength 

3 Thermal conductivity 

The thermal conductivities of produced material samples in the scope of the 

research are given in Table 3.13. 

Table 3.13: Thermal conductivity 

Sample No Thermal conductivity ( Wm -1 K -1 ) 

1 0.210 

2 0.250 

3 0.198 

4 0.225 

5 0.226 

6 0.225 

The minimum thermal conductivity of produced material samples was observed in 

sample no 3 as 0.198Wm -1 K -1 . Besides this, the thermal conductivities of samples 

no 4 and 6 were determined as 0.225Wm -1 K -1 . Evaluating the thermal conductivities 

of produced material samples together with their compressive strengths, it can be 

suitable to use lightweight concrete to be produced with tobacco waste additive in 

buildings as a coating and dividing material insulation.

106 

Figure 3.26: Sample no vs. thermal conductivity 

Conclusions 

In this study, the possibilities of using tobacco wastes in lightweight concrete 

producing were researched and the following conclusions were obtained: 

Since the unit weights of the produced lightweight concrete samples varied 

between 0.48 and 0.58kgdm -3 , they were into the class of heat insulating 

lightweight concrete in respect of their unit weight values. 

When the material samples had a fine aggregate composition 

(approximately 50%), the compactness and the compressive strength 

decreased. 

 

 

 

Due to low C/N ratio of the tobacco waste, using low amount of organic 

lightweight aggregate (tobacco waste) in the material composition caused 

maximum compressive strength values finally at the end of 28 days. 

It was showed that the 28 days cube compressive strength values were 

lower than 1Nmm -2 for the whole of the lightweight concrete samples. 

Therefore, it is possible to say that the lightweight concretes including 

tobacco waste used as a coating and dividing material in buildings is useful 

because of its insulating features. 

Comparing the thermal conductivity values of the produced lightweight 

concrete samples with the materials such as brick (0.45–0.60Wm -1 K -1 ), 

briquette (0.70–1.0Wm -1 K -1 ), pumice concrete (0.29Wm -1 K -1 ) and ytong 

(0.23Wm -1 K -1 ), which have a widespread usage area in the buildings, it is 

seen that the lightweight concretes samples including tobacco waste have 

lower values (0.198–0.250Wm -1 K -1 ) compared to other masonry materials 

(Öztürk, 2003).

107 

 

The material used in this research was waste produced at the end of 

cigarette production at a Factory. According to other building insulation 

materials, it could be supplied cheaply. Furthermore, decomposition was 

not observed producing lightweight concrete samples. As to the 

observations, tests, experiments and evaluations on lightweight concrete 

material samples, it was concluded that the lightweight concrete with 

tobacco waste additive can be used as a coating and dividing material in 

constructions. 

Bibliography 

Aka, İ. (2001). Reinforced Concrete. Birsen Press, İstanbul. 

Basri, H.B., Manan, M.A. and Zain, M.F.M. (1999). Concrete Using Waste Oil 

Palm Shells as Aggregate. Concrete and Cement Research, pp. 619–622. 

Bhatty, J.L. and Reid, K.J. (1989). Moderate Strength Concrete from Lightweight 

Sludge Ash Aggregates. Cement Composites and Lightweight Concrete, pp. 179– 

187. 

BS 5328. (1976). Concrete Preparation Methods. London. 

Gülser, C. and Candemir, F. (2004). Change in Atterberg Limits with Different 

Organic Waste Applications. Natural Resourse Management for Sustainable Land 

Use and Management, Soil Congress, SSST, Atatürk University, Erzurum-Turkey. 

Gündüz, L., Yılmaz, İ., and Hüseyin, A. (2001). The Comparatives of Technical 

Properties for Expanded Clay and Pumice as the Lighweight Aggregates, 4th 

National Clay Congress Konya–Turkey. 

Manan, M.A. and Ganapathy, C. (2002). Engineering Properties of Concrete with 

Oil Palm Shells as Coarse Aggregate. Construction and Building Materials, pp. 29– 

34. 

Öztürk, T. (2003). Farm Buildings. Ondokuz Mayıs University, Agricultural 

Faculty Press No: 49, Samsun. 

Postacıoğlu, B. (1986). Concrete. Volume: 1. Printer House of Press Technicians, 

İstanbul. 

Rossignolo, A.J. and Agnesini, M.V.C. (2001). Mechanical Properties of Polyme 

Modified Lightweight Concrete. Cement and Concrete Research No: 32 pp. 329-34.

108 

Schieder, İ. (1961). Manufacture and Use of Lightweight Aggregates of Structural 

Concrete. Portland Cement Association Research and Development Lab. No: 5420, 

Illinois. 

Short, A. and Kinniburg, W. (1978). Lightweight Concrete.Galliard (Printers), 

Great Yormouth, Great Britain, pp. 113. 

Tekinsoy, M.A. (1984). A Research on the using Possibilities of Concrete Briquette 

Supplemented Rice Husk for Farm Buildings at Çukurova Region in Turkey. 

(Unpublished Assoc. Prof. Thesis), Çukurova University, Faculty of Agriculture, 

Department of Agricultural Engineering, Adana. 

TS11222. (2001). Concret and Prepare Concret (Classification, Properties and 

Performance). Turkish Standards Institution, Ankara. 

TS12143. (2002). Cement Composition and Specifications. Turkish Standards 

Institution, Ankara. 

Ujhely, J. (1983). The Letter from Hungarian Institute for Building Science. 

Budapest. Uluata, A.R.1981.Concrete Materials and Concrete, (Lecture Notes) 

Atatürk University, Agricultural Faculty, Department of Agricultural Engineering, 

Erzurum, Turkey. 

Yağanoğlu, A.V., Okuroğlu, M., Örüng, İ. and Şahin, S. (1999). The Possibilities of 

Using Thermal Isolated Materials Supplemented Different Plant Wastes in Farm 

Buildings. 7 th National Agricultural Engineering Congress, Nevşehir, Turkey, pp. 

340-350.

IV. ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION 

109

110

REHABILITATION OF MANGROVES IN 

PAALAMEENMADU AND PUTHUKUDIYIRUPPU, 

BATTICALOA AND ITS BIODIVERSITY 

S. Santharooban and P. Vinobaba 

Abstract 

Mangroves are one of the rich ecosystems in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. They provide 

both economical and ecological benefits to the people and their surroundings. The 

present paper discusses the rehabilitation of mangroves and preservation of 

existing mangrove vegetation in the two villages such as Paalameenmadu 

(Manmunai North DS division) and Puthukudiyeruppu (Manmunaipattu DS 

division). These two villages (which are selected under the CIDA Restore Project) 

are located along the Batticaloa lagoon and hence they have mangrove patches. 

Both areas consist of several true mangrove species such as Rhizophora mucronata, 

Aegiceras corniculata, Avicennia sp., Lumnitzera racemosa, Sonneratia caseolaris, 

Excoecaria agallocha, and mangrove associate species such as Acanthus ilicifolius, 

Acrostichum aureum, Clerodendron inerme, Dolichandrone spathacea, Sesuvium 

portulacastrum, and Derris trifoliate. Though there are several species, Lumnitzera 

sp and rare species Aegiceras corniculata dominant in Palameenmadu while 

Excoecaria agallocha is dominated in Puthukudiyeruppu. As a mangrove fauna, 

Cerithidea cingulata, Nerita sp, Saccostrea sp, Gelonia sp, Anadara granosa, 

Balanus sp, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus semisulcatus, Scylla serrata, and 

Periophthalmus koelreuteri are present in both areas but species diversity is rich in 

Paalameenmadu. Mangrove forests in these two villages are being destroyed at an 

alarming rate due to several anthropogenic activities such as over extraction by 

local community, destruction for security purposes and destruction by the 

mismanagement of district administrators. Therefore, it is very essential to preserve 

the mangrove forest in the two villages. In this regard, a multifaceted approach is 

pivotally important to preserve the pristine mangrove ecosystem in Batticaloa 

district. This multifaceted approach should include identification of the mangrove 

forest, formulation of suitable regulation, conserving existing forests by applying 

strict and suitable measures to combat further destruction, launching public 

awareness programs, carrying out mangrove re-vegetation program which are 

properly planned with the participation of general public. As a part of this 

multifaceted approach, the CIDA Restore project has established a mangrove 

nursery with community participation to supply the needed saplings for mangrove 

afforestation in those villages. 

Keywords: afforestation, Batticaloa Lagoon, ecosystem, mangroves, multifaceted 

approach.

112 

Introduction 

Mangroves are one among the important natural resources in Batticaloa district and 

flourished along the coast of the three lagoons such as Batticaloa lagoon, 

Valachchenai lagoon and Vaakari lagoon. The term mangrove consists of several 

definitions by different authors. Some indicate that the word mangroves refers to 

different species of plants growing on the shores of a lagoon with special 

adaptations to saline conditions (Pinto, 1986; Amarasinghe, 1996), while others 

indicate that the word mangroves is used to refer to a particular tropical, coastal 

ecosystem (de Silva and de Silva, 2006). Though the definitions vary, it is a natural 

ecosystem and it can be called a mangrove ecosystem, which is defined as the intertidal 

and supra tidal zone of muddy shores in bays, lagoons and estuaries dominated 

by highly adapted woody halophytes, associated with continuous water courses, 

swamps and backwaters, together with their population of plants and animals (Pinto, 

1986). The term inter-tidal indicates a region that is lying between a high tide level 

(during the rainy season) and a low tide level (during the dry season) in a bank of 

lagoons, estuaries or the sea. Mangroves inhabit an unstable environment, 

fluctuating temperature and salinity, alternating aerobic and anaerobic conditions, 

periodically wet and dry, and shifting substratum (Hogarth, 1999). 

This rich ecosystem caters several environmental and economical functions to the 

surrounding peoples directly and indirectly. Supporting rich biodiversity, prevention 

of coastal erosion, sea surge mitigation, facilitation of fish and shellfish spawning 

are some environmental functions of mangroves (Vinobaba, 2008a). Increase of fish 

and shellfish production, fuel wood, timber, edible products, medicinal use of 

plants, use in brush pile fishing and tourism are some of the socio-economic 

functions. The mangroves patches are present along the coast line of Batticaloa and 

some recent studies carried out by NARA reveals that there are only 960ha of 

Mangroves in Batticaloa district (NARA, 2008). It is obvious that mangroves of big 

trees are very rare in Batticaloa. Though the mangroves support the community in 

several ways in Batticaloa district, it is being continuously destroyed by several 

factors (2008a). 

In this respect, the present concept paper discusses the mangrove biodiversity, its 

destruction and the need of proper rehabilitation measures that has to be adopted in 

two villages such as Paalameenmadu and Puthukudiyeruppu. Paalameenmadu and 

Puthukudiyeruppu are the two villages, which were selected in the CIDA Restore 

Project. Paalameenmadu is located close to northern Bar Mouth of Batticaloa 

Lagoon in Manmunai North DS division and Puthukudiyeruppu is also located 

along the bank of Batticaloa lagoon. These two villages had abundant mangrove 

forests from the time immemorial but nowadays both villages have only patches of 

mangroves.

113 

Present biodiversity in both villages 

In Paalemeenmadu village, the present cover of mangroves, the wetland and its 

associated flora was about 40-50%, the remaining area being under the influence of 

human such as settlements and coconut plantations. The average height of the 

mangrove trees was approximately 8m with a maximum of 10m. Trees, herbs and 

ferns were common in this ecosystem (Mathiventhan, 2007). Mangrove patches are 

present along the bank of peripheral wetlands and bank of Batticaloa Lagoon 

(Fig.4.1). Based on the field observation, six true mangroves such as Rhizophora sp, 

Aegiceras corniculata, Avicennia sp., Lumnitzera racemosa, Sonneratia caseolaris, 

and Excoecaria agallocha, and five back mangroves (mangroves associates) such as 

Acanthus ilicifolius, Acrostichum aureum, Clerodendron inerme, Dolichandrone 

spathacea, and Cerbera manghas were observed 3 . The dominant species in this area 

is Lumnitzera racemosa and rare species is Aegiceras corniculata, only one plant of 

which is observed in this area. As fauna, Cerithidea cingulata, Gelonia sp, 

Gafrarium sp, Saccostrea sp, and Terebralia palustris, Crab, Fish and Shrimps were 

observed. 

In Puthukudiyeruppu, mangrove patches are located along the bank of Batticaloa 

lagoon (Fig.4.2). This village is covered by about 30% of area of mangrove forest 

which is dominated only by Excoecaria agallocha and Derris trifoliate was also 

observed in this area. Mangrove floral diversity is low compared to 

Paalameenmadu. As fauna, Crocodile and bird were observed in addition to the fish 

(Vinobaba 2008a,b). 

Anthropogenic disturbances on mangroves 

The Mangrove forest in both villages is being continuously damaged by several 

anthropogenic impacts. Such impacts can be classified into three major categories 

i.e. 

1. Over extraction by local community. 

2. Destruction for security purpose. 

3. Destruction by the mismanagement of bureaucrats. 

These are three major ways by which mangroves can be destroyed. 

3 The classification of true mangroves and mangrove associates is based on the Jayatissa et. 

al., (2002)

114 

Over extraction by local community 

Mangroves are destroyed mainly for fuel wood and in some places mangrove plants 

were destroyed for the purpose of producing charcoal by public. At the same time, 

some species of mangrove i.e. Rhizophora sp are destroyed severely for taking bark 

of this tree, which are then used to dye the fishing net. However, comparatively 

destruction of mangrove by this way is much less significant. 

Destruction for security purpose 

This is very common in Batticaloa where mangroves are severely destroyed for 

security purposes. Due to the warfare of the country, huge areas of the mangrove 

forest were destroyed for security purposes. This can be observed 

Puthukudiyeruppu.This includes both regular cutting of trees and regular fire of 

mangrove forest. About 40% of the mangrove forest was destroyed in this way in 

Puthukudiyeruppu. Comparatively damage caused by this method is higher than the 

destruction by local people.

115 

Figure 4.1: Satellite images showing mangrove patches along the coast of 

peripheral wetlands of Paalameenmadu 

Source: Google Earth.

116 

Destruction by the mismanagement of district administration 

This is very destructive and very common in Batticaloa. The failure of management 

by district administration in various sectors has resulted in the mangrove 

destruction. This has increased after the recent Tsunami on 26 th December 2004. 

This is not only restricted in these two villages but common all over the Batticaloa 

district. The table 4.1 shows the extent of mangrove in Batticaloa district by several 

authors and government departments (such as Dept. of Forestry, Planning and 

Statistics Division of Katcheri, Batticaloa). 

Figure 4.2: Satellite images showing mangrove patches along the coast of 

Batticaloa Lagoon in Puthukudiyeruppu 

Source: Google Earth

117 

Table 4.1: Extent of mangrove in Batticaloa district according to different authors 

No Author/s or Organization Published 

Year 

Area 

(ha) 

01 Pinto, L 1986 1520 

02 North-East Report 1993 1390 

03 Mala Amaraginha 1996 1303 

04 Poikai magazine, Forest Department, Batticaloa 2001 1672 

05 Nallairajha & Jeyasingam 2001 1525 

06 Eastern Province Coastal Community Development 

Project 

Mid Term Report (March 2002) 

07 Statistical handbook, Batticaloa District, Planning 

Secretariat 


Secretariat 

2002 1421 

2004 1606 

2005 1606 

09 Forest Department 2006 1855 


Secretariat 


Secretariat 

2006 1606 

2007 1606 

According to this table, it is very obvious that both government department and 

researchers have failed in reporting the correct extent of the mangrove in Batticaloa 

district. Though there are several mangrove destruction over the district, there is no 

change in mangrove forest cover from the initial value (1606ha.) according to the 

district statistics handbook from 2004 to 2007 (the statistical handbook of previous 

also indicate the same). 

Moreover, two publication of Dept of Forestry, Batticaloa show very critical data. 

According to Poikai magazine in 2001, mangrove extent is 1672ha but according to 

their 2006 publication it is increased to 1855ha. So according to the Dept of 

Forestry information, there is no destruction in mangrove but an increase in forest 

cover. A recent study NARA indicates only 996ha. mangroves are present in 

Batticaloa (NARA, 2008). Therefore, this depicts how the district administration of 

various government bodies fail to pay attention to the mangrove ecosystem in 

Batticaloa.

118 

The failure in management leads to several consequences in the Paalameenmadu 

village. Such consequences are urban sprawling, extraction of mangroves for 

fishing and unplanned development. 

a. Urban sprawl 

People who live near to mangrove forest expand their fences into the wetlands and 

occupy the forest land gradually (as a means of extending their land surfaceencroachment 

into the wet land). 

b. Extraction for fishing 

According to the 2001 regulation of Batticaloa lagoon (under the Fisheries and 

Aquatic Resource act No 2 of 1996), no one can erect branches into the lagoon for 

the purpose of taking fish using Brush pile fishery. But failure to enforce this 

provision of that particular act by Dept of Fisheries leads to a loss of mangrove 

forest by severe brush pile fishery operation within Batticaloa lagoon. 

c. Unplanned development 

This is the most destructive of all others. In the recent past especially after the 

Tsunami 2004, mismanagement of district administration has had a high level of 

adverse impacts on the forest by permitting some NGOs to implement improper 

urban development programme (Vinobaba, 2008b). This has resulted in severe 

destruction of the forest. About 30% of mangroves were destroyed in 

Paalameenmadu by unplanned developmental activities. 

Need for the rehabilitation of mangrove vegetation 

Earlier it was reported that about 1606ha of mangroves were present in the 

Batticaloa but recent studies indicates that there are only about 960ha of mangroves 

at present. This reduction in forest cover indicates the need to conserve the existing 

mangrove forest from further declining. Further, deforestation of mangroves leads 

to long term threats for the existence of macro-benthic mangrove-associated 

communities (Fondo and Martens, 1998) and ultimately leads to lost fisheries 

production in Batticaloa Lagoon. Hence, it is very important to rehabilitate the 

mangrove vegetation in these two villages. 

The present trend in mangrove rehabilitation 

In recent periods, some non-governmental organizations are engaged in the revegetation 

of mangroves in the Batticaloa district including Paalameenmadu. They 

brought the mangrove saplings from somewhere and plant them into the lagoon. 

Different NGOs have co-ordination among them in sharing the coastal area of the

119 

lagoon for mangrove re-planting and in the shore allocated for them they replant the 

mangrove saplings. This method of rehabilitation is common in Batticaloa district. 

This mangrove re-vegetation program relies on less scientific approach. Because, 

mangrove saplings are being planted within the lagoon boundary, this will, in the 

long run, make drastic geomorphic changes in the lagoon system as it induces 

sedimentation in the re-vegetated portion of the lagoon. Further, particular areas in 

the future will be dominated by non-native species, which may become exotic for 

that particular area. Often they fail to consider the existing mangrove zoning pattern 

in this district so that it decreases the success of the re-vegetation programme.

120 

Identification of mangrove 

forest 

Identification of Potential 

forest 

Supporting Research 

Programme 

Identification of floral 

and faunal composition 

Formulation of regulation 

Formulation of 

regulations 

Strengthening existing 

regulation 

Declaring protected 

areas 

Components of 

Multi-Faceted 

Approach 

Launching public awareness 

Launching awareness 

among General public 

using audio-visual tools. 

Launching awareness 

among school children 

Erection of hoardings 

Mangrove re-vegetation 

Carried out with public 

participation 

Establishing mangrove 

nursery 

Re-vegetation with 

scientific background 

Planting native species 

and avoiding non-native 

species. 

Managing re-planted 

mangroves. 

Managing the existing forest 

Applying strict 

measures to protect the 

existing forest. 

Declaring protected 

areas 

Allowing the aboriginal 

use of mangroves by 

local communities. 

Bringing in the public 

participation in 

management 

Establishing Eco- 

Tourism. 

Making a self-sustained 

Figure 4.3: Components of Multifaceted approach

121 

Multifaceted approach in mangrove rehabilitation 

The mangrove re-vegetation programme is a one dimensional approach to preserve 

the mangrove ecosystem and it will never be effective in this regard as it fails to 

prevent the continuing adulteration of the mangrove ecosystem. This entire 

programme focuses only on re-vegetation in the allocated area but fails to protect 

the already existing forest. 

Therefore, rather than merely depending on the mangrove re-vegetation, it is 

essential to conserve the existing mangrove forest. Hence, a multifaceted approach 

is pivotally important to preserve the pristine mangrove ecosystem in Batticaloa 

district. The multifaceted approach brings a win-win situation where the local 

people’s economy is protected along with the ecosystem and it ensures the 

sustainable use of natural resource rather than strict conservation. The components 

of this multifaceted approach are shown in the figure 3, which consists of a series of 

major activities in the rehabilitation of the mangrove vegetation in particular areas. 

1. Identification of mangrove forest 

This should be a first step in the rehabilitation of the mangrove forest, where the 

mangrove area, which has the potential to be an important to the area of concern 

and to the environment, should be identified and it includes estimating the extent of 

mangrove forest, identification of fauna and flora, and valuation of particular 

mangrove forest. This could be achieved through promoting the research activities 

and the research should be on various aspects such as biological, environmental and 

economical aspects. 

2. Formulation of Regulation 

In order to control the human malpractices on mangrove and associated wetlands, 

proper legislative background is very important. Proper regulation should control 

the destruction of mangrove forest and urban encroachment into the wetland and 

should declare particular mangrove forest as Protected Areas. 

The formulation of regulation could be achieved by giving suggestions to the 

provincial or central government to formulate strict regulations or strengthening the 

existing regulation to protect the mangrove forest in Batticaloa district. Having a 

discussion with stakeholders such as environmental officers, district Government 

Agent, Conservator General of forest, political leaders such as Ministers, chief 

minister/eastern province, Local authority leaders, and Environmental Ministers or 

with their secretaries will facilitate the formulation of regulation or strengthening 

the existing regulation.

122 

3. Launching Public Awareness 

This is one of the important steps in the mangrove rehabilitation process. All the 

conservation or management measures regarding a natural resource will end in 

failure unless it is companied with a proper public education programme. The 

public education programme will earn the support for the particular project from the 

surrounding general public. Therefore, a public education programme regarding the 

importance of the mangroves should be launched as a part of preserving this pristine 

ecosystem. Public awareness could be brought about by having workshops or audiovisual 

seminars for the general public and by art and essay competition among 

school children. As a part of public awareness programme, erection of hoardings 

can also be carried out to make people aware of the importance of mangroves. 

4. Managing the existing forest 

Management of a natural resource has both natural ecosystem and human 

components and it does not mean controlling human use of mangrove vegetation 

but it allows t o use this forest in a sustainable manner. As such, the people of 

nearby communities should be allowed within the protected areas or the areas under 

management, for their aboriginal use of mangrove forest but in a non-harmful or 

non-destructive, environmental friendly manner. 

This can also be managed by completely protecting the forest (without any access to 

local people) for certain periods, then after gradually allowing the people to use the 

forest in non-harmful manner. 

A well managed mangrove forest will be utilized as a place for eco-tourism by 

establishing the forest as a Mangrove Park. Eco-tourism can be generated through 

several ways. The tourists can be attracted in order to enjoy the natural beauty 

within the Mangrove Park, for bird watching, for boating within the some part of 

Batticaloa lagoon along the mangrove fringe, etc. It is important to say here that 

some already existing mangrove areas have a great significance for harbouring the 

migratory birds, which are believed to be native to the Australian continent. 

Therefore, this will add additional benefits for an Eco-tourism centre. Therefore, it 

is obvious that the direct economical benefits can be gained from the Eco-tourism. 

The economic output will cover up the expenditure for the management of the 

ecosystem. Hence, it works as a self-sustained system. 

In addition to direct benefits, people in the surrounding area can enjoy the economic 

gains in tourism associated activities such as boating, Coffee shop, selling 

handicraft items, etc.

123 

5. Re-vegetation of mangroves 

This is one of the important aspects of mangrove rehabilitation in order to afforest 

the areas where mangrove vegetations were destroyed. Re-vegetation should 

consider the following aspects. 

 

 

 

 

 

It should have public participation: Without the public’s participation, we 

could not achieve the success in the replanting. This will create a 

responsibility to each citizen to protect the mangrove. The public 

participation is not only necessary in re-planting but essential in nursery 

practices and even in managing the re-planted mangroves as well. 

Native species should be planted and non-native species should be avoided: 

Introducing a new plant or animals should not be done without proper 

studies regarding their invasiveness. Newly introduced species may become 

invasive to that particular area even it is present in other parts of this 

country. Therefore, avoiding new species and planting native species will 

not harm at any instances. 

Mangrove Nursery should be established locally: Having a locally managed 

mangrove nursery is another important part for the re-vegetation 

programme as it carries several benefits such as reducing the expenditure 

for mangrove saplings and supplying the native species (Vinobaba 2008 a, 

b). 

It should consider the mangrove zoning, commonly present in that area: All 

the species of mangrove do not grow anywhere in the inter-tidal region. 

Floral composition varies in a particular pattern from lagoon/sea bank to the 

landward side. This pattern of floral composition is called as mangrove 

zonation. The mangrove zoning is not the same everywhere. It varies from 

country to country and even within a particular country, it varies from place 

to place. Therefore, before commencing the re-vegetation programme, it is 

very important to study the mangrove zoning of that particular area unless it 

will end in failure due to the low survival of re-planted mangrove saplings. 

Further, re-planting should not be done within the lagoon premises. This 

will change the lagoon geo-morphology in the long run due to increased 

sedimentation and the reduced survival rate of re-planted mangroves. 

Management of re-planted mangroves: Every replanted sapling should be 

managed until it stands well in that particular area unless it reduces the 

success of the programme. This could be accomplished through well 

organised public participation.

124 

Conclusion 

The mangrove forest is a highly interwoven ecosystem in the villages of 

Paalameenmadu and Puthukudiyeruppu as it supports the surrounding people both 

aesthetically and economically. However, the mangrove forest face threats in 

Batticaloa district in various ways. It includes both natural and anthropogenic 

factors. Hence, protecting this pristine natural resource is an important aspect of 

environmental management. In this regard, several organizations (both government 

and non-government) are engaged in mangrove re-vegetation in recent time. But the 

re-vegetation only will not result in sound management of natural resource. 

Hence, this paper proposes a sound management system through multi-faceted 

approach. The mangrove re-vegetation is a single part of that multi-faceted 

approach. The proposed management model will bring both environmental and 

economical outputs to the surrounding community and will serve as self-sustained 

management system. 


The authors acknowledge are to District Administration, Village Heads, Staff of 

Department of Fisheries, Department of Forestry, Batticaloa, the entire team of 

CIDA Restore project for the support to conduct the trainings and mangrove 

rehabilitation needs training workshops and financial support by CIDA throughout. 

Bibliography 

Amarasinghe, M. (1996). Mangroves in Sri Lanka, NARA 

De Silva, P.K and De Silva, M. (2006). Mangroves of Sri Lanka. 

Dept. of Forestry, Batticaloa. (2001). Poikai, Mangrove Ecosystem (Tamil) 

Dept. of Forestry, Batticaloa. (2006). Mangrove Ecosystem of Sri Lanka (Tamil). 

Published Under FAO Forest Rehabilitation Project. 

District Statistical Handbook, Batticaloa. (2004, 05, 06, 07). published by Planning 

Secretariat, Kachcheri, Batticaloa. 

Fondo, E.N. and Martens, E.E. (1998). Effects of Mangrove Deforestation on 

Macrofaunal Densities, Gazi bay, Kenya. Mangroves and Salt Marshes. City 

Kluwer Academic Publishers. (2). p. 75-83.

125 

Hogarth, P.J. (1999). The Biology of Mangroves. Biology of Habitats. Oxford 

University Press. p. 1-32 

Jayatissa, L.P., Gahdough-Guebas, F. and Koedam, N. (2002). A Review of the 

Floral Composition and Distribution of Mangroves in Sri Lanka. Botanical J. of 

the Linnaean Society. The Linnaean Society London. (138). p. 29-43. 

Mathiventhan, T. (2007). Ecological and Social Resilience of Mangroves of 

Batticaloa, Sri Lanka in the face of Human Activities, Conflict and Natural Hazards. 

Unpublished M. Sc Thesis. Norwegian University of Life Sciences 

Midterm Report. (March 2002). Eastern province coastal community development 

project, Sri Lanka. 

Nallarajah and Jeyasingam. (2001). Economic valuation of depletion of mangroves 

in the Batticaloa District. 

Pinto, L. (1986). Mangroves of Sri Lanka. Natural Resources, Energy, and science 

Authority of Sri Lanka. 

Shantharuban, S. and Vinobaba, P. (2008a). Anthropogenic impacts on mangrove 

vegetation in Palameenmadu and Puthukudiyiruppu, Batticaloa and the needs for an 

establishment of Nursery.First conference of the CIDA Restore project, Tangerine 

Beach Hotel- Kalutara, 28 th April 2008, p3. 

Vinobaba, P. (2008b). Status of the mangrove and associated anthropogenic 

disturbances to the ecosystem, Batticaloa lagoon, Sri Lanka. International 

conference on Biodiversity and conservation. BIOCAM 2008. p 20-21.

126

MILK FISH FARMING IN CAGES TO ENHANCE THE 

INCOME FOR FISHERMEN FROM PALAMEENMADU 

AND TO PRESERVE THE BIODIVERSITY IN THE WILD 

ECOSYSTEM 

P. Vinobaba and S. Dharshini 

Abstract 

Milkfish (Chanos chanos) is an important food fish for South East Asian countries. 

This is an euryhaline species can have the ability to tolerate wide range of salinity 

and can survive in fresh water systems. The supply of cheap animal protein is vital 

for the increasing global human population. In the present context, the per capital 

consumption for a person is expects at 115 gram per day however, on an average 

consumes about 80 gram per day. This indicates the need for substitutive 

aquaculture production expected to meet the market demand for fish. One such 

option would be farming milk fish in captivity such as pen cages or floating cages. 

This venture throws the ways and means for hatchery technology to produce milk 

fish fingerlings, fry and advanced fingerling for stocking ponds. This promotes the 

healthy fry production and the wild fry will not be touched so the biodiversity will 

not be affected by the growing concerns of milk fish farming in present day. Small 

fish of average standard length of 15 mm placed into the floating cages (3’ x 4’ x 

2’) and left to grow without fish feed. They feed naturally from the water circulating 

through the cages such as phytoplankton, algae, where the fertilization takes place 

regularly to boost the algal production. The fish were left in cages for 6 months and 

depends on the market price the fish being harvested and sold out to the market. 

Keywords: animal protein, chanos chanos, euryhaline,milkfish, tolerate 

Introduction 

In Sri Lanka, there are no records of any traditional aquacultural practices except 

perhaps the "wala" fishery referred to by Willey (1910). Brackish water aquaculture 

was initiated very recently as an experimental venture with a view to its promotion. 

The brackish water areas of Sri Lanka consist of about 80,000ha of estuaries and 

large deep lagoons and about 40 000ha of shallow lagoons, tidal flats and mangrove 

swamps. The brackish water aquaculture potential of Sri Lanka is estimated to be 

about 120,000ha. (Thayaparan and Chakrabarty, 1984). Several sites were found in

128 

beach, river mouth and mangrove areas were potential sites for both fry and 

fingerling. 

Milkfish, Chanos cbanos (Forsk) is a marine fish which grows to a meter in length. 

Adults approach the coasts to breed and the young are carried or swim into brackish 

water lagoons, mangrove swamps, and tidal flats (Juario, et.al. 1984). Schuster 

(1952) points out that spawning of Chanos chanos possibly takes place twice a year. 

Milkfish fry and fingerlings are abundant in coastal and brackish water areas in Sri 

Lanka. There is some evidence that there are also two spawning seasons round the 

coasts of Sri Lanka. The major one extends from March to June with a peak in 

April-May (Ramanathan and Jayamaha, 1970), and another season in August- 

September. Fry are available during the season on the west coast in the Mannar, 

Kalpitiya and Negambo areas. The tidal flats in the Mannar region serve as the main 

fry grounds. The annual fry production potential of the Mannar tidal flats is 

estimated to be about 4 million. Surveys indicate the availability of fry along the 

east coast in the Kokilai and Batticaloa areas, but not in sufficiently large numbers 

to merit large-scale collections. 

Milkfish (Chanos chanos) is an important food fish. The success of milkfish as a 

cultured food fish species may be attributed to its ability to tolerate extremes of 

environmental conditions. These conditions include extremes of temperatures, 

salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, crowding and starvation (Duenas and 

Young, 1983). Their adaptability to these factors has allowed milkfish culturists to 

exploit the species by manipulating culture conditions. 

Milkfish is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. Milkfish farms would be 

not only a good source of protein for human diets and an alternative to the depletion 

of fish from the sea and thus a way to ameliorate an environmental pressure, but 

also a source of income for villagers and farmers as tuna bait as well. Over the 

years, there has been a big steady demand for milkfish in the country. It has also 

been doing well in the international market. 

Sri Lanka is a developing country, with rapid increase in population. This condition 

results in demand for dietary protein requirement, in order to supplement this need 

increase the fish yield per unit area with low cost is the only solution .This 

tremendous level of production from a Milk fish commodity is projected to further 

increase in the coming years to meet the dietary protein needs of an ever-growing 

population in Sri Lanka. 

The cage aquaculture sub sector has grown very rapidly during the past 20 years 

and is presently undergoing rapid changes in response to pressures from 

globalization and a growing global demand for aquatic products. Recent studies 

have predicted that fish consumption in developing and developed countries will 

increase by 57 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Rapid population growth, 

increasing affluence and urbanization in developing countries are leading to major 

changes in supply and demand for animal protein, from both livestock and fish.

129 

Within aquaculture production systems, there has been a move toward the clustering 

of existing cages as well as toward the development and use of more intensive cagefarming 

systems. In particular, the need for suitable sites has resulted in the cage 

aquaculture sub sector accessing and expanding into new untapped open-water 

culture areas such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers and coastal brackish and marine 

offshore waters. 

Preferred areas for milkfish pond development are areas used for salt production or 

in salt flats found behind the mangrove zone. Other than environmental 

consideration, pond selection requires specific water levels, soil texture and 

supporting infrastructure. Technical aspects of pond site selection criteria are 

detailed in Requintina et. al. (2006). 

Milk fish culture provides a continuous production that supports a steady supply 

and income for the fish farmers. Sri Lankan’s have more affinity towards fish in 

their daily diet. Our farming site at Paalameenmadu, in Batticaloa, is an ideal place 

consists of all water quality requirements for optimal growth, naturally for milk 

fish; hence we have selected this site as the most suitable place for milk fish 

farming. It is a small village located about 5 kilometers from the Batticaloa town. 

Table 4.2: Physiochemical parameters suitable for milk fish farming 

Parameter Optimum level 

Dissolved oxygen 3-5 ppm 

Temperature 22-35 o C 

Salinity 

18-32 ppt 

pH 6.8-8.7 

Source: AQUA SEAFDEC News 

The place called Paalameenmadu in Batticaloa is popular for milk fish and hence 

the place is named thus. This area having good environmental conditions for 

optimal growth as a result there was abundance of milk fish in early days. The main 

industry of the natives of this area is fishing and the fisher folks of this area having 

a good knowledge about the milk fish. Later on due to illegal fishing, destruction of 

mangroves, over fishing and environmental pollution, there is a depletion of milk 

fish in this area. Due to these reasons also by way of safe guarding the natural stock 

of milk fish in this area, the environmental friendly milk fish cage culture is 

introduced through CIDA restore project for enhance their livelihood of fisher folks. 

Objectives of the present project are 

1. The objective of this study is to find out the milk fish grown in this culture 

within the 6 month culture period is attaining the marketable size. 

2. Employment generation and poverty alleviation in the countryside.

130 

3. Promotion of fish cage culture as alternative source of livelihood for 

marginalized and sustenance fisher folk. 

4. To develop an area with appropriate equipment and infrastructure that will 

allow fishermen, fish farmers and investors to operate cost-effectively and 

securely. 

5. Develop skilled and technically capable fisher folk to support the livelihood 

of fishermen. 

6. To promote the use of environment-friendly inputs and farm management 

practices. 


Through the series of awareness program for the fisher folks of this area are 

educated in milk fish cage culture. After this program a group of 20 families 

selected on the basis those who have an affinity towards this cage culture, families 

worst effected in the Tsunami disaster and families have poor economic stand. Thus 

selected families were provided with one cage each. Among them 5 cages only 

selected for experimental studies. 

Initially a brackish water pond in Paalamenmadu selected. Then all the water in the 

said pond is drained out, debris cleared away, all holes, mounds, and depressions 

were leveled and the pond is allowed to dry until soil cracks on exposing to sunlight 

for about 1-2 weeks. Thereafter, the pond is filled up to 15cm depth, this water 

drained after 3 days. In order to sanitize the pond bottom and maintain a pH apply 

enough lime. Also add urea, chicken manure, ammonium phosphate to fertilize the 

pond and to stimulate the growth of natural food organisms. Once the colour of 

water in the pond appears green, due to the floating algal matter, pond is filled 

gradually. The pond is fertilized to enhance natural food for the culture, by 

stimulating the growth of blue green algae and phytoplankton. Initially the 

physiochemical parameters of the water body were measured using the equipments 

purchased through the CIDA Restore Project. 

Figure 4.4: Pond used for farming 

Figure 4.5: Plastic coated galvanized wire 

mesh cage

131 

Floating cages were constructed in the following dimensions: 3’ x 4’ x 2’. Frame is 

made out of metal and covered with plastic coated galvanized wire mesh. Fish cages 

are set up in shallow water at the depth of about 35cm with appropriate floats and 

anchors. Fries were brought from Puttalam. Then the standard length and weight of 

the fries were measured; before caging the fries permit to acclimate, partially 

submerge the fry container and tilt to one side to allow pond water to flow in, make 

sure that salinity and temperature levels in the fry container are slowly brought 

closer to those of pond. 

Figure 4.6: Acclimatization process 

Figure 4.7: Cage in operation 

These 5 cages are distributed at 5 meters distance apart in the pond. Every cage is 

seeded with 30 fingerlings and cages are maintained by the selected families but 

readings are taken by our project leaders. Weight and standard length of fingerlings 

along with the salinity of the pond were measured fortnightly. Weight measured by 

electronic balance, standard length of the fish measured by fish scale while salinity 

was measured by portable ATAGO, S/MillE Hand Refractometer. Form the average 

readings obtained from each cages, a final average reading was obtained from all 

each average readings. This study was carried out from December 2007 to May 

2008 

In the cage maintenance, the dirt that cling to the cage is removed on weekly basis 

by brushing manually or spraying high pressurized water to enhance the natural free 

flow of water for feeding. After 6 month of farming cycle harvest was made, the 

weights and standard lengths of fish were measured and results compared with 

natural fish. 

In addition, the cost of expenditures of and the income from the milk fish sales were 

calculated to estimate the net profit per cage. 

Results 

Results from the milk fish farming indicated that milkfish farming in cages are 

possible and growth and survival can be achieved through proper management and

132 

natural feeding. Table 4.3 shows the water quality parameters of the pond at the 

beginning of farming. 

Table 4.3: Physiochemical parameters at the site of milk fish farming 

Parameter Value 

Dissolved oxygen 2-4 ppm 

Temperature 31.9 o C 

Salinity 

1-15 ppt 

pH 7.9 

Table 4.4: Summary of the stocked, harvested and survival percentage of fish 

Cage no No. of fish stocked No. of fish harvested % of survival 

1 30 25 83.33 

2 30 28 93.33 

3 30 30 100 

4 30 29 96.67 

5 30 28 93.33 

In our experiment, the mean survival percentage was 93.33% and mean mortality 

was 6.67%. 

Table 4.5: Summary of the readings from December to May 

Week Average length Average Weight Salinity 

2 2.56 2.148 1 

4 2.68 9.824 1 

6 3.16 20.222 1 

8 5.8 30.516 2 

10 8.32 45.684 2 

12 10.36 56.81 5 

14 16 164.06 9 

16 27.94 220.06 7 

18 37.68 318.34 12 

20 49.42 395.42 12 

22 60.5 492.34 11 

24 71.64 558.5 15

133 

Figure 4.8: Changes of Average length along with Salinity 

Figure 4.9: Changes of Average weight along with Salinity 

Figure 4.10: Harvested milk fish ready for sale 

In this experiment, average weight of a harvested fish during farming cycle was 

558.5gm.

134 

Table 4.6: Cost benefit analysis of each cage in the first farming cycle 

Description Quantity Rate (Rs) Total (Rs) Profit 

Expenditure 

Floating cage 5 Nos 6000.00 30,000.00 

Fingerlings 30 fry/cage 15.00 2,250.00 

Fertilization 2200.00 

34,450.00 

Sales 

No. of cages No. of Kg harvested 

Cage 1 13 750.00/Kg 9,750.00 

Cage 2 15.38 11,535.00 

Cage 3 18.10 13,575.00 

Cage 4 14.73 11,047.50 

Cage 5 17.14 12,855.00 

58,762.50 

For five cages 24,312.50 

For one cage 4,862.50 

Discussion 

Initially growth and standard length increment were meager because of the Salinity 

variation in our pond. Initially up to the February salinity varies between the 0ppt to 

5ppt because of heavy shower. However from the March to May salinity varies 

between 5 ppt to 15ppt. Milk fish is euryhaline fish, shows optimal growth at higher 

salinity therefore growth and standard length increment were lower in first 3 months 

here after weight gain and length are suddenly increasing. 

In our experiment, the mean survival percentage was 93.33% and mean mortality 

was 6.67%. The mortality was at an acceptable level and it was experienced at the 

initial stages of the farming. These initial mortalities occurred during first three 

months could be due to a highly stressed, new environment, salinity changes and 

poor handling during transport and stocking. It is therefore felt that the survival rate 

can be improved considerably through better handling, transporting and stocking. 

Lee 1986 stated that, the normal size of fish for stocking is about 2.5 to 5cm long, 

and about 1 to 2 grams in weight. A marketable size milkfish weighing 250 grams 

but from our studies same size and weight fingerlings were used but it grows in 6 

months 500 to 600 grams. 

In cage, the activities of fish is restricted, therefore of energy loss is low hence the 

chance of increasing the weight of the fish compared to wild is more, However, 

cage culture site pond water quality more or less same for the optimal growth of 

milk fish.

135 

This method is cost effective, because as this process in entirely on natural food 

which eliminates the expenditure involved in artificial food supply, only the cost 

involves in enhancing the phytoplankton and blue green contents by fertilizing by 

chicken manure: urea: ammonium phosphate 3:1:1 ratio, which in no way will 

appreciably affect in economic point of view. As the cage was made up of 

galvanized wire mesh, the cleaning of debris and seaweed clinked on it be easily 

removed by manual brushing or spraying high pressure water, which in turn greatly 

reduces the maintenance cost. 

However very little is known about the seasonal abundance and distribution of 

milkfish fry along the shorelines and estuarine, areas very little is known about the 

best harvest methods for fry and fingerlings, this is currently a limiting factor to 

extensive expansion of farming. There is a need for action research on fingerling/fry 

collection and transport for commercial farming purposes without jeopardizing the 

environment. 

Milk fish culture provides a continuous production that supports a steady supply 

and income for the fish farmers, apart from the main job. Whereas, without 

spending much time for this type of culture. Sri Lankans have greater affinity for 

fish in their diet. Fishermen and farmers seem increasingly interested in supplying 

it. 

After 6-7 month of culture fish reach 500-600g each. Also nearly 15kg fish can be 

harvested from each cage which is sold at 750/= per kilo. Cages and fries are 

supplied by CIDA therefore no expenditure for fisher folks. At off season though 

the harvests lessen the dried fish fetch a high price in the market thus the economic 

trend remains same. 

In Sri Lanka most lagoons are short and seasonal and do not support sustainable 

fisheries. The best way of overcome this resistance to this innovation is to introduce 

Milk fish farming gradually, while ensuring that the methods employed are those 

most certain to achieve positive economic results. If more fish can thus be made 

available for food, and additional income can be derived too. 

There are abundant shrimp ponds in the coastal belt of Batticaloa. These ponds also 

can be utilized for milk fish farming in a productive manner with least cost and also 

unused salt farms, prawn farms or swamps and marshlands can be developed into 

brackish water productive milkfish ponds. 

Milk fish is Euryhaline fish can survive in abrupt environmental conditions. The 

success of milkfish as a cultured food fish species may be attributed to its ability to 

tolerate extremes of environmental conditions. These conditions include extremes 

of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, crowding and 

starvation. Their adaptability to these factors has allowed milkfish culturists to 

exploit the species by manipulating culture conditions. Our farming site closer to 

the bar mouth will lead the possibilities of fresh water input into our site will cause

136 

the change in water quality parameter. This factor will not affect the milk fish 

culture. Even though the fries have the ability to adjust the crowed condition and 

starvation will help to increase the number of fries in each cages, thus resulting 

bloated income. 

This method is environment friendly method because this culture is also a better 

alternative method to prevent depletion of fish from the wild (sea or lagoon) and 

thus a way to ameliorate an environmental pressure. 

Fish culture can actually mitigate the decline of fish stocks decimated by 

overfishing and environmental changes. In addition to decreasing the dependence 

on natural stocks, fish culture may help to re-stock populations by the release of 

cultured larvae or juveniles into the wild to bolster natural populations. From our 

survey we found the farming site of Batticaloa lagoon is abundance with 

carnivorous fish like Tachysuras, and Omnivorous Tilapia sp. in order to preserve 

biodiversity we have choose floating cage farming method. We stocked the 

fingerlings into the cage until they attain a certain size and some of them are left 

into wild ecosystem to maintain natural balance. 

Using Plastic coated galvanized wire mesh prevents metal erosion and harmful 

effect to the culture systems and to the enviornment. 

It is characteristic of milkfish that given unfavorable living conditions such as 

crowding, insufficient food, low water temperature, or low pH, etc., their growth 

would be slow or non-existent. However, when given good living conditions, the 

fish would grow faster than their normal growth rate even after having been 

subjected to those previous unfavourable conditions. This process is called 

“stunting” (Castanos, et.al., 1995). It is common that milkfish farmers buy the total 

number of fry required for the year during peak collection season, and stunt them 

until they can sell them at a good price when they are not as plentiful, before the 

next collection period. This way, the farmers can take advantage of low prices, and 

the volume they need is available at one time. This can be done in all areas where 

there is a pronounced peak season of fry collection during the onset of monsoon. 

If we provide diet of artificial feed in pellet form, when we over feed unutilized 

pellet can reach the bottom it decomposed by micro organism thus alternative of 

natural food web structure can significantly impact the natural environment. Wild 

stocks of fish can be depleted for use in formulated feeds for milk fish, moreover 

sedentary animals die in water depleted of O 2 resulting from microbes. Although 

any species of phytoplankton can benefit from an increased nutrient supply, certain 

species are noxious or even toxic to other marine organisms and to humans. The 

spines of some diatoms (e.g. Chaetoceros concavicornis) can irritate the gills of 

fish, causing decreased production or even death. Importantly, blooms of certain 

species such as Chattonella sp often produce biological toxins that can kill other 

organisms. Neurotoxins produced by several blue green algal species can create a

137 

serious health risk to people consuming contaminated fish. Therefore we are only 

focusing on natural feeding in order to preserve existing wild stocks. 

Biodiversity is impacted in several ways by illegal fishing practices including used 

undersize mesh net, dynamite fishing, light fishing while shrimp farming practices 

including destruction of mangrove swamps and pollution of natural water bodies 

and also our farming site is one of the most environmentally stressed coastal area of 

the Batticaloa district by both the Tsunami disaster of December 2004 and the 

destruction of ecologically sensitive (Mangroves) area due to unplanned 

developmental activities following Tsunami (Santharooban and Vinobaba, 2007). 

These activities severely impact on milk fish. Above mention activity will pave the 

path to the loss of important spawning and nursery grounds of milk fish and affects 

local fisheries resulting in reduced yields for local fishermen. On the other hand 

destruction of mangroves negatively impacts the milk fish population because of 

them spend a portion of their lifecycle in mangrove forests. Therefore we are 

focusing on cage culture farming. 

From our results, the Chanos chanos showed good growth and reached marketable 

size in 6 months. This method is environment friendly and good option for the 

alternative livelihood. This fish showed good growth performance in higher salinity 

values. 


We are thankful to CIDA for their financial assistance and their corporation 

throughout the project period. We wish to thank the fisher folks of the 

Paalamenmadu for their help us in various ways to carry out the experiments 

successfully. 

Bibliography 

Castanos, M., Badilles, D., and Buendia. (1995). Milk fish culture of AQUA 

SEAFDEC FARM NEWS, Publication of Aquaculture Deaprtment, Tigbauan. 

Lloilo, Philippines, Vol.XIII No.6, ISSN 0116-6573, pp 4-27 

Duenas, C.E. and Young, P.S. (1983). Salinity tolerance and resistance of milkfish 

larvae. Second International Milkfish Aquaculture Conference Iloilo City, 

Philippines. 4–8 October 1983. Abstract 

Juario, J.V., Ferraris, R.P. and Benitez, L.V. (1984). Advances in Milkfish Biology 

and Culture. Island Publishing House, Manila. pp. 243

138 

Lee, C.S., Gordon, M.S., and Watanabe, W.O. (1986). Aquaculture of Milkfish 

(Chanos chanos): State of the Art. The Oceanic Institute of Hawaii USA. pp. 209– 

216. 

Ramanathan, S. and Jaysmaha, D.I.S. (1970). On the collection, acclimatization of 

the fry of Chanos Chanos for brackish water pond culture in Ceylon. Coastal 

aquaculture in the Indo-Pacific region, oclited by 'T. Tr. K.Pillay. West Byflcet, 

Surrey, Fishing News (Boolis) Ltd. pp. 244-50 

Requintina, E.D., Mmochi, A.J., and Msuya, F.E. (2006). A Guide to Milkfish 

Culture in Tanzania. Sustainable Coastal Communities and Ecosystems Program. 

Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, Institute of Marine Sciences, 

University of Hawaii,Hilo and the Coastal Resources Center, University of Rhode 

Island. p. 49 

Santharooban, S. and Vinobaba, P. (2007). How can mangroves be protected and 

be used in a proper way An Awareness Hand book. CIDA Restore Project 

Publication. Eastern University, Sri Lanka. 

Schuster, W. H. (1952).Fish culture in brackishwater ponds of Java. P&/. IPFC, 

(I):143 1'. 

Thayaparan, K. and Chakrabarty, R.D. (1984). Conference 2. Milkfish aquaculture 

in Sri Lanka International Milkfish Aquaculture Conference, Iloilo City 

(Philippines), Manila (Philippines) 

Willey, A. (1910). Note on the freshwater fisheries of Ceylon.7: 88-106

M.F. Nawas 

A SIMPLIFIED APPROACH TO TREAT 

WASTERWATER FROM DYEING INDUSTRY 

Abstract 

Dyes production, textilepreparation, dyeing and finishing plants are currentlybeing 

forced to treat their effluents at least partiallyprior to discharge to environment 

because of the high organic load, strong and resistantcolour as well as high 

dissolved solids content of thedischarged wastewater. Acouple of wastewater 

treatment activities werecarried out under the CIDA Restore Project at Akbar 

village, where dyeing industries operate traditionally for years. One of those dyeing 

factories that generates wastewater is located close to the sea beach, which is the 

main recreactional site of the region. Certainphysico-chemical parameters, such as 

pH, EC, DO, temperaturewere measured in-situand samples were taken to the 

Labforfurtheranalysis and trial treatment methods. Thesole objective of this short 

term project was to reduce the colour intensity of the effluent by any simple means, 

such as filtration and sedimentation. The exercise provided promissing results 

(reduction of colour intensity) in the lab and trial field studies. However, when 

those simple techniques were applied in the field continuously, many drawbacks 

were noticed. Field trials, thereforerevealedthat theneed for more research 

components to be incorporated and furtherinvestigationsare required for alonger 

period of time with larger/varying volumes of wastewater. 

Keywords: dye, filtration, sedimantation, wastewater,water pollution 

Introduction 

A dye can generally be described as a coloured substance, either natural or 

synthetic, that has an affinity to the substrate (paper, textile, leather, hair, etc) to 

which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and 

may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fibre. 

Discoveries in colour science created new industries and drove changes in fashion 

and taste. The first human-made (synthetic) dye, Mauveine, (discoveredby William 

Henry Perkinin 1856) was a forerunner for the development of hundreds of 

synthetic dyes and pigments.Many thousands of synthetic dyes have since been 

prepared.Synthetic dyes quickly replaced the traditional natural dyes; they cost less,

140 

offered a vast range of new colours, and imparted better properties upon the dyed 

materials. By the closing decades of the 19th century, textiles, paints, and other 

commodities in colours such as red, crimson, blue, and purple had become 

affordable. 

As with many other industrialsectors, growing concern about environmentalissues 

has prompted the dye industry and textile industry to investigate more 

appropriateand environmentally friendly treatmenttechnologies to meet the 

discharge restraints that arebecoming stricter every day. Wastewater derived from 

the production of dyesis highly variable in composition, and contains a largenumber 

of different compounds such as raw materials (anilines), intermediate products, and 

even the dyeitself (Sarasa et. al., 1998).Dyes production, textilepreparation, dyeing 

and finishing plants are currentlybeing forced to treat their effluents at least 

partiallyprior to discharge to publicly owned treatment worksbecause of the high 

organic load, strong and resistantcolour as well as high dissolved solids content of 

thedischarged wastewater (Arslan, 2001). 

Conventional treatments of wastewater containingorganic compounds include 

biological oxidation, chemical coagulation, advanced oxidation andadsorption. 

Biological methods are generally cheapand simple to apply and are currently used 

to removeorganics and colour from dyeing and textile wastewater.However, 

wastewater from dyeing processes cannot be readilydegraded by conventional 

biological processes, such as the activated sludge process, because the structuresof 

most commercial dye compounds are generallyvery complex and many dyes 

arenon-biodegradable due to their chemical nature, molecularsize; thus, this results 

in sludge bulking (Yuan et. al., 2006). Althoughdyestuffs and colour materials in 

wastewatercan be effectively destroyed by wet oxidation, advancedchemical 

oxidation such as H 2 O 2 /UV, O 3 , andadsorption using activated carbon, the costs of 

thesemethods are relatively high (Kim et. al., 2004; Liu andJiang, 2005; Wen et. al., 

2005). Presently, wastewaterfrom dye manufacturing industry is usually treated 

bycombination process of biological treatment and coagulationtreatment, before 

being fed to the biologicaltreatment units, coagulation can reduce the 

wastewaterloading and thus reduce the treatment cost. 

The effluents from dyeing industries make the environment unaesthetic, 

contaminate groundwater and hence will cause ill effects on health the inhabitants. 

The dyeing industries, considered in this project, contribute a effects on their 

environment by sending untreated dye wastewater into the environment. The 

owners of the dyeing industries had either no idea of wastewater treatment or don’t 

want to spend money on wastewater treatment. As a result, they were facing 

pressure from the Kalmunai Municipal Council, Physical Health Inspector (PHI), 

neighbours and the recreational users of the beach. Some of the owners were at the 

verge of closing the industry, which would have resulted in losing jobs for him and 

his employees. Also, the handloom industry too would have suffered without raw 

material (coloured yarn) for their products.

141 

Although, all the components of the wastewater from the dye industry may cause 

harm to the environment, the visible and striking factor for those who oppose the 

industry is the coloured particles of the wastewater. Our main objective in this 

project, therefore, was to remove or reduce the colour intensity of the effluent, at 

low cost and effort. 


Site Location 

Akbar village is part of Maruthamunai, a village that is located in the eastern 

province of Sri Lanka at the boarder between the Ampara and Batticaloa districts. 

The area of Maruthamunai is around 2.11km 2 and the population is around 15,420. 

There are around 7 dyeing processing units operating in Maruthamunai which 6 are 

located within the Akbar village. 

Sampling strategy 

Two dyeing industries from Akbar village were selected for treating their 

wastewaters. Of the two monitored, the one located closse to the beach, was taken 

for monitoring/research. Four sampling surveys took place over the period of April 

to July 2008. Three replicate samples were collected fresh from the effluent on each 

visit and transported quickly (within 3 hours) to the Centre for Soil and Water 

Research Laboratory, located at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sammanthurai, 

while parameters such as Dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature were measured 

and recorded at the site itself. 

Materials 

Materials included filter papers (whatman, pore size 100m), charcoal generated as 

a by- product of the dyeing process as well assand and coarse soil obtained from the 

sea beach. 

Procedures 

First, we provided counseling to the dyeing industry owners.Then we collected 

samples for laboratory analyses. We tried very simple, basic techniques such as 

filtration, sedimentation, etc. toremove and/or decrease the colour (intensity) of the 

wastewater fromdyeing industry so that the operational cost is none or negligibly 

small. 

A portion of the raw wastewater was subjected to chemical analysis; another portion 

was filtered through filter paper and the filtrate was subjected to chemical analysis. 

A third portion of the raw wastewater was allowed to stand for the dye particles

142 

settling under the influence of gravity and the time of settlementwas recorded.The 

supernatant was taken for analysis. 

Analytical methods 

All samples were replicated 3 times for chemical analysis. Samples used for 

measuring nitrate (NO 3- ) and orthophosphates (PO 4 3- ) were gravity filtered using 

100 m (whatman) filter paper. Nitrate was measured using the cadmium reduction 

method and phosphate used the ascorbic acid method using a HACH, DR-2010 

Spectrophotometer. Suspended solids were measured directly using the photometric 

method of the HACH, DR-2010. COD analysis was performed accordingto 

Standard Methods (APHA, 1980). 

Dissolved oxygen and pH were measured directly using handheld DO and pH 

meters. Temperature was measured using a handheld mercury thermometer. 

Results 

Characteristic analysis of wastewater 

The majority of the compounds found in wastewaters generated from a dyeing 

industry are phenol derivatives, aniline derivatives,organic acid and benzene 

derivatives. Some of the identified compounds arechlorinated derivatives, resulting 

from the chlorinationtreatment (bleaching) carried out by some industries (Sarasa et. 

al., 1998). The presence of compounds belonging to List Iof EEC and U.S.E.P.A. 

“Priority Pollutant List", such asp-nitroaniline, p-nitrophenol is noteworthy. Table 

4.7 provides a list of some majorcompounds characterized in raw wastewaters. 

Thecompounds are classified in groups according to theirprincipal functional group. 

This study was severely restricted by resources (such as lack of sophisticated 

instruments, like HPLC, GC, MS, etc) and therefore was unable to confirm the 

components present in the wastewater effluents. However, the data acquired (tables 

4.8 and 4.9) do indicate that significant amounts of one or many of the the 

components given in the following Table 4.7. 

Table 4.7: Major compounds identified in raw andtreated water (Yuan et. al.2006) 

Compound Relative content (%) 

Phenol 1.67 

p-Nitrophenol 4.40 

Biphenyl-4,4'-diol 1.10 

2, 4-Dinitro-phenol 1.13 

Phenol derivatives 3.96

143 

Aniline 0.97 

Benzene-1,3-diamine 1.35 

3,4-Dichloro-phenylamine 1.39 

3-(phenylamino)-propanenitrile 6.18 

N-Propyl-benzenamine 1.91 

p-Nitroaniline 1.98 

p-Pentylaniline 1.98 

2,6-Dichloro-benzene-1,4-diamine 0.43 

Benzoic acid 1.41 

Benzyl alcohol 8.19 

Naphthalene 3.71 

Quinoline 1.40 

2-Methyl naphthalene 3.97 

Biphenyl 3.56 

Table 4.8:Values of certain parameters measured in raw and treated dye wastewater 

Ex. 

No 

Parameter 

Raw 

Water 

Charcoal 

(Resulted from 

dyeing process) 

Treated water, with 

Sand 

(From sea 

beach) 

Filtration 

(Commercial 

filter paper) 

01 pH 10.2 8.5 8.7 8.4 

02 EC (μS / cm) 4,563 1,439 1,127 1,030 

03 TDS (mg/L) 1,200 713 555 505 

04 DO (mg/L) 0.3 2.2 3.0 3.2 

05 Turbidity (FU) 45 33 24 22 

06 Colour (Pt-Co) 98 95 59 44 

07 SS (mg/L) 78 42 30 28 

08 COD (mg/L) 978 721 585 510 

The performance of COD removal by chemicalcoagulation depends upon the 

solubility of the organiccontaminants. The organic contaminants withlow solubility, 

such as disperse dyes, have been generallyreported to be removed well by 

coagulationand/or flotation methods. The organic contaminantswith low solubility 

can be easily adsorbed and flocculatedby coagulants (Al-Degs et. al., 2000). 

However,the soluble organic contaminants cannot be wellremoved efficiently by 

coagulation. As organic acidsand benzyl alcohol have -COO−, -OH groups, 

thesecontaminants have high solubility and are not prone tobe adsorbed.

144 

Table 4.9: A comparison of two different raw water samples 

Ex.No. Parameters 05.06.2008 

Red Dye 

Green Dye 

01. pH 9.23 10.05 

02 EC (μS/cm) 30,900 46,900 

03. TDS (mg/l) 18.46 29.6 

04. Salinity (ppt) 19.2 30.6 

05. DO (mg/l) 4 0.7 

06. Color (Units) 43 37 

07. Nitrate (mg/l) 662.5 911.3 

08. Phosphate (mg/l) 0.00 0.19 

09. Fluoride (mg/l) 0.0 0.0 

10. Ammonia (mg/l) 45.00 103.75 

Discussion 

The counselling provided self confidence and hope for the dyeing industry owner 

and his employees, almost all of them were victims to the 2004 Tsunami. This 

study is an example of low-cost, water quality monitoring survey/water treatment 

method in a remote, rural province in Sri Lanka as a number of cost-saving 

approaches were applied in this project. 

The colour reduction at the laboratory studies revealed that with charcoal (burnt 

firewood) was 3.1%, with sand, 39.8%, and with filter paper, 55.1%. Whereas the 

field studies indicated, the reduction of the colour intensity was fairly reasonable 

(around 30%), resulted in minimising at least negative comments from the 

neighbours and officials, hence, the owner is relaxed now. 

The COD studies were also promising. According to the laboratory studies, the 

COD values were reduced as follows: with charcoal (burnt firewood) the reduction 

is 26.3%, with sand, 40.2% and with filter paper, 47.9%. The field studies indicated 

the reduction of the COD values by around 29%. 

Although, this project provided self confidence and job security to the dyeing 

industry owner and his employees, we could not investigate the real components 

present in the effluent, and hence wouldn’t do the right treatment it needed due to 

various restrictions and limitations which we had, such as lack of sophisticated 

instruments (e.g., AAS, GC-MS, HPLC, etc.). 

The validity of the above figures were not statistically analysed due to the small 

sample size. If done repeatedly for a longer period, statistically reliable results could 

be found.

145 

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Al-Degs, Y., Khraishen, M.A.M., Al1enand, S.J., Ahmad, M.N. (2000). Effect of 

carbon surface chemistry on theremoval of reactive dyes from textile effluent. Wat. 

Res.,34(3):927-935. 

APHA. (1980). Standard Methods for the Examination of Waterand 

Wastewater (16 th Ed.). American Public Health Association,Washington, D.C. 

Arslan, I. (2001). Treatability of a simulated disperse dye-bathby ferrous iron 

coagulation, ozonation, and ferrousiron-catalyzed ozonation. J. of Hazardous 

Materials,B85:229-241. 

Kim, T.K., Park, C., Shin, E., and Kim, S. (2004). Decolourization ofdisperse and 

reactive dye solutions using ferric chloride.Desalination, 161:49-58. 

Liu, Y.J., Jiang, and X.Z. (2005). Phenol degradation by a nonpulseddiaphragm 

glow discharge in an aqueous solution.Environ. Sci. Technol., 39(21):8512-8517. 

Sarasa, J., Roche, M.P., Ormad, M.P., Gimeno, E., Puig, A. and Ovelleiro, J.L. 

(1998). Treatment of a wastewater resultingfrom dyes manufacturing with ozone 

and chemical coagulation.Wat. Res., 32(9):2721-2727. 

Wen, Y.Z., Liu, W.Q., Fang, Z.H., and Liu, W.P. (2005). Effect ofadsorption 

interferents on removal of reactive red 195 dyein wastewater by chitosan. J. of 

Environmental Science―China, 17(5):766-769. 

YUAN Yu-li, WEN Yue-zhong, LI Xiao-ying, and LUO Si-zhen. (2006). Treatment 

of wastewater from dye manufacturing industryby coagulation. J. Zhejiang Univ. 

Science A. 7 (Suppl. II):340-344

146

147 

SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITY BASED 

HOUSEHOLD SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: LESSONS 

LEARNED FROM RUHUNA - CIDA RESTORE PROJECT 

L.M. Abeywickrama, S. Subasinghe and Ranjith Senaratne 

Abstract 

The inefficient collection and disposal of solid wastes and the consequent 

widespread scattering and dumping of garbage is a pressing issue in municipal 

areas of Sri Lanka. Since the tsunami of 2004 and subsequent activities related to it, 

much solid waste has been deposited along sea beaches adjoining Matara, creating 

an unpleasant environment. The Ruhuna-CIDA Tsunami Restoration Project 

cleaned the beach in the Madiha village through shramadana campaigns and 

distribution of concrete compost bins among households to produce compost 

fertilizer using kitchen and garden waste. Urban agricultural techniques were 

introduced to make compost from household waste, and people were encouraged to 

cultivate vegetables using modern home-gardening methods. 

A sample survey was conducted to study the benefits of the waste management and 

agricultural activities, the attitudes and views of the stakeholders, and problems 

faced by the project activities. It revealed that about 25 families sell their surplus 

vegetables to neighbours, trader middlemen and nearby markets. The annual value 

of sales is up to Rs. 25,000 as informed by the households. As an average family 

spends about Rs. 2,000 monthly for vegetables, total savings by the households 

under the project is an estimated Rs. 1,920,000 annually, which exceeds the total 

cost of the project component for land- based ecosystems. It should be noted that 

the estimated benefit is conservative as it excludes income from sale of surplus, 

sharing of harvest with neighbours, the benefit of availability of tasty and pesticidefree 

fresh vegetables near home, and an increased intake of fresh vegetables. 

Moreover, the project has induced people outside the project boundaries to buy 

compost bins. 

The social impact of the program included another aspect of the project besides 

reducing garbage in public places. The study aimed to measure the changes in 

indicators of social harmony resulting from the programme. Transformational 

Development Indicators (TDIs) were used to measure social impacts of waste 

management. The analysis revealed that waste related social conflicts and several 

other forms of conflict have been significantly reduced. Among TDIs, caring for 

others, sharing the resources, sharing knowledge and experience, community 

participation in shared voluntary activities, communication among neighbours, 

leadership and decision making by women, and social recognition of neglected 

social groups have significantly improved as a result of the project. The study 

further revealed that trivial conflicts within the society which could be the seeds of

148 

catastrophic conflicts can be can be significantly averted and social harmony 

improved through project activities. 

The study identified that poor attitudes and lack of understanding of the public, 

social friction stirred by waste collectors in the municipal system, local tourists, 

bureaucracy and local politics as significant hindrances to project activities, as 

they discouraged participants. Correct identification of disruptive groups, 

strengthening of civil society and conducting awareness programs, and offering a 

new role for the fleet of waste collectors will help the progress of community-based 

household waste management program. Despite the hindrances, it can be claimed 

that the project activities have been relevant, cost effective and sustainable for 

replication in similar communities. 

Introduction 

Waste management is an emergent and pressing issue in Sri Lanka and mainly 

concerns the collection and disposal of solid waste by widespread scattering and 

deposition of garbage on dumping grounds. Improperly dumped waste impedes 

water flows in drainage canals, and provides breeding places for disease vectors 

such as rats, mosquitoes, and flies. The final disposal is predominantly open 

dumping which leads to worsening environmental degradation and growing health 

problems. The national solid waste management strategy is to establish proper solid 

waste management systems throughout the country, and local action plans are 

urgently needed to implement this strategy. Most of Sri Lanka’s waste is currently 

disposed of in open dumps. The country lacks appropriate waste management 

equipment and technologies. Local authorities are seeking affordable and proven 

technologies as well as funding solutions, especially in matters of resource recovery 

and landfill management. 

Waste dumping has long been a problem and led to health and environmental 

problems in the community. The size of the problem has increased recently as the 

proportion of paper, glass and plastics in the waste has increased. Plastics pose 

problems relating to their decay resistance as they can take centuries to break down 

naturally. Habit has meant that plastic waste is often thrown onto the street where it 

attracts and accumulates vermin and insects, which in turn spread disease. 

Biodegradable waste is also commonly thrown to the street and can cause 

environmental and health problems. Besides such pollution, water and food 

contamination have risen, and there is an increased incidence of dengue fever in 

some areas. 

Community-based waste management is considered a promising strategy for 

improving environmental conditions in low income settlements. One school of 

thought emphasizes that people should radically change their attitudes and habits, 

while another emphasizes greater income opportunities in recycling should as the 

only way to achieve a sustainable garbage collection service. Both schools assume

149 

that the community through its leaders and organizations is able to initiate and 

enforce lasting changes of habits, and that the community is capable of planning 

and managing waste collection/recycling enterprises. The ability of formal and 

informal leaders to influence and organize community members is indeed one of the 

factors underlying successful projects. 

Owing to rapid urban growth, the volume of waste added to the waste stream is on 

the rise. There is a scarcity of land for use as dumping ground or landfill sites. In Sri 

Lanka, waste management is still the responsibility of local authorities, of whom 

many face not only the problem of inefficient waste management but also their 

inability to deal with issues of health and sanitation aggravated by environmental 

pollution from the urban waste. Formulation of a sustainable waste management 

system has become a priority for local and central government agencies involved in 

urban development in Sri Lanka. In this context, segments of the civil society 

specially, community groups and Non-Governmental Organizations have gained 

increased recognition as capable institutions to find sustainable solutions for the 

solid waste problem in urban areas. With the government increasingly unable to 

provide services, housing and infrastructure to the rapidly growing population, its 

role is changing from being a provider to enabler. The state becomes the facilitator 

of the public-private partnerships, as the community also takes responsibilities for 

providing services to the poor. 

The general objective of the study is to develop a sustainable solid waste 

management model while disseminating the knowledge available in university and 

other research institutions through community participation. The following are the 

specific objectives: (1) to estimate different categories of solid waste disposed in 

Matara; (2) to identify matters affecting the proposed waste management and home 

gardening model; (3) to identify attitudes towards and impact on solid wastes and 

different solid waste management techniques; (4) to evaluate the reduction in 

organic solid waste collection within the area as a result of project activities. 

Review of literature and conceptual framework 

According to the solid waste study of the National Building Research Organization 

of Sri Lanka none of the usual methods of treatment such as size-reduction, 

composting or incineration are used by the CMC. All waste, therefore, is disposed 

on open dump sites located in adjoining local authorities owing to the nonavailability 

of land within the CMC. None of municipal sites used qualify to be 

sanitary landfills. A potential landfill with seven years’ capacity has been identified 

13km away from Colombo and is to be developed as the first sanitary landfill in the 

country. 

In Sri Lanka, the entire responsibility for Solid Waste Management (SWM) rests on 

Local Authorities (Table 2.1) under respective legal enactments. Powers in relation 

to SWM have been vested in the Municipal Council Ordinance – order under

150 

section 129, 130 and 131, No 29 dated 1947, Urban Council Ordinance - order 

under sections 118,119 and 120, No 61 dated 1938 and Pradeshiya Sabha Act – 

sections 93, 94 and 95, No 15 dated 1986. 

According to available information, proposed landfills are expected to generate at 

least 1000 direct employment opportunities with the setting up of compost plants at 

Meerigama, Dompe, Kaluthara, Anuradapura, Vaunia, Jaffna, and landfills (having 

20 years lifetime) at Panadura, Dompe, Kaluthara, Anuradapura, Polonnaruwa, 

Hikkaduwa, Matara, Badulla, Kuliyapitiya, Oluvil, Vauniya and Jaffna. In addition 

to the direct benefits, Pilisaru will reduce the current dependence on fossil fuel, by 

generating electricity through biogas which produces organic manure and also 

reduce harmful effect or use of chemical fertilizer. Green tax would be introduced 

under the Pilisaru Project; this means that polluters have to pay the monetary cost of 

their pollution. It is estimated that income from this tax will be 2000 million rupees 

in 2011. Regular monitoring of SWM is carried out though CEO and legal action is 

taken against local authorities who do not carry out proper SWM programme. 

(Central Environmental Authority, 2008) 

The average waste collection in Matara Municipal Council was estimated at 35 

tons/day in 2006. Composition of the Matara District household waste (by volume) 

was estimated as, kitchen waste 42%, garden waste 39%, plastic and polythene 7%, 

paper 6%, and others 6%. Per capita household waste generated within the Matara 

municipal area is 280g per day. The total population of the Matara Municipality is 

42,717. Form these data we can estimate the total house hold waste generated 

within the area as 12 Mt. This waste can be considered as a very good source for 

composting. (Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, 2005) 

Households generally dump or burn their waste. Dumping is usually in a shallow pit 

in the ground, along the roadside, on a nearby dumpsite, in low-lying marshland, or 

in waterways or water bodies. Dumped material is often periodically burned. Local 

authorities usually dump their collected waste on privately owned land. Finding 

suitable sites is difficult, and current sites are therefore often over-used. A review of 

dumpsites of the Greater Colombo Area (GCA) under the Colombo Environmental 

Improvement Project in 1999/2000 found that the 41 existing disposal sites in the 

GCA were all open dumps, with the exception of one where market waste buried in 

trenches. The same study reported that more than 60% of the sites were on privately 

owned lands. Private lands are released as dump sites largely for reclamation of the 

land for purposes of building construction. Most of the disposal sites in the GCA are 

small in extent, with around 70% of them less than 1ha in extent; and 46% of the 

sites have a remaining life of less than around 3 years. (Central Environmental 

Authority, 2008) 

Vasantharuba (2001) estimated the willingness to pay for the solid waste 

management, in Kandy and Kalutara urban council areas, based on with open ended 

questions on willingness to pay. Willingness to pay in Kandy and Kalutara was, on 

average, Rs 25.77 and 28.93 per month per household, respectively. The mean

151 

values for willingness to pay for the same group of sites, based on closed ended 

questions, were Rs 27.95 and 28.98, respectively. As the reliability of these values 

was high, several authors suggested using these values to estimate potential revenue 

from an improved solid waste management system in Kandy and Kalutara urban 

council areas. Alwis (2002) conducted research on the “Financial Viability Analysis 

of Solid waste Management Options in Kandy and Kalutara urban Councils”. Ten 

viable options for SWM were analyzed for financial benefits derived in a form of a 

user fee achieved by a contingent valuation study conducted in the Kandy and 

Kalutara municipalities. According to the financial analysis, the lowest cost option 

was composting the wet part and selling the dry part in the recycling market. With 

environmental benefits considered, both composting and recycling are desirable 

options for effective management of solid waste. Thus Alwis recommended 

composting as the most appropriate method of SWM, among the existing options. 

Generation of waste is rising with increasing population, technological development 

and changes in life style of people. Therefore policies need to be formulated to 

encourage waste management practices through waste avoidance/reduction, reuse 

and recycling, and final disposal thereafter in an environmentally sound manner. 

For policies relating to waste management in Sri Lanka, we may consider the 

Municipal Council Ordinance, the Urban Council Ordinance, the Pradeshiya Sabha 

Act, the National Environment Act, Amendment to the National Environmental 

(Protection & Quality) regulations No.01 of 1990, the Basel Convention and the 

Rotterdam Convention. 

The flow diagram in Fig.4.11 summarises the developed conceptual frame for 

sustainable waste management based on a review of available literature

152 

Planning and management 

Strategic planning, Institutional 

arrangement, public 

participation, 

Waste generation 

Waste prevention, Waste 

minimization, 

Waste handling 

Waste treatment 

Effective participation of 

Community 

Institutions 

Sustainable management of 

Household waste 

Social and cultural 

context 

Economic Context 

Environmental 

context 

Figure 4.11: Conceptual frame for sustainable waste management 

Methodology 

The study mainly concerned kitchen waste management. The project was planned 

for implementation at the Madiha GN division in the Matara Municipality. The 

Ruhuna - CIDA Tsunami Restoration Project cleared the sea beach of debris and 

litter in the Madiha village through a series of shramadana campaigns and provided 

concrete compost bins to households to produce compost fertilizer using 

decomposable kitchen waste and garden waste. Urban agricultural techniques were 

introduced to use compost from household waste and people were mobilized to 

cultivate vegetables using modern home - gardening techniques. A sample survey 

was conducted to find the benefits of this waste management project and subsequent 

agricultural activities, attitudes and views of the stakeholders, and problems of the 

project activities. Initially, concrete composting bins, planting materials, and 

necessary information and training on home gardening were provided free to 

selected families with the expectation that, as the project activities progressed, 

others will bear the cost of composting bins and planting materials according to 

following work plan (see Fig.4.12).

153 

1 st STEP 2 nd STEP 3 rd STEP 

Initial Group 

Second Group 

Third Group 

Free 

Concessionary price 

Real price 

Sustainable management of household waste 

Figure 4.12: Plan for sustainable waste management 

A baseline survey and social mobilization programme were conducted initially to 

estimate the solid waste generation and to make the people aware of sustainable 

household solid waste management. Training included modern techniques of 

preparation of compost and home gardening. The research survey was conduct to 

identify the current situation in the part of Madiha where the project was being 

implemented. The objectives of the survey were to identify the present methods of 

waste disposal, identify the attitudes of people towards waste management, estimate 

the composition of household waste, and identify the relationship between 

composition of household waste and living standard. Project activities were planned 

using the following model (see Fig.4.13) with a view to develop a pleasant 

environment, reduce cost of food procurement and increase family income through 

home garden products, and improve social harmony and the learning environment. 

Papers 

Polythene 

Glasses 

Bottles 

Garden waste 

Kitchen wastes 

Idle labour 

Waste water 

The project 

Dirty Waster causing 

Problems of handling 

Economic output Utility 

Environment of Social 

harmony

154 

Figure 4.13: Model of waste disposal methods 

In addition to the use of descriptive statistics to explain the project outcome, social 

aspects of the project were measured on a five-point scale from -2 (drastically 

worsened, -1 somewhat worsened, 0 not changed, +1 somewhat improved, +2 

highly improved). Measurements were made using the criteria of transformational 

development indicators (TDIs). The Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test was used to analyze 

the rank data. 

Results and Discussion 

The baseline survey showed that 30% of the households separate waste and 70% do 

not. Also 57% of the households use the municipal council tractor to dispose of the 

waste. The final survey showed a large reduction in kitchen waste in the municipal 

waste collection implying a reduction in collection costs and the recycling of 

kitchen waste for home gardening. Figure 4.14 shows the proportions of solid waste 

disposed of by municipal collection before and after the project. 

Percentage 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

91 

81 

56 

40 

19 

9 

Kitchen Garden Paper 

Base line 

Present 

Figure 4.14: Disposal of different categories of waste by municipal collection 

before and after the project 

Of the total waste production, 48% was generated as kitchen waste. Least generated 

waste type is garden waste that percentage is 0.16% that is negligible (see Fig.4.15).

155 

39% 

48% 

0% 

7% 

6% 

Kitchen wastes Plastic/Polythene Paper/Cardboard 

Garden wastes Glasses 

Figure 4.15: Waste composition on volume basis 

It was revealed that separation of waste by category is practiced only by 30% of the 

households. So, for the success of sustainable waste management, the project thus 

has to target the 70% who do not separate waste by category. Figure 4.16 shows 

changes in behaviour of the people in the project site after the introduction of 

project activities. 

100 

Percentage 

(%) 

75 

50 

25 

0 

Compostin 

g 

Poly bags 

& throw 

MC 

Tractor 

At base line survey(%) 30 9 57 4 

Present situation(%) 100 0 0 0 

Pits 

Figure 4.16: Reduction in kitchen waste in sample households 

Improvement of social harmony and co-operation, and several other criteria were 

identified. One is relationship with neighbours. Almost 90% of the community are 

familiar with neighbours and of them 69% shared their harvest and other equipment 

with neighbours. The remaining 31% needed to improve their relationship with 

neighbours. The positive impact of the project on the whole community is evident 

from the rise in the number of households that share from 63% in the baseline 

survey to 86% in the final survey. Another important criterion concerned the 

heaping of the waste in front of the houses in the selected house holders.

156 

Initially, 97% of the households reported that waste is always heaped in front of 

their houses and they blamed the neighbours for this situation. Incidence of 

accumulation of rubbish in front of houses has fallen to 20% and attitudes are more 

positive towards neighbours. Another criterion was attitude towards the 

surroundings since the implementation of the waste management project. Social 

attitude is a critical issue which directly affects social harmony. Changing the 

attitudes of people requires a long term effort and hard work. However, the 

introduction of urban agricultural techniques not only improved social harmony but 

also contributed to closer relationship among family members. Almost 57% of the 

selected community agreed that they had a beautiful and calm environment as a 

result of the project, 23% said that it was beautiful but not calm, and 10% that it was 

calm but not beautiful environment, 6% did not agree that the environment was 

good, and 4% had no idea. 

The project was able to fill a larger gap that existed between two social classes in 

the project area in the Matara Municipality. The target populations included rich 

and educated people who are considered as high class, government officers 

considered as middle class, and poor class. For the success of the research 

participatory approach of each family was important. But it was not easy to meet 

families together, but regular visits and arranging awareness programs helped in the 

development of social harmony in the area. Table 4.10 gives the impressions of the 

people about selected social aspects of the project activities. The results reveal that 

many of the social and environmental aspects have improved as a result of the 

project activities. 

Table 4.10: Views of the people on improvements in selected social and 

environmental aspects 

Criteria 

% of the respondents 

Reduction of waste related problems 72 

Reduction of conflicts 66 

Reduction of stray dogs 54 

Sharing planting materials 47 

Sharing the product 38 

Sharing knowledge and experience 43 

Caring for others 62 

Community participation in shared activities 64 

Communication among neighbors 58 

Social recognition of neglected group of the society 44 

Improved environment 67 

Productive use of leisure times 90 

Improved learning environment at households 78 

Lowering garbage in roads 71

157 

Table 4.11 shows the results of statistical analysis (The Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test) 

which tested different hypotheses of social views towards the improvement of 

different environmental and social aspects. The results revealed that several social 

and environmental aspects of the project area have been significantly improved with 

the project activities. 

Table 4.11: Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test results for environmental and social aspects 

of project activities 

Criteria Mean Z 

Reduction of waste related problems 0.78 2.34 

Reduction of conflicts 0.67 2.53 

Reduction of stray dogs 0.85 3.23 

Sharing planting materials 1.03 5.87 

Sharing the products 1.12 6.89 

Sharing knowledge and experience 1.32 8.98 

Caring for others 0.98 3.54 

Community participation in shared activities 0.76 2.09 

Communication among neighbors 0.74 3.04 

Social recognition of neglected group of the society 0.45 2.08 

Improved environment 1.16 5.76 

Productive use of leisure times 1.23 6.32 

Improved learning environment at households 0.97 2.09 

Lowering garbage in roads 1.13 4.34 

New relationships with different group of people 0.65 2.03 

Positive and negative responses were recorded through participatory observations, 

informal discussions and complaints made by the participants of the project and by 

interviewing different stakeholders, including officers of the Municipal Council, 

members of the fleet of waste collectors of Matara Municipality, political 

authorities in both ruling and opposition parties, participants in the project and the 

general public of the area. Recorded cases were classified to identify social 

obstacles to urban household waste management programs. The main obstacle at the 

beginning was the attitude of the majority of households (63 records) as they 

thought that all house hold and garden waste should be collected by the 

municipality to justify the tax collected by the municipality. The second group was 

the comparatively rich households (23) who do not participate in public activities 

organized by the community or CBOs. They also threw their household waste on 

roadsides. The third group was the fleet of garbage collectors (17) including truck 

drivers working for the municipality. The technical staff of the Municipal Council 

also were against the community-based waste management projects as some of 

them misuse the fleet of garbage collectors and other resources of the municipality 

for their personal benefit and such practices are possible only when a huge amount 

of garbage is collected daily. The experience gained proved that addressing the 

issues of social obstacles is important while shifting from a conventional urban

158 

household waste collection to community-based household waste management by 

internalizing the externalities for a pleasant environment. Awareness programs to 

convince the job security of the labour force involved in the conventional system of 

waste collection and to change the attitude of the people will help community-based 

waste management projects. 

Regarding the composting bins, 52% were satisfied with no problem, 43% said that 

it could be better and 5% were not satisfied. Out of the selected households, 

production of compost occurred within 1-3 months for 6%, within 3-6 months for 

43% and after more than 6 months for 51%. The longer period was due to rainy 

conditions that caused water-logging in the area. This led to the rotting of 

composting materials so that the householders were advised to start composting 

afresh. Existing problems for surveyed householders are difficulty in turning or 

moving the bin 23%, too slow composting 17%, problems with snails and files 

14%, low capacity 3%, difficulty in removing compost 3%; and no difficulties were 

reported by 34%. Overall, the survey respondents were very satisfied with the 

concrete composting bin, which offered very few problems. 

Conclusions 

The sustainable household waste management was clearly evident during the 

research period. Community participation is the key to sustainable solid waste 

management. The research also guided people to make use of things that they 

considered to be “waste”. The municipal council has also benefited through the 

project owing to the reduction in kitchen waste in the area. The per capita kitchen 

waste generation was estimated at 280 g/day so that the total household waste 

generation was 12 ton per day in the Matara municipality. The quality of compost 

from kitchen waste management complied with standard quality parameters for 

compost. Madiha mainly consists of medium scale land owners who delivered most 

of their waste to municipal council tractor. But following the project with the initial 

target group they were able to have their own waste management practice with 

composting. 

The knowledge generated through the participatory research project would help 

policy makers and planners in planning and formulating policies. In the short term, 

knowledge disseminated through the project to the general public would increase 

their income through utilizing the knowledge that they acquire. Industrialists 

involved in recycling processes would benefit through cleaner raw material in 

adequate quantity. Institutions such as schools, public places will have a cleaner 

environment and generate income from their waste. 

In the project area, the people are enthusiastic about solid waste management. This 

positive response helped to establish a positive attitude towards waste management. 

When waste management methods were introduced it was observed that it had an 

impact on the knowledge and attitudes of the people. People are aware of new

159 

technologies of composting and home gardening. Conversion of waste into 

economic goods, reducing expenditure on vegetables and producing fresh 

vegetables in their own home garden, and improved social relationships have been 

the main achievements of the project. 

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162

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF NOVEL FISH DRYING 

EQUIPMENT IN GANDARA CENTRAL, MATARA 

H.S.C. Perera, G.K.H. Ganewatta, C.V. Rathnayake, S.A. Buddhika and 

K.G. Priyashantha 

Abstract 

Sri Lanka is an island which is mainly having an agriculture based economy. 

Agriculture, forestry and fishing, is one of major sources of income for GDP. 

Among those fishing industry is very important and contributing to GDP by 2.3% in 

2004, 1.3% in 2005, and 1.8% in 2006. Southern Province is one of the important 

areas contribute to this achievement. Further, Gandara, Dikwella, Dondra, Mirissa, 

Thotamuna are the major fishing harbors in Matara District. Gandara cenral was 

mainly selected by CIDA Restore Project because that area was highly damaged by 

Tsunami and the incumbents and their livelihood was mainly based on fish related 

industries. In early times, the people in the area produced dried fish and maldive 

fish using very traditional methods and technologies. Mainly, women are the key 

members among the producers of maldive fish and dried fish while the men are 

engaging with fishing. The livelihood group of the CIDA Restore Project identified 

the fish and maldive fish industry as viable livelihood industry, specially for women 

in this area, and found the problems of the industry. As a solution, the livelihood 

development group got the assistance from an expert of the Faculty of Agriculture, 

University of Ruhuna, who invented a solar-power drier. This drier helps to 

minimize various costs and maximize benefits of the fish drying process. Hence, 10 

Tsunami affected women who are willing, and as well as, previously engaged with 

this industry in small scale were identified to start a new business. This paper aims 

to analyze the costs and benefits of the venture as well as feasibility of the solar 

drier as a fish and maldive fish drying equipment. The costs were analyzed in terms 

of monetary, time, energy, and psychic costs and benefits were analyzed in terms of 

product, service, personnel and image. Finally, it was disclosed that the benefits are 

considerably higher than the cost incurred of the production of both maldive fish 

and dried fish. 

Keywords: benefits, costs, fish drier, livelihood 

Introduction 

The Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in December 2004 has brought a great loss of life, 

livelihood and infrastructure. Fisheries sector was the most damaged sector from the 

Tsunami disaster, resulting in the loss of lot of lives, and properties. Between

164 

90,000 to 100,000 active fishermen lost their livelihoods in Sri Lanka due to the 

tsunami (Amarasinghe, 2005). About 103,000 people in fisheries based community 

were displaced and 16,500 fisher houses where destroyed whereas 13,300 houses 

were damaged. Coastal communities dependent on the fishery industry to provide 

livelihoods were seriously affected by the tsunami. Damages to the fishing industry 

in Sri Lanka was immense with 76 percent of the fishing fleet affected, i.e. 53 

percent destroyed and 23 percent was damaged (10 of the 12 existing fishery 

harbours, 37 fishing anchorages and 200 fish landing centers were damaged 

(nara.ac.lk). Accordingly, the fisheries community in the Southern Province faced a 

severe problem in restoring their livelihoods. 

In fisheries, men and women often have distinct roles. For example in marine 

fisheries, usually only men go out to fish, but women are often involved in trading 

and processing They were very active in the revenue generation. Most of them were 

housewives both before and after the tsunami. However most of those who 

generated income before the tsunami were unable to conduct these activities in the 

aftermath in the absence of a place. Even though a large number of NGOs made 

attempts to restore the lives of the Tsunami victims, most of these NGO focused on 

supplying consumables and very less attention was paid on the restoration of the 

livelihood. Sometimes, what were supplied were not what people needed. On the 

other hand, that affected persons have not been duly consulted in the process. 

Women actively participate in the small-scale fishery industry in Sri Lanka. A 

fishery sector is contributes 4 percent to GNP. 88 percent of this contribution is 

coming from small-scale fishing community. Women are claimed for 52 percent of 

this contribution. They are engage in fish processing and fishery business. 

(http://sudeesa.org/social-development/index.html). 

On the southern coast, women are the main managers of income. They have a 

crucial role in fish sorting, cutting, processing and dragging the boats ashore 

(www.fao.org) However women in fishing communities have low levels of 

education, a lack of access to and control over productive assets as well as a lack of 

investment and working capital. Women also lack access to markets and rural 

infrastructure, credit and microfinance services. Therefore, women can be 

considered as an important human resource which can be effectively geared up to 

facilitate the restoration of the livelihood of Tsunami affected community. 

Fish drying is one of the main ways of fish processing in the Southern coast of Sri 

Lanka. Sun drying has been used for this purpose from the early days. However, 

this traditional drying method has many disadvantages such as loss of nutritional 

value, germination, colour, and quality. Further, rain, insects and enzymatic reaction 

may cause problems. 

Based on these grounds, the Tsunami Restore Project of the CIDA focused on 

developing a community based model of women entrepreneurs which uses local 

innovations and performs on the basis of business principles. Accordingly, a Solar

165 

Drier was introduced to a selected group of potential women entrepreneurs in 

Gandara, Matara, Sri Lanka. The group was guided by a team of specialists from the 

CIDA Restore Project, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka to facilitate their livelihood 

development. This paper explains the project implementation and highlights the 

costs and benefits of the novel fish drying equipment located in Gandara Central, 

Matara. The paper analyses the data qualitatively and highlights the important 

dimensions of this livelihood development attempt. 

Review of literature 

Fish is a major source of protein and its harvesting, handling, processing and 

distribution provide livelihoods for millions of people as well as providing foreign 

exchange earning to many countries (Al- Jufaili and Opara, 2006). Appropriate 

processing of fish enables maximal use of raw material and production of valueadded 

products which is obviously the basis of processing profitability. 

The fisheries sector in Sri Lanka has an important role in terms of employment 

opportunities, income generation, foreign exchange earnings, and the provision of 

animal protein for the population. The sector provides direct and indirect 

employment to approximately 250,000 people, with a dependant population of 

1,000,000. The contribution of the fisheries sector to GDP was around 2.7 per cent 

in 2000. An estimated 65 per cent of the animal protein consumed in Sri Lanka in 

1991 was derived from fish. The fisheries sector is also considered as one of the 

major fields with potential for economic expansion. A predominant obstacle is the 

deficiency of credit to the coastal fishers (Sydnes and Normann, 2003). The Sri 

Lankan fishery sector serves both the domestic and export markets, with the 

domestic component attracting 75 percent of the marine fish production. In 2006, 

total marine fish production was 215,980MT, and the export market and dried fish 

production accounted for 9 percent and 15 percent, respectively (Analysis of 

Fisheries sector in Sri lanka, 2008). 

There is a growing demand for fishery products by both local and export markets, 

and world demand for all types of fish products is increasing. the country has still 

not been able to fully capture these opportunities and supply remains far below the 

potential capacity and existing demand. The competitiveness of fish depends on 

price, quality and the stability of supply. The importance of these factors varies 

depending on the end market; price is the major factor determining competitiveness 

in the local market, while quality and regularity of supply play a major role in 

export market competitiveness. In spite of these important signs of progress, their 

impact remains limited and recently, Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector has performed less 

than satisfactorily with domestic supply unable to provide the quantities of fish 

products required at affordable prices to meet the nutritional needs of the country’s 

population (www.ips.lk).

166 

In Matara The fishery industry is the central economic sector of the 4 divisions, 

especially Devinuwara and Dickwella, and is recognized as a key source of 

employment and income generation. Every social and economic activity of villagers 

depends on the climatic conditions in the area. During the Season the fishermen 

earn a relatively high and constant income, during Off-season the fishermen earn a 

low and irregular income. The coastal fishing income is high during the Season 

(September- March), while is low from April till August. 

(www.sudeesa.org/dp%20matara/01/coir.htm). 

Fish drying 

Even though technological leaps have enhanced the fish production, due to the 

perishable nature of fish, an estimated 21% of the harvest is lost due to lack of post 

harvest processing (IREDA NEWS, 2006). This results in fishermen losing a 

considerable portion of their profit apart from the loss of considerable nutritional 

food to the common man. Fish is a highly perishable food product and can be stored 

only by refrigeration or drying. But the problem affecting the quality of the dried 

fish is the unhygienic way in which fish is prepared and dried. The open beach 

drying, results in insects laying eggs inside the fish, that renders the product nonconsumable. 

Therefore, appropriate technology needs to be introduced for fish 

drying. According to Dennis (1997) drying is an excellent way to preserve food and 

solar food dryers are an appropriate food preservation technology for a sustainable 

world. 

According to the Häuser and Ankila (2000), that traditional sun drying methods 

often yield poor quality, since the produce is not protected against dust, rain and 

wind, or even against insects, birds, rodents and domestic animals while drying. 

soiling, contamination with microorganisms, formation of mycotoxins, and 

infection with disease-causing germs are the result. They assert that the drying 

equipment used in industrialized countries overcomes all of these problems, but 

unfortunately is not very well suited for use in developing countries because it 

requires substantial investments and a well-developed infrastructure. 

Actually, solar food drying is one of the oldest agricultural techniques related to 

food preservation, but every year, millions of dollars worth of gross national 

product are lost through spoilage. Reasons include, ignorance about preservation of 

produce, inadequate transportation systems during the harvest season (mostly 

climate related), and the low price the rural farmer receives for products during the 

harvest season (Whitfield, 2000). 

An Indian study done on Solar Dryers by Balakrishnan and Banerjee (2006) pointed 

out that Solar dryer technology can be used in small-scale food processing 

industries to produce hygienic, good quality food products. Furthermore, they 

mentioned that solar technology is ideally suited for women since they can place a 

load in the dryer and then get on with their other numerous tasks.

167 

The project: how does this initiative address the development problem 

A livelihood has been defined in many different ways but this study takes Ellis’ 

(2000) definition of a livelihood as comprising “the assets (natural, physical, 

human, financial and social capital), the activities, and the access to these (mediated 

by institutions and social relations) that together determine the living gained by the 

individual or household”. However, introduction of technology to the fisheries 

community to facilitate livelihood development happens rarely. Thetransfer of 

technology service by the R&D Institutions seldom reach the large sections of 

women in fisheries. The major drawback is lack of funds coupled with resistance of 

planners and administrators to deviate from existing development strategy (Cecily, 

1999). 

Methodology 

After the tsunami, the University of Ruhuna started a 3-year collaborative project 

on “Environmental and Livelihood Restoration and Development in Tsunamiaffected 

Coastal Areas of Sri Lanka” with the University of Guelph, University of 

Manitoba, University of Waterloo and Queens University of Canada with financial 

assistance from the CIDA. The purpose of the project was to implement a multisectoral 

approach to environmental restoration, sustainable livelihoods and 

community development, with full community input and participation in specific 

tsunami-affected districts of Matara/Hambantota, Ampara, and Batticaloa in Sri 

Lanka. Under that project, the Faculty of Management and Finance, University of 

Ruhuna worked for sub projects aiming at livelihoods development. Based on the 

pilot survey, the livelihood development project team selected a fishing village 

called “Gandara” in Matara district to conduct activities encouraging small 

enterprises on Fish Processing. The project team visited the village and had 

discussions with the participation of all stakeholders, including government 

organisations at the local levels, for example: Assistant Government Agent, Grama 

Niladhari and discussions with the leaders in women Associations. The group 

conducted several meetings with villages to identify the problems and did feasibility 

study to introduce appropriate technology for fish drying using SWOT analysis. It 

was found that “poor quality” as a one main problem for not having good market 

price for dried fish and Maldive fish they produced. Addressing these issues, with 

the participation of all stakeholders, including government organisations at the local 

levels, the project team initiated a Fish drying project on 09.03.2008 using solar 

driers at Gandara Central Matara, Sri Lanka.

168 

Discussion 

Venture members 

Traditionally, women of fishing communities in many Asian countries have been 

playing important roles in marketing fresh fish, and processing surplus catch for 

sale at a later date. However, with modernization of the sector, the growth of the 

industrial fleet and the expansion of domestic and export markets, the situation has 

changed fast (Sharma, 2004). However, in Sri Lankan fisheries sector, particularly 

in the Southern Province, women play a leading role in the fish drying process. 

Therefore, the CIDA Restore Project focused on the development of women based 

model to facilitate the livelihood development. Four initial meetings were 

conducted with the help of “Grama Niladari”, Gandara Central, to provide 

awareness of the project. At the same meetings, the members were informed about 

the solar drier and the costs and benefits of the drier were explained to the 

participants. After those meetings, the members were invited for the interviews. 

Specially, the women who are engaged with producing fish related products. Those 

interviews specially focused to understand the factors such as capability of 

producing fish related products, willingness to work as the team members, number 

of hours can be dedicated for the business, participation in other social activities and 

networking, education, family size, family background and the possible contribution 

to venture. Figure 4.16 shows some of the pictures of the interviewing process and 

initial guidance to the selected members. 

Figure 4.16: Establishment of a model business 

Finally, 10 members were selected as venture members to start the project. The 

initial workshop was conducted to give training on society formation and society 

leaders were appointed in the following meeting. These activities was conducted 

under the guidance of CIDA project group of Faculty of Management and Finance. 

The 10 member venture was registered as a partnership (under the Reg. No: MA.2-7 

at Mahawaththa, Jayabodiya Mawatha, Gandara, Matara) and with the participation 

of selected members, local authorities, villages and CIDA project team, the

169 

business was inaugurated. Figure 4.17 shows some pictures of launching the 

venture. 

Figure 4.17: Launching the venture 

After launching the venture, the selected members continued their business under 

the registered name “Gandara Karavala (Gandara Dried Fish) and Gandara 

Umbalakada (Gandara Maldive Fish). 

The introduction of appropriate technology: The “Saviru Solar Drier” 

The solar drier (Saviru Solar Drier) was introduced by one of the lecturers (Mr. 

Kapila Weerathungaarachchi) attached to the Department of Agricultural 

Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna. Initially, this drier was 

designed to produce high quality spices. The Saviru Solar drier is made partly of 

fibre-glass and typically measures 24ft long by 3ft wide. To achieve the required 

temperature, two small fans blow air through the tunnel. This drier was used at 

neighboring village for drying spices. Though this is for drying spices, the 

livelihood group requested to modify the dryer for fish processing. Thus new dryer 

with more thick mesh was introduced to the venture team for processing their fish. 

Drier fixing place was selected considering the group’s willingness and amount of 

sunlight receiving for the place.

170 

With the installation of the drier, a series of workshops conducted to provide 

required training to carry out the venture. The CIDA project group of Faculty of 

Management and Finance conducted workshops on Entrepreneurship Development, 

Marketing and Leadership while staff of Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences 

& Technology conducted workshops on dried fish production and post harvest 

technology. During the initial stage, project team had frequent visit to monitor the 

project. Figure 4.18 shows some pictures of the drier. 

Figure 4.18: Solar drier 

Cost benefit analysis 

The cost benefit analysis of this venture is discussed under four main headings: 

monetary, time, energy and psychic costs. 

Monetary costs 

Monetary costs are discussed under fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs were 

comprised of the cost of the drier, installation cost, cost of the scale, storage 

containers, boiling barrels, and sealer. Variable costs incurred were fish, salt,

171 

goraka, fire wood, packeting materials, transportation, labels and other costs 

incurred in marketing and sales commissions. 

This cost is around Rs.750 per 1Kg of maldive fish and Rs. 375 per 1Kg of dried 

fish. However, this will change according to the prices of fish, post harvesting 

activities and the type of the fish. The prices ranged from Rs. 750 to 800 for 

maldive fish and from Rs. 375 to 450 for dried fish. 

Comparatively the above costs are less than the imported dried fish and maldive fish 

products. However, researchers found that the entrepreneurs of this venture 

individually contributed in the production process. Hence the transport cost of the 

materials and other elements were very high. However, they marketed their 

products according to the cluster marketing under the same brand. It is advisable for 

them to minimize the production cost through bulk purchase, collective 

transportation, etc. 

Further, it was found that the cost component, especially the variable cost 

component, varied according to the seasonal variances of fishing. Researchers 

observed that the entrepreneurs initially purchased raw fish at retail prices without 

considering the high availability of cheaper types of fish depending on the season. 

As a result the cost for raw fish has been high and it has been the main reason for 

the increase in the total cost. Therefore it is recommended that they have to 

purchase raw fish which are highly available during the seasons at considerably 

lower prices. Table 4.12 provides a comparison of monetary cost under traditional 

method and the new method. 

Table 4.12: Monetary cost comparison 

Monitory cost Using the Solar Dryer Traditional method 

Fixed cost Rs Rs 

Cost of the dryer 60000 

Scale 3000 3000 

containers 1500 1500 

Boiling barrels 500 500 

Sealer 1900 1900 

Variable cost to produce 1kg of dried fish 

Raw fish 600 600 

Salt 20 20 

Goraka 20 20 

Firewood 20 20 

packeting materials, labels etc., 10 10 

Fish Transportation 20 20 

Marketing, sales 10 10

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Machine depreciation 8 

Other depreciation 2 2 

Total cost 710 700 

Time costs 

Time cost for the venture is the time sacrificed for the processing raw fish. With the 

drier, the man-time needed for cleaning and boiling fish is two man-hours if work is 

done by one person. Further, it will take six hours to clean the boiled fish and 

feeding them into the drier. 

On the other hand, three hours will be needed for the inspection of the drying 

process and one hour for packeting and finished goods preparation. Therefore, 

altogether the total time cost to produce 20Kg of maldive fish out of 120Kg raw fish 

is equal to 12 hours. If one man-hour is rated at Rs.60 the time cost equals to 

Rs720/person for producing 20Kg maldve fish. If it is compared with the traditional 

method, the cleaning, boiling and packeting time will be the same. But inspection 

time is very high in and it equals to 18 hours. There the cost is very high and it 

amounts to approximately Rs 2340 for producing 20Kg of maldive fish. This 

calculation is more or less equal for the dried fish also. Hence, the overall cost will 

increase. Furthermore, women engaged with this venture can allocate her time for 

some other work while engaging with fish drying. 

The forecast drying time for maldive fish is three days and for dried fish the 

duration is four days. However, during the second week of March it was rained 

continuously for five days. As a result the drying process delayed and members 

were unable to put their portion of raw fish into the drier on time. Due to this reason 

some members had to keep their portions of raw fish in refrigerators until the drier 

becomes available to feed up. Therefore, it is advisable to have a contingency plan 

during the rainy seasons as rain and other weather factors such as humidity is 

critical in fish drying business. 

Energy costs 

The energy cost included fire wood, manpower, and electricity. In relation with the 

drier the energy need for the maldive fish and dried fish production process is very 

low, especially man power. After feeding raw fish into the drier no manpower 

needed for other activities. With the traditional method the women had to sacrifice 

additional energy to bring them into the home when the rain comes, and bring them 

again to the sunlight. Moreover, when there is sunlight they lay the fish daily in the 

sunlight. It needs additional energy when compare with the drier as it only needs to 

lay the fish once in a three or four days. Therefore the energy cost is very low with

173 

the drier. Table 4.13 proves a comparison of time and energy cost of these two 

methods. 

Table 4.13: Time and energy costs 

Time and Energy cost Using solar dryer Traditional method 

Number of Man hours needed for Processing 

2 2 

raw fish, cleaning, boiling 

Number of Man hours needed for Putting / 

6 18 

laying fish into the dryer or open space 

Number of Man hours needed for Inspection 3 18 (6hrsx3days) 

Number of Man hours needed for Packeting & 

1 1 

finishing 

Total Man hours taken to produce 20 kg 12 39 

If Rs. 60 given per man-hour total cost Rs. 720 Rs. 2340 

Time and Energy Cost to produce 1kg maldive 

fish 

36 117 

Psychic costs 

The psychic cost includes the stress due to the bad weather conditions, unexpected 

delays in the drying process, wastage of fish in processing stage, and cleanliness of 

the house environment. With the machine the all the psychological efforts are very 

minimal. With the traditional method, this is very high and they should concentrate 

on fungal effects, protect from animals, etc. Table 4.14 highlights the psychic costs 

of these two methods. 

Table 4.14: Psychic costs 

Stress Factors Using the solar dryer Traditional method 

Bad weather conditions Very minimal higher 

unexpected delays in the drying process, Very minimal higher 

wastage of fish in processing stage Very minimal about 2% Higher about 10% 

cleanliness of the house environment, 

smell, pest damage 

No Higher, about 10% 

increasing the cost 

Additional benefits 

All these years, fish farmers have traditionally dried their produce in the open. Fish 

are dried virtually anywhere; on roads, on cement floors where dogs sleeps and 

chickens scratch for food. Such open drying gives incomplete results to the dried 

fish that are of inferior and inconsistent quality, often contaminated with germs, due

174 

to mould infections. Table 4.15 provides further details of the benefits of the solar 

drier. 

Table 4.15: Additional benefits of the drier 

Using the solar dryer Traditional method 

Product 

Quality & Price per kg High & higher price 1000 Low and low price 1000 

Features & price High & higher price low 

Quantity & return High & no return Higher Possibility to (200) 

getting pest attacks at 

processing 

Performance 

High & very good 

low 

taste 

Service 

Guarantees Gurantee possible Limited gurantees 

Personnel 

Can engage with other Very high 

Not possible 

work 

House cleanliness Very high Highly affected 

(unclean) 

Image 

Consumer perception 

and attitudes 

Once purchased, 

will buy again 

questionable 

Conclusions 

The traditional fish drying has been facing a number of disadvantages to the Sri 

Lankan fishing community and this resulted in the requirement of innovative 

practices to be introduced to the fisheries community. The Tsunami disaster made 

the problems faced by fishing community severe and provided the space for the 

governmental, non-governmental and other organizations to act on the development 

of livelihood of the fisheries community in the Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The 

solar drier introduced to a selected group of women in Gadara Central, Matara, Sri 

Lanka provided numerous benefits to the selected group. This study highlighted the 

costs and benefits of this solar drier. First, it was revealed that the benefits of the 

solar drier are mainly “non-monetary” and the monetary benefits of the solar drier 

are minimal. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the time, energy and the psychic 

costs of the new solar drier are considerably much less than the traditional method. 

Furthermore, the quality of the harvest also shows a considerable improvement due 

to the adaptation of this appropriate technology. Therefore, the solar drier mainly 

provides an example of an appropriate technology which can be incorporated into

175 

the fisheries industry in the province to facilitate the sustainable development of the 

livelihood. 

Bibliography 

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the Sultanate of Oman: Part1 Handling and Marketing System of Fresh Fish. J. of 

Fisheries International 1 (2-4):144-149. 

Amarasinghe, O. (2005). An Assessment of the Post-Tsunami Recovery Process 

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Dennis, S. (1997). The design, construction and use of an indirect, through-pass, 

solar food dryer; extracted from Home Power magazine, Issue No. 57, pages 62-72, 

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Sydneys, K. and Normann, K.A. (2003). Report on Desk study on the fisheries 

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Whitfield, V.D.E. (2000). Solar Dryer Systems and the Internet: important resources 

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- South Africa 26 th - 29 th November, 2000

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Webography 

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V. GENDER ISSUES AND SOCIAL HARMONY 

177

178

THE BEREFT WOMEN OF THE EAST: MICRO 

ENTERPRISES: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 

SURVIVAL AND LIVING 

M.I.S. Safeena 

Introduction 

26 th December 2004 will always be remembered by the women of eastern Sri Lanka 

as a day of terror. Consequences of the tsunami that devastated them are never 

ending. Four years after the tsunami disaster these women are still struggling to 

survive. They are single women, widows or divorcees who are heading households 

of old and or sick people and children who are all dependent on them. In Eastern 

province, the process of rehabilitation would in the first instance involve reestablishing 

the livelihood activities of those living just above the poverty line, 

especially women. 

The main objective of the CIDA Restore project is to offer livelihood assistance to 

the poorest of the poor, those marginalized women who run informal businesses so 

that they may be rescued from beggary. Most importantly the CIDA Restore project 

is based on the premise that marginalized communities and especially their women 

can be mobilized through livelihood enhancement. 

CIDA Restore Project has identified many destitute women in Akbar village/ 

Maruthamunai and Maligaikadu/ Sainthamartuthu in the South Eastern region 

affected by the repercussions of the tsunami and who are victims of domestic 

violence, living just above the poverty line. A significant number of women without 

resources but with initiatives are engaged in micro-enterprises. Such marginalized 

and vulnerable women who are engaged in economic activities for family survival 

cannot be left to contend with market forces but need to be equipped with skills and 

resources to access markets. 

Project areas 

Akbar village (in Maruthamunai) is a Muslim area with 371 families and having 

with 575 females (Table 5.1) and the main income is via weaving with handlooms. 

Many of them live as nuclear families and the average family size in both villages is 

nearly four. 10-15% families are ‘women headed’ in both villages (Table 5.2). In 

Akbar village many women are either not formally educated or have either primary 

or secondary school education (Table 5.3). The trading of handlooms flourished into 

a cottage industry and their products are sold locally in Sri Lanka and exported to 

some foreign countries.

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Maligaikadu village is situated in the southern part of Sainthamruthu. Although it is 

agricultural area fishing is also one of the sources of income (Table 5.5). Since there 

are small rivers (karachai) in the area, fresh water fishing is also carried out. A part 

of the Maligaikadu village is connected with the Tamil populated area called 

Karaitivu. Many of these women have secondary school education (Table 5.4). 

Table 5.1: Population distribution in Akbar and Maligaikadu Villages 

Description Akbar village Maligaikadu village 

Total Families 371 354 

Total population 1211 942 

Male 636 585 

Female 575 357 

Average family size 4 4 

The above two villages were vastly affected by tsunami caused higher death in the 

eastern part of Sri Lanka and also led to the large amount of loss of properties. 

Table 5.2: Type of household or family in Akbar and Maligaikadu villages 

Type of Household/ Family Akbar village Maligaikadu village Average age 

Nuclear 287 163 

Extended - - 

Woman headed 34 27 45.1 

other 03 01 

Table 5.3: Education level of woman chief house holder in Akbar village 

Sex Non Schooling primary Secondary Tertiary Total 

Man head 26 

15.12% 

89 

51.74% 

56 

32.56% 

1 

0.58% 

172 

100% 

Woman head 8 

34.78% 

04 

7.35% 

12 

55.02% 

0 

0.00% 

24 

100% 

Total 34 

17.44% 

103 

52.82% 

57 

29.23% 

1 

0.51% 

195 

100%

181 

Table 5.4: Education level of woman chief house holder in Maligaikadu village 

Sex Non Schooling primary Secondary Tertiary Total 

Man head 26 

15.12% 

89 

51.74% 

56 

32.56% 

1 

0.58% 

172 

100% 

Woman head 01 

3.04 

03 

17.64 

13 

79.32% 

0 

0.00% 

17 

100% 

Total 34 

17.44% 

103 

52.82% 

57 

29.23% 

1 

0.51% 

195 

100% 

Table 5.5: Household income 

Before Tsunami Current situation 

Fishing* 19 (17%) 10 (18.5%) 

Business* 12 (11%) 5 (9.3%) 

Weaving Ұ 11 (10%) 5 (9.3%) 

Selling fish* 8 (7%) 10 (18.5%) 

Others Ұ 20 (18%) 12 (21%) 

* - Main income in Maligaikadu village 

Ұ - Main income in Akbar village 

Beneficiaries of micro enterprises through CIDA restore project 

120 of these women are featured under this topic. They live in villages and towns 

all on the east coast. They perform simple tasks, do small jobs to earn living: dehusking 

rice, pounding flour, sewing clothes, making food, rearing poultry and 

animals etc. What all of them need is funding for their micro enterprises. These 

women do not want financial handouts. Work is their plea. If their micro-enterprises 

could be funded, once established they could start saving. Many of these women did 

save, but their meager savings were wiped out by ill health, hospitalization or death. 

They wish to engage in micro-enterprises to improve their lives and that of their 

families and require assistance by way of capital, equipment and technical knowhow. 

The CIDA Restore project is of the view that enabling women to start up their 

own enterprises will not only prevent them from falling below the poverty line but 

will also ensure that they continue to improve their lives by becoming economically 

independent.

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Enterprising activities provided to the women 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

De–husking rice 

Pounding flour 

Sewing cloths 

Making food/ snacks 

Starting up of small business/ boutiques 

Handloom 

Poultry farming 

Animal Husbandry 

Some stories and pictures of enterprising women 

Zuhaira of Sainthamaruthu lost her mother in tsunami. She lives with her 

grandparent along with her two elder sisters and one brother. Her grandfatherhad a 

small goat farm, which was lost in tsunami. CIDA helped to initiate and continue 

the farming.

183 

Madinah is 49 years old. Her husband cannot work due to ill health and they have 

two daughters and two sons. The daughters are at home after completing their 

G.C.E O/L examination. Her daughters have training in dress making. A sewing 

machine was provided to this family. 

Balkis is 50 years old widow with three daughters. Her daughters wanted to start 

poultry farming and Balkis is also expecting financial assistance to establish a string 

hopper business. CIDA provided Chicks and financial assistance for starting the 

business.

184

GROUP FORMATION AND SOCIAL HARMONY: A CASE 

STUDY OF CIDA RESTORE PROJECT 

V. Gunaretnam and K.M. Prahasan 

Abstract 

An ideal society or a nation should find a mechanism for a compromise among all 

the competing elements within the society. Social harmony is a must for the society 

so that it grows. For incubation and growth of a life, you need to ensure peace. Life 

cannot grow in constant war and struggle. Life is a way of compromising and 

making adjustments. This case study reveals how people got together as 

beneficiaries under this project and included their flexibility and ability to innovate, 

grass-roots orientation. The research was carried out in Puthukudiyiruppu area in 

Batticaloa district. The objective of this study was to find out and analyze some 

important incidents, case studies and different views which are relevant to the 

group affiliation in Puthukudiyiruppu village, search for the measures were taken 

by CIDA to enhance community organizing and explore what the key factors in the 

village are which can be use to increase the social harmony The researchers were 

mainly focused on collecting primary data through qualitative means and the key 

method was through the use of interviews. 

Introduction 

The very fact that we use the term harmony presupposes that there are many 

socially discordant groups at work. An ideal society or a nation should find a 

mechanism for a compromise among all the competing elements within the society 

and there is a synthesis between different groups' demands and aspirations. Social 

harmony is a must for the society so that it grows. For incubation and growth of a 

life, you need to ensure peace. Life cannot grow in constant war and struggle. Life 

is a way of compromising and making adjustments. 

Humans suffer from information overload; there’s much more information on any 

given subject than a person is able to access. As a result, people are forced to 

depend upon each other for knowledge. Know-who information rather than knowwhat, 

know-how or know-why information has become most crucial. It involves 

knowing who has the needed information and being able to reach that person. 

In this context, understanding the formation, evolution and utilization of social 

networks becomes important. A social network is a set of people (or organizations

186 

or other social entities) connected by a set of social relationships, such as friendship, 

co-working or information exchange. 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a significant role in the social 

development process in all regions of the world. They are particularly critical in 

circumstances where State funds are limited, political situations are fluid, natural 

disasters resulting from both predictable and unpredictable environmental 

circumstances occur, ethnic strife is rampant, and the level of per capita income 

severely restricts the ability to purchase needed goods and services–social, 

educational and economic. 

A nation need not be poor to benefit from the contributions made by NGOs. While 

individual governments are responsible for meeting the needs of its citizens, there is 

a limit to what central government is willing and able to do in both rich and poor 

countries. NGOs play a vital role in complementing government efforts in meeting 

human need in nearly all countries. Very few countries have reached the ideal of 

sustaining the human condition at an optimal level, whatever the GNP and other 

indicators of wealth, through dependence on government action alone. NGOs help 

fill in the gaps while systematically prodding the governments will and the 

collective conscience. 

CIDA as an NGO started to work in the Tsunami disastrous areas, 

Puthukudiyiruppu and Palameenmadu. This case study reveals how people got 

together as beneficiaries under this project and included their flexibility and ability 

to innovate, grass-roots orientation. The researcher recognized that this study 

basically uses an exploratory research design. The research was carried out in 

Puthukudiyiruppu area in Batticaloa district. The researchers were mainly focused 

on collecting primary data through qualitative means and the key method was 

through the use of interviews. 

Objectives of the study 

The main objectives of this study were to, 

1. Find out and analyze some important incidents, case studies and different 

views which are relevant to the group affiliation in Puthukudiyiruppu 

village. 

2. Search for the measures were taken by CIDA to enhance community 

organizing. 

3. Explore what the key factors in the village are which can be use to increase 

the social harmony.

187 

Methodology 

The researchers recognized this research study’s design is exploratory research 

design. Research was carried out in Puthukudiyiruppu of Arayampathy areas in 

Batticaloa district. The Researchers were mainly focused on collecting primary data 

through qualitative means and the key method was the interviews. Accidental 

sampling was the main sampling methods in this study. Researcher conducted 

interviews spontaneously according to the direction of particular person's verbal 

tracking. Secondary data like news reports, special reports or internal documents 

belongs to governments and NGO’s were collected. Collected data were analyzed 

and formulated descriptively. 

Group participation in making social harmony 

Contemporary reconstructive practice has to make links of opposing groups into a 

process of dialogue and negotiation with the aim of exploring, reaching agreement 

on and implementing measures to carry on this project. This approach is guided by 

the belief that the village leaders have the power to reach decisions and bring along 

their constituencies in support of any resulting settlement. They may sometimes 

when it is not possible to adequately address the complex and dynamic interrelationships 

between CIDA actors and other groups affected by and involved in the 

natural disaster. People’s independent initiatives in their towns and villages, as well 

as at regional, national and international level therefore have the potential to 

become key elements in a broader restore process that is capable of addressing these 

complexities. The roles of civil society actors in restore processes are determined by 

a number of factors, including both external factors such as the attitudes of the 

communal parties and the degree of “economical space” afforded to civic groups, 

and internal factors such as the resources and skills available for groups to draw on. 

The particular combination of opportunity and constraint in each context will lead 

civil society to assume a variety of possible roles. For the purpose of this short 

overview, these roles are clustered into four broadly distinct and complementary 

approaches. 

1. Advocating dialogue 

The public “mood” regarding the disasters and the desirability of a restore process is 

an important Barometer for the NGOs to take into account. Civil society groups can 

shift this “mood” by highlighting the Unacceptable costs of the disaster and 

increasing the stakes for recovery. They can catalyze public mobilization for 

recovery activities. Groups who may enjoy a certain degree of moral authority in a 

particular society, such as religious leaders or elders, can use their influence to add 

weight to public calls for recovery. Advocacy can take diverse forms and benefit 

from creativity as well as from the richness of cultural traditions. All of these acts 

communicate civilians’ attempts to resist collusion and articulate alternative 

approaches to old social order. As such they contribute to shaping the social and

188 

political context necessary to underpin sustainable dialogue and agreement between 

the opposing groups. Educational initiatives can also make a crucial contribution to 

the broader socio-political dimension of a recovery process, by challenging public 

perceptions about the natural disaster. This is particularly true in contexts where 

opposing groups promote divergent and mutually–exclusive analyses of the social 

and political context. Legitimizing dialogue as a viable and effective tool can 

encourage vital public support 

2. Facilitating dialogue between the groups 

Civil society-led dialogue processes and mediation efforts can have a number of 

impacts: they can build trust and understanding between the grassroots membership 

of divided communities; they can assist in identifying and resolving local-level 

conflicts, which can benefit the communities affected as well as build confidence 

between the conflicting parties; they can create a safe, unofficial space for middleranking 

members of the conflicting parties to engage in problem-solving exercises 

in advance of negotiations. In some cases, modest activities by civic actors can even 

lead to their acceptance by the leadership to mediate formal negotiations. The 

experiences contained in this chapter offer some specific examples of just such roles 

and impacts. Their work created a foundation of awareness and understanding 

among the affected communities and contributed to the sustainability of the peace 

agreement reached between the leaders. In some situations, civil society actors may 

also become involved in providing assistance to one of the conflicting groups, to 

help them consider the potential benefits of engaging in a restore process and to 

assist them in their preparations. While it is a delicate and often dangerous role to 

play, it may result in the greater likelihood of a sustainable and effective 

commitment to the negotiations by one of the parties. Again and particularly given 

the sensitivities surrounding internal conflicts, civic actors are often more able to 

take up this challenge than governmental or inter-governmental representatives. 

Community organizing 

1. Barriers to building organizing into community development strategies 

There are three fundamental obstacles to organizing community that build healthy 

communities with effective indigenous leadership. They are: 

1. Community planning and development organizations often lack patience 

and perhaps commitment to-the organizing process. Organizing is 

frequently not on their radar screens, at least not until problems emerge for 

which service or other "doing-for" solutions don't work. Organizations 

focus on developing housing, or businesses, or sewers, not people. Further, 

organizations are under heavy pressure to produce results efficiently; they 

do not wish to risk slowing things down by involving many people in 

decision making.

189 

2. The definition of community organizing is so tightly circumscribed. In 

brief, the traditional action model of organizing-getting people and 

institutions to fight for and "win" resources for the community-seems to 

work best in communities where people are already connected to 

associational life and have some sense of themselves as public actors. 

Popular education models seem more appropriate in low-income 

communities of historically oppressed people, where there is first a need to 

develop people's sense of self-efficacy and consciousness of community. 

3. There is a weak funding infrastructure for organizing of any kind, and an 

especially weak one for organizing to build community. In 

Puthukudiyiruppu, the few foundations that support organizing favor the 

traditional action model-they look for turnout numbers and concrete wins as 

primary evidence of effectiveness. Paradoxically, one reason so few 

foundations fund organizing is that most are adverse to this model, 

especially to the extent that it uses confrontational tactics to gain victories. 

2. Departing from tradition 

The family-focused community-building model from the traditional action 

organizing model in several ways: 

1. We recruit prospective community leaders explicitly from the ranks of lowincome 

families, primarily mothers. We identify these participants through 

local institutions which families frequent. So far, our projects have focused 

on schools and daycare centers, but we are exploring efforts to replicate this 

work in low-income housing developments and settlement houses. 

2. We provide leadership training that emphasizes the continuities between 

family and community leadership and between "private" and "public" 

issues. The topics we cover in leadership development include: setting and 

achieving personal goals; neighboring; identifying the public policy roots of 

"private" family problems; fostering children's healthy development and 

school achievement; and more standard fare of identifying self-interest, 

identifying issues, etc. 

3. We explicitly frame visioning and agenda-setting conversations in terms of 

what will make the community a better place for families. Parents and 

families in their neighborhood are working to involve families in, for 

example, changing school policies, transforming an elementary school into 

a community learning center, and eliminating drug and prostitution 

corridors. 

4. Personal, family, and community leadership-in family-supportive 

communities. We look to various examples of leadership, such as people 

who watch out for their neighbors' children, who organize parent support 

groups, or who help out as classroom aides or tutors at school. Thus, 

leadership training is not veered only in the direction of creating multi-issue 

organizations to tackle issues.

190 

5. At the same time, recognizing that many of the issues making communities 

unsafe and unhealthy places for families are rooted in public policies 

beyond the local level. Our first goal is to develop a sufficiently large and 

strong cadre of local leaders so that parents, not policy advocates, drive the 

process. From the early training, we facilitate local-level dialogue between 

parents and professional staff and advocates in the communities to raise 

each party's awareness of the others' perspectives. We teach parents to 

articulate their ideas and visions for families in the community to 

institutional partners, and to consider the interests of community institutions 

in partnering with them. We also informally teach policy advocates and 

institutional staff about organizing and how to listen to the families. 

3. Creating "People’s community development organizations" 

Addressing the following issues will help to create more effective organizing 

structures in low-income communities: 

1. There is too little systematic distillation and dissemination of successful-or 

even promising-efforts to integrate community organizing and 

development. As a result, development 

2. The professionals lack access to ideas about how they might organize 

resident leadership. 

3. An overwhelming number of those interviewed for the of Puthukudiyiruppu 

community organizing grants making program decried the lack of vision in 

community planning, development, and organizing. Lacking this vision, the 

focus of efforts can easily get distorted, making tactics or projects or plans 

an end rather than a means. One of the strongest recommendations 

interviewees made to the Woods Fund was to strengthen their funding 

support of efforts to engage many residents in the process of developing a 

vision for their communities. 

4. We find in Puthukudiyiruppu significant isolation within the development 

and organizing fields. Development professionals may participate in one or 

two trade associations, both of which have focused heavily on bricks and 

mortar and job creation. Organizers may belong to one of several 

organizing networks, each one of which is quite proprietary. Most 

organizers do not talk with organizers outside their own network, let alone 

with community planning and development professionals. These 

professional development structures mitigate a cross fertilization of ideas 

and a fusing of disciplines. They also contribute to the isolation organizers 

feel, especially single-staff organizers in schools, social agencies, and other 

institutions not primarily concerned with organizing.

191 

4. Strengthening the funding infrastructure 

Funders, organizers, and community developers jointly need to tackle some major 

problems to better sustain organizing in community development. These include: 

1. Few funders understand organizing: few even know it exists as a field of 

philanthropic endeavor, and those who do tend to view it as insurrectionist. 

Several area funders support organizing, but only if it is around an issue of 

interest to the foundation. Although funders' comforts with more traditional 

- and concrete - philanthropic causes are factors, it also appears that the 

organizing community has not marketed itself effectively. One grants 

maker describes organizers' style; another funder of organizing complained 

about the generally poor quality of proposals from organizers; many 

organizers we talked with expressed a loathing of grant seeking. Such 

antipathies do not create an atmosphere of understanding. 

2. We find substantial support for the frequently heard complaint that funders 

seek fast and visible results. Even the few funders who fund organizing as 

organizing want to see numbers and wins over the short run. This may 

replace the goal of citizen empowerment with the goal of building a large 

organization. It also produces incentives to win local actions rather than to 

build citizen capacity to tackle issues in the policy arena. On the other hand, 

the organizing community has not developed alternative accountability 

criteria. It seems possible and timely to create some leadership development 

benchmarks in the areas of personal development, leadership skills 

attainment, membership development, and increased civic involvement. It 

also seems imperative to "track" leadership careers, so that we can indeed 

demonstrate how increased self confidence leads to increased leadership 

activity and effectiveness. 

3. The Woods Fund evaluation team also found considerable adherence to old 

"rules" by both funders and CBOs about long-term funding support. 

Funders cling to the idea that grassroots fundraising can sustain organizing 

in the long run; organizers cling to the hope of general operating support. 

Funders look to collaborations to promote efficiency, apparently unaware 

that collaboration is time consuming and labor intensive, albeit "worth it" in 

community building. Organizers see fundraising as an extraneous burden 

and avoid it to the extent that they can. When service creation is part of the 

strategy, both expect public dollars to absorb the innovation. 

4. Funding processes don't permit organizing to put its best foot forward. 

While the prototype organizing process is fairly straightforward, by 

definition it must remain messy and tentative. Outcome objectives-both 

organizational development and issues campaigns - in particular are hard to 

define, since the very idea is to develop community leaders who will set the 

agenda and move it forward. This seems particularly an inherent tension in 

foundation-initiated comprehensive community development projects, 

where the models and the hoped-for outcomes are defined in advance by the 

funder.

192 

It's time for organizers to take their boxing gloves off, for developers to take their 

hard hats off, and for funders to come out from behind their desks, to begin a 

serious dialogue about how organizing can be integrated into–and, yes, drivecommunity 

development strategies. Funders need to begin to consider broadening 

their time horizons; organizing needs to develop credible accountability measures 

and to continually experiment with and evaluate the effectiveness of differing 

models; bricks-and-mortar developers need to refocus on people (and their families) 

as the central development purpose; and all of us need to listen more actively to 

community residents in determining the worthiness of our investments. 

Conclusion 

All the roles identified above present huge challenges and dilemmas to civil society actors. 

Firstly, there is often considerable danger in undertaking any of them, as promoting, 

facilitating or participating in restore processes is often not a popular position to take. 

Groups may resent the pressure to negotiate, or consider the pressure tantamount to support 

for the other side. Public information that deviates from the party-line of one or other group 

may attract censorship or harassment. People or groups making financial profit from the 

NGOs will have a vested interest in its continuation. Radicalized sectors of society may also 

be reluctant to concede anything to one or other of the conflicting parties through the 

inevitable compromise of negotiations. Ironically, once the parties do take a decision to 

engage in talks, these same groups of civilians may find themselves marginalized from 

negotiations. The warring parties frequently see themselves as the sole legitimate 

representatives of “their” people and may be reluctant to concede space or control of the 

negotiation process to a wider group of participants. The international community of 

interested governments and multi-lateral actors may compound this marginalization by 

confining civil society’s role to the harmony–where there is important work to be done, but 

where the political frameworks have often already been determined. In addition to these 

external pressures and constraints, civil society also faces its own internal challenges. The 

first relates to the heterogeneity of what is termed “civil society”: the diverse array of 

interests, groupings and agendas that are intrinsic to any large mass of people. Given the 

devastating effects of conflict on communities, building alliances across political divides 

and identifying points of minimum consensus can be a delicate task requiring time and a 

great deal of sensitivity. With the capacity for independent initiative and action, developing 

a helpful degree of coordination and complementarily between different sectors and 

initiatives can seem an almost insurmountable challenge. Ultimately, however, these 

challenges are matched by the wealth of resources and diversity of skills that civil society 

actors can bring to bear in peace processes. These capacities help to create the conditions for 

talks, build confidence between the parties, shape the conduct and content of negotiations 

and influence the sustainability of social harmony. By contributing to restore processes in 

this way, civil society actors also play a part in long-term processes of change in how 

society deals with conflict.

A GENDER PERSPECTIVE ON TSUNAMI RESTORE 

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT UNDER CIDA RESTORE 

PROJECT IN TWO VILLAGES IN THE AMPARA 

DISTRICT IN SRI LANKA 

E.M.J.M. Rizvi 

Abstract 

Ampara district was severely affected by the 2004 tsunami. Since then many funding 

agencies have carried out various kinds of rehabilitation activities and CIDA 

Restore Project was peculiar in its approach. It selected two villages each from 

three different tsunami affected districts to be developed as model villages covering 

all aspects i.e. social, economic, environment and gender for sustainable 

community development. The aim of this paper is to explore how the various 

activities carried out by the project have contributed to gender empowerment. 

Gender needs are grouped in to two categories i.e. ‘practical gender needs’, usually 

related to immediately perceived basic needs and ‘strategic gender needs’, such as 

equal wages, right to live free from gender-based violence, legal rights etc. Certain 

aspects of strategic gender needs such as leadership and gender issues have been 

addressed at awareness level under CIDA restore project. 

Some basic needs such as water and power supply provided under CIDA project 

will indirectly empower women. A major share of livelihood support provided has 

gone to women. Home garden improvement, restoration and conversion into a 

recreational site of a highly polluted canal, a cleaner environment, children’s park 

and school environment improvement all help women directly or indirectly in their 

reproductive roles and responsibilities. As subtle effects of these measures, women 

develop greater confidence, increased capacity to earn money and the fact that 

women are likely to be healthier, happier and have more time to concentrate on 

making the home a better place to live. Ultimately, what is good for women, is good 

for the family. 

Development activities are aimed at improving mainly economy and the ‘standard 

of living’. The main concern of gender too is empowering women economically. 

However, the concepts of ‘standard of living’ and ‘quality of life’ are different and 

the CIDA Restore Project strategically blending all aspects in community 

development has contributed more towards the latter. 

Keywords: gender empowerment, quality of life, tsunami rehabilitation

194 

Introduction 

The tsunami that struck the island on 26 December 2004, was by far the largest 

natural disaster experienced by Sri Lanka (Ratnasooriya et. al, 2007). It devastated a 

800 km stretch of coastal area of the island, killed more than 36,000 and displaced 

more than 800,000 (Mallawaarachchi and Jayasinghe, 2008). Ampara is the worst 

affected district in terms of life and property. The main reason was densely 

populated villages in the coastal belt. The rate of rehabilitation is low compared to 

other tsunami hit areas due to social, cultural and political reasons. 

Disasters affect men and women differently because of the different roles they 

occupy the different responsibilities they bear in life and because of the differences 

in their capacities, needs and vulnerabilities (Ariyabandu and Wickramasinghe, 

2003). The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 had differential impacts on 

women and on men, due to the strong gender-based division of labour of productive 

and reproductive activities in the areas it struck (APFIC, 2005). 

Many funding agencies have carried out various kinds of rehabilitation activities 

and the CIDA Restore Project is peculiar in its approach. It selected two villages 

each from three different tsunami affected districts to be developed as model 

villages covering all aspects i.e. social, economic and environment, gender for 

sustainable community development. 

According to Young (1988), gender refers to a whole set of expectations held as to 

the likely behaviour, characteristics, aptitudes men and women will have. It refers to 

the social meaning given to being a man or woman in a given society (Ariyabandu 

and Wickramasinghe, 2003). Gender is a critical variable in shaping processes of 

ecological changes, viable livelihoods and prospects for sustainable development 

(Elmhirst and Resurreccion, 2008). 

Gender needs are grouped into two categories. ‘Practical gender needs’ refer to 

those needs that arise from women’s gender roles and responsibilities such as food, 

water, fuel etc. and are usually related to immediately perceived basic needs. 

‘Strategic gender needs’ refer to those that arise due to women’s subordinate 

positions in society and include such needs as equal wages, right to live free from 

gender-based violence, legal rights etc. and are always not visible (Ariyabandu and 

Wickramasinghe, 2003). 

Gender empowerment is one of the components of the CIDA project and the aim of 

this paper is to explore how the various activities carried out by the project have 

contributed to gender empowerment.

195 

Strategic gender needs 

Addressing the ‘strategic gender needs’ have to be done carefully, since some issues 

may conflict with accepted cultural and religious norms. The norms governing the 

gender identities of men and women are not identical. In fact, the gender identities 

of a man and a woman may differ greatly on account of time and place and 

according to the accepted models of gender found in different religious, cultural and 

class ideologies and social structures (Ariyabandu and Wickramasinghe, 2003). 

Some relevant issues have been dealt with at awareness level (Table 5.6). 

Table 5.6: Awareness programmes carried out 

Field 

Number of participants 

Men Women Students (O.L & A.L.) 

Disaster management 346 244 450 

Gender issues 430 100 

Smoking/Alcoholism 70 

Leadership 18 190 

Organic manure/composting 38 21 

Health/Safe motherhood 220 

Total 472 1105 550 

Practical gender needs 

The other activities of the project have mainly contributed towards practical gender 

needs of women. Reproductive roles and responsibilities include women’s roles and 

responsibilities within the household and the family: inclusive of bearing, nurturing, 

rearing children; cooking; cleaning the house and yard; washing and laundering 

clothes; fetching water/fuel-wood; marketing; caring for the sick and elderly, etc. 

This may also include works in agriculture, home gardening and livestock keeping 

and providing home remedies, indigenous medicine, etc. 

There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the crucial importance of 

water, sanitation and hygiene, not only to human health but also for the economic 

and social development of communities and nations around the world. The scarcity 

of resources like water, for instance, will affect the entire population but will affect 

women more adversely because they are more dependant on local water resources 

for fulfilling their traditional roles in the family i.e. drying up or pollution of natural 

springs mean women have to walk longer in search of water (Veneman et. al., 

2009). In the affected areas, the dependence on wells for water needs was high and 

(Ratnasooriya et. al., 2007). This was a severe problem in Akbar Village since 

almost all households were completely dependent on well water before tsunami and 

some of the wells even after cleaning are unsuitable for drinking. Some basic needs

196 

including water supply have been provided by the CIDA project (Table 5.7) and 

these will indirectly empower women economically. 

Table 5.7: Basic needs/services provided 

Need/ service Number Approximate number of 

female beneficiaries 

Water supply 41 80 

Tube wells (common) 06 200 

Water analysis 27 54 

Power supply 15 30 

Eye testing 74 36 

Total 163 400 

There are more subtle effects of these measures in the lives of women, such as 

greater confidence, increased capacity to earn money and the fact that women are 

likely to be healthier, happier and have more time to concentrate on making the 

home a better place to live. Ultimately, what is good for women is good for the 

family and the whole community, who share the benefit from all these 

improvements (Veneman et. al., 2009). A major share of livelihood support 

provided have gone to women (Table 5.8) and thus their burden as breadwinners in 

women headed families will be relieved to some extent. Even the livelihood support 

given to men will indirectly empower the women. 

Table 5.8: Livelihood support provided 

Material/service 

Number of direct beneficiaries 

Men 

Women 

Small scale rice processing equipment 30 30 

Bicycles for fish mongers 05 

Carpentry tools 03 

Fishing net 03 

Goat/cattle 06 

Water pump for agriculture 01 

Refrigerator for yoghurt industry 01 

Sewing machines 16 

Handloom materials 11 

Training on cottage industry 30 79 

On-farm training 25 

Training on food packaging 25 60 

Total 129 196

197 

Although men are the main breadwinners of the families it is women who have to 

manage the household needs in most of the households. It is the women who are 

mainly responsible for the food and nutrition of family members. The home garden 

improvement with above plants will be of some assistance in this regard to some 

extent (Table 5.9). These may also provide them fuel wood and food for livestock. 

Thus it will help to save some money spent on these needs and also to earn some 

additional income. 

Table 5.9: Trees planted 

Kind 

Number of plants in 

Home gardens School gardens Restoration site 

Teak 50 160 

Coconut 815 10 

Jak 200 

Mango 934 

Guava 185 

Amberella 215 

Orange 320 

Potted plants 192 

Mangroves 2300 

Terminalia arjuna 200 

Total 2719 362 2500 

More than 500 students are benefiting from the children’s park provided to the 

primary school in Maligaikadu village. This will thus help to improve both the 

physical and mental health of these children. This thus indirectly contributes to 

meeting women’s (mothers’) practical need. Such facilities also help to raise the 

interest of schooling among children which helps to relieve from that burden of 

such mothers. 

Children learn what they see. Teaching children about a clean environment, hygiene 

and relevant good practices in the classroom is of no use when they experience 

exactly the opposite in their immediate surroundings. Mothers too have a certain 

role in children’s education particularly in the present system of student centered 

learning which involves a lot of home assignments etc. A clean environment 

resulting from the above activities thus help women in this task. 

The activities carried out under this namely the cleaning and planting mangroves in 

a highly polluted canal in the middle of the village just by the side of the primary 

school and a large number of houses are a big relief for these dwellers. Women will 

enjoy a major share of this relief since they and their children are the ones who are 

exposed to and interact mostly with the immediate environment.

198 

Women are the ones who are greatly concerned about the health of their children 

and elderly. A major complain both from mothers and school authorities was the 

respiratory difficulties children develop when the weedy Typa plant were in flowers 

due to their pollen dispersal. The mothers are thus relieved from this problem. 

Improper waste disposal was another major problem prevailing in the area. Women 

usually bear the responsibility of disposing of the domestic waste. Measures taken 

in this regard for proper disposal of garbage and distribution of bins for composting 

will help to overcome this problem at least to some extent. 

The restoration site will gradually develop into a recreation site. The houses are 

closely situated with poor ventilation and less space for relaxation. It is women who 

are mostly affected by this. They rarely go out or take their children out for 

relaxation due to lack of such places close by. This recreational site will thus relax 

them and their children. 

Conclusion 

All developmental projects are aimed at improving economic growth and the 

standard of living. The modern world has built its ideas of nature and culture on the 

model of an industrial factory where everything is viewed in financial terms (Shiva, 

1993). Is any form of economic growth at the expense of everything else good 

Campeau (1996), states that the concepts of ‘standard of living’ and ‘quality of life’ 

are confused. He questions as to why the recent past in which change has 

accelerated to a dizzying pace has also seen the most dramatic increases in mental 

disorders, divorce, violence and substance abuse 

The CIDA Restore Project where community development blended with 

environmental restoration, awareness on various important issues has thus 

contributed to improve both standard of living and quality of life. 

Bibliography 

Ariyabandu, M.M. and Wickramasinghe, M. (2003). Gender dimensions in 

disaster management: A guide to South Asia. ITDG, South Asia Publications, 

Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

Elmhirst, R. and Resurreccion, B.P. (2008). Gender, environment and natural 

resource management: New dimensions, new debates in gender and natural 

resource management, livelihoods, mobility and interventions Eds. B.P. 

Resurreccion and R. Elmhirst, Earthscan UK, London

199 

Mallawaarachchi, R.S. and Jayasinghe, C. (2008). The effects of cyclones, tsunami 

and earthquakes on built environment and strategies for reduced damage. 

J.Natn.Sci. Foundation Sri Lanka 36.1:3-14. 

Ratnasooriya, H.A.R., Samarawickrama, S.P. and Imamura, F. (2007). Post 

Tsunami Recovery Proces in Sri Lanka. J. of Natural Disaser Science, 29.1:21-28 

Shiva, V. (1993) Monocultures of the mind, Third World Network, Penang 

Veneman, A.M., Johnson, H.F. and Mutagamba, M. Water, sanitation and hygiene 

Young, K. (1988). Towards the theory of a social relation of gender. Institute of 

Development Studies, Sussex. 

Webography 

APFIC. (2005).Gender and Coastal Zone Management [Online] Available 

at:http://www.genderandwater.org/content/download/3085/33612/file/Chapter_ 

3.10_July%2006.pdf [Accessed 06.01.2009] 

Evidence report: It’s the big issue, Putting women at the centre of water supply, 

sanitation and hygiene. [Online] Available at:http://www.wsscc.org/pdf/ 

publication/FOR_HER_ITs_THE_BIG_ISSUE_Evidence_Report_en.pdf 

[Accessed 06.01.2009]

200

PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES: WOMEN’S FACTOR 

IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT 

R.M. Ranaweera Banda 

The massive destruction caused by the tsunami in December 2004 led many people 

to explore new ways of mitigating possible effects of natural disasters on human 

lives, livelihood mechanisms, physical infrastructure and the natural environment. 

After the tsunami in 2004, various restoration and reconstruction programmes were 

implemented in the tsunami affected regions of South Asia together with new 

technology development initiatives and research programmes relating to natural 

disaster management. According to the lessons learnt from the post-tsunami 

rehabilitation and reconstruction work, some of the interventions became really 

successful while others ended up as stories of ineffective pooling of human and 

material resources, perhaps the monumental examples of utter waste of 

humanitarian assistance raised from people having humanitarian hearts. When 

looking back, the way in which most aid agencies implemented their post tsunami 

rehabilitation and reconstruction work, they either neglected or did not want to 

show any serious concern about the gender dimension in disaster management and 

disaster preparedness. The blame goes not only to those aid agencies involved in 

tsunami rehabilitation work but also to the local communities which deliberately 

forgot the ethical aspects of human nature particularly in regard to women and 

children. 

In Sri Lanka, the majority of the tsunami victims were women and children even 

though a considerable number of men were affected by it. This situation was not 

exceptional to the Sri Lankan context but common to all other tsunami affected 

countries of the South Asian region. In a general perspective, one may raise a very 

basic question as to why women were affected more than men. In fact this is a 

serious question as far as its social reasons are concerned but it still remains 

unanswered at both in intellectual level and humanitarian level, particularly with 

regard to the aid agencies concerned with disaster management. In that sense it is an 

epistemological question on the one hand and a humanitarian question on the other 

hand. I believe that a serious social analysis of this situation is required for both 

developing and practicing knowledge in the future disaster management 

programmes. It is common knowledge that no selective group in a community can 

escape from a natural disaster but unfortunately it happened both in Sri Lanka and 

in Indonesia during the tsunami in 2004. The real story was that men compared to 

women were more capable of surviving the disaster. The focus of this paper is on 

that miracle. It is argued in the paper that women are more susceptible than men to 

be victims of natural disasters in the present male-dominated society and under the 

prevailing mode of economy of a mercantile capitalism. Under this prevailing mode 

of economy people are forced to take decisions in both domestic and public spheres

202 

in different ways. This latter mentioned factor has been made a significant influence 

in weakening the chances of protecting women from disaster situations be it man 

made or natural. The very principles of this mode of economy compel people to 

depend on their abilities and strengths in escaping from grave situations irrespective 

of the socio-cultural contexts within which they live. My critique about mercantile 

capitalism is that it compels everybody to adhere to the forces of the market in 

dealing with everyday situations, which is absurd when looked at the position of 

women who live under dependent situations on men in many diverse socio-cultural 

contexts. The simple argument here is that free market forces do not help persons 

to assure their survival in disastrous situations. Rather they operate in favour of one 

group over the other without any ethical justification. 

Apart from other things in relation to the position of women in a disaster situation, 

this is the argument that I want to raise in this brief note. When we pay attention to 

the way in which women were protected from disasters by migratory herdsmen in 

Asia and Africa, Aborigines (Veddas) in Sri Lanka, the absurdity of market driven 

materialist norms can be clearly understood. During droughts or in conflicts with 

enemy groups these people migrated to secured places, not as individuals but in 

groups in order to protect everybody’s life. In such cases equal value was given to 

the lives of men, women and children. This was because of the value system that 

did not undermine the social value of any individual, whether the person concerned 

is a man or a woman. 

It is unfortunate that the aid agencies did not pay much attention to the naive 

explanations given by local communities (or others) in terms of the high death toll 

of women from the tsunami in 2004. Three of those explanations are cited here for 

your careful reading. 

1. Women are physically weak when compared to men and so that they were 

not able to escape from the tsunami waves. This was the reason given by 

some to justify the high death toll among women. 

2. Women were not able to escape from the waves because of their excessive 

concern about the movable assets such as money, jewelry etc. which they 

had accumulated during their lifetime. According to this version of the 

story, the affected women were busy in taking out such movable assets 

before leaving the risky places. The story emphasizes this as the main cause 

of high death toll of women. 

3. There was another explanation commonly found in both Sri Lanka and 

Indonesia. In Sri Lanka, it was found among the Tamil community in the 

East Coast and in Indonesia among the Muslim community in Banda Aceh. 

This was a mythical construct in which there is a link between human 

beings and the cosmological gods who are believed to be the guardians of 

the universe. In that mythical construct, the two communities mentioned 

above believed that the tsunami in 2004 was a result of a curse by the 

cosmological gods in response to immoral behavior of women in the 

tsunami-affected countries.

203 

Among the three stories, the first one is closely relating to the idea of masculinity 

which is often propagated in patriarchal societies. The conceived idea of this story 

is that women are physically weaker than men and hence men were able to escape 

from the tsunami waves due to their physical strength. Therefore, the higher death 

toll reported among women is justified in this story based on the masculinity 

conception propagated in the patriarchal societies. The absurdity in this conception 

is that men are always constructed as a fortunate segment blessed by nature while 

women, unfortunate and degraded elements, always inferior to men. According to 

the way in which the masculinity conception was interpreted by the two 

communities (Tamils in the East coast of Sri Lanka and the Muslims in Banda 

Aceh), women’s emancipation is denied on the basis of the gift given to the men by 

nature. Although nature is a common property which should be shared by 

everybody irrespective of gender differences, ethnicity, race, religion and other 

types of social constructions within the human society, women are marginalized in 

sharing that property with men. 

The second version among the three stories is related to economy, a domain 

controlled by men. In a market economy which is driven by the forces of mercantile 

capitalism, woman is constituted as a dependent element in both domestic and 

societal spheres. That dependency is created based on the command that a man has 

over the material assets of a family. Because of their dependency on men, the 

freedom that women have in decision making at the domestic and societal levels is 

always secondary. Even though their opinion in the economic matters of the family 

is elicited and sometimes appreciated, the sole decision making authority is kept 

with men. In a premature mercantile capitalist economy like what is found in Sri 

Lanka, this imbalance of decision making power enjoyed by men at the domestic 

level is concealed by way of distributing other powers to women e.g. managing 

household assets. In South Asia in general and in Sri Lanka in particular, women 

are entrusted with the responsibility or command over managing the family assets. 

The reality is such that the men take the liberty to escape from the burden of 

managing family assets while holding the decision making power over them. One 

classic example is the case of jewelry, a prime family asset controlled by women in 

Sri Lanka. In most cases women possess the ownership of jewelry but ultimate 

decision of using that asset is with men. For example, the women from the coastal 

fisher communities in Sri Lanka usually spend their savings for owning jewelry but 

it is not used for ornamentation and instead jewelry is very often used as an 

economic asset of the family. Since the decision making power over the economic 

assets is with men, the assets such as jewelry is mortgaged in instances of economic 

crisis of the family. This game of the authority in decision making and managing 

the family assets was an obvious reason of the high death toll among women during 

the tsunami. Since the woman is given a responsibility to secure the material assets 

of the family, she did it during the tsunami despite the great risk to her life. If 

women had an equal power in decision making at the household level, they also 

could have escaped from the disaster as the men folk among them did.

204 

The third version of the story regarding the high death toll among women is more 

interesting when looked at the way in which it was constructed from the point of 

view of men. According to that social construction of the status of women, the 

cause of the tsunami was women who provoked the guardian gods of the universe 

by adhering to wrong morality which is against the divine law of the gods. The 

absurdity here is that men were constructed as true followers of the divine law of 

the god while women were constructed as violators of that law. According to this 

explanation, men are excused by the gods for all kinds of vices they commit but 

women are punished for an unexplained failing morality. The most serious claim 

could be sexual misconduct among women but how can it be a punishable offence 

while men also break the same law. Nevertheless it is difficult to assume every 

woman in the tsunami affected areas was guilty of that immoral behavior. Then an 

ethical question arises over this issue. It is about justice. Did the god make justice to 

those who obey his divine law The answer is No. The cosmological gods had made 

a wrong decision to punish the innocents and wrongdoers alike. It was wrong 

judgment and was ethically wrong. If it is so what could be the truth The truth is 

that men transfer their guilty conscience to an easy target that is women. This 

explanation clearly shows the manner in which men are constructed by themselves 

as a superior category having qualities of spirituality, wisdom and far sight. 

These three stories that justify the high death toll of women during the tsunami 

provide with us a basis to understand the importance of gender implications in 

natural disasters. Even though we are not living in a dark age, such naïve 

justifications or explanations still stand as dominant discourses in our society while 

challenging humanity. It shows the deficiency of our knowledge in managing the 

possible adverse effects of natural disasters. The era in which we are living is full of 

risks from natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, storms, global warming, 

sea level rising, health hazards, ethnic and nuclear wars, droughts, etc. But much 

emphasis has so far not been given to the security of the most vulnerable groups 

such as women in this case. It is important to mention that disaster management 

and disaster vigilance are not all about technology development and physical 

planning. More than that humanistic feeling should be developed among people to 

rethink about the other. In a broader sense it is the way of disaster vigilance. It 

requires a new philosophical outlook about nature and a discipline that supports 

understanding the position of others. An understanding of the position of 

disadvantaged people in a situation of natural disaster is the most crucial factor in 

disaster management. The three stories presented in the article show that such an 

understanding does not present in this globalized society. In such a situation, it is 

clear that the need of pooling the knowledge of different disciplines is a requirement 

that so far has not been done adequate in the field of disaster management.

205 

Bibliography 

Ariyabandu, M. and Wickramasinghe. M. (2003). Gender Dimensions in Disaster 

Management, Colombo: ITDG South Asia Publication. 

Mead Margaret. (1963). Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies. 

New York: Moroj. 

Ranaweera Banda, R.M. and Ranasinghe, I. (2005). Pilot Project on Alternative 

Livelihood Opportunities for Tsunami affected people in the Eastern and Southern 

Sri Lanka, UNDP Colombo (unpublished). 

Ranaweera Banda, R.M. (2005). Interface between Government Institutions and 

Non-governmental Organizations in providing Relief Services to the Tsunami 

Affected People in the South Coast of Sri Lanka. University of Ruhuna 

(unpublished).

206

IMPACT ON SELECTED SKILL DEVELOPMENT 

PROGRAMS ON WOMEN’S INCOME GENERATING 

ACTIVITIES IN TSUNAMI AFFECTED AREA IN 

BATTICALOA DISTRICT 

T.H. Seran, I. Brintha and H.S. Balasingham 

Abstract 

Over the past three decades women’s issues and more recently gender issues have 

gained prominence of the development platform and women play a significant role 

in household and community services. Households are the first place of gender 

socialization. Skill is an important aspect in people’s life and it should be 

considered as a part of their life. Today, it has been challenging for people in view 

of improving the people’s living status, improving income level and employment 

opportunity, especially for those who are in the developing nations affected by the 

tsunami. The contribution of government and non government organizations is 

highly expected by the people to empower them to face this challenge. In this way, 

CIDA has joined with Eastern University, Sri Lanka to contribute a lot to improve 

their living status in the Batticaloa district. Under the CIDA Restore project, skill 

training was provided to women, who were affected by tsunami in 2004 to raise 

their income and reduce poverty. The objective of this study was to assess the 

impact of the training on these women’s lives. Therefore, the conceptualization 

frame work for this study was developed based on the objectives of the CIDA 

Restore project.. It covered four areas such as living standard and income, service 

quality, self employment opportunity and human development activities. Personal 

and research information had been collected through structured questionnaires. 

The five point Likert Scale model of statements was used, which is ranking from one 

to five. The questionnaires were randomly issued to participants in Palameenmadu 

village. The present study revealed that women’s participation in skill training was 

more (31.3%) in the age group of 21-30, followed by the age group of 31-40 

(22.8%). Among the respondents, most of them were married (62.5%) while 27.1 % 

were school girls and 2.1% were women household heads. The main income of the 

family has declined. According to monthly income obtained before training, 54.2% 

of respondents had fallen into the family income category of below Rs. 3000 but 

after getting training, it had been reduced by 47.7%. Also it was found that 37.5% 

of the women surveyed were self employed and 2.1% were working in the NGO 

sector. It was further noted that, a large number of respondents participated in a 

combination of sewing techniques and fabric painting (22.9%). Income level has 

increased after getting skill trainings provided by CIDA at Palameenmadu village. 

All the variables derived from the data revealed that the women were highly 

satisfied by the skill training provided by CIDA. Living standard and income,

208 

service quality, self employment opportunity and human development activities had 

mean scale value of 3.98, 4.17, 4.17 and 4.42 respectively. This present study 

concluded that skill development program under CIDA Restore project had a 

capacity to strengthen the living status of the rural community. 

Introduction 

The devastating tidal wave, the tsunami, that created havoc on the fateful morning 

of the 26 th of December 2004, totally ravaged almost the whole coastal belt of Sri 

Lanka, victimizing both human lives and properties and livelihood. Batticaloa 

district is one of the worst tsunami affected districts in the East coast of Sri Lanka. 

Unprecedented damage was caused to the communities and sometimes revictimized 

those who have already suffered as a result of the cival war. However, 

the world has responded with it all its heart to rush relief to the Batticaloa district. 

Many people began to negotiate individual ways with which to endure the loss of 

family, livelihoods, shelter, and basic services such as water, healthcare and 

education. Even though much progress has been made in rebuilding houses and 

community buildings, both men and women continue to look for ways to earn a 

sufficient income with which to support their families’ basic needs. Women are 

influenced differently than men by natural disasters. Thus, the nature of 

vulnerability of people to a natural disaster is a direct function of their gender and 

the ways in which humanitarian agencies respond to the diversity of women’s and 

men’s vulnerabilities, often reinforced by traditional socio-economic structures and 

arrangements, which contributes to the inequality between men and women in 

specific disaster contexts. By responding to disaster with a gendered approach, the 

differences in power relations and access to resources within the household and 

society will be emphasized, as well as the ways in which these disparities might be 

shaped. 

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) working with Eastern 

University of Sri Lanka in the affected Batticaloa district was implemented 

programmes, such as livelihoods, education, water and sanitation, gender and 

community rehabilitation in two affected villages aimed to restore and improve the 

previous living conditions of the communities. With regard to gender, the CIDA- 

Eastern Restore project Team acknowledged the necessity to empower women 

through their programmes and support women’s personal skill development for the 

community’s benefit. Women need to be empowered to make their own choices and 

to respond to increasing opportunities. Investment in women’s human capital 

through education and training, more than any other form of investment, increases 

women’s capabilities, expands opportunities available to them, empowers them to 

exercise their choices, removing barriers to the productive use of women’s time, 

work and energy are key to sustainable and gender-sensitive food security. Goodale 

(1989) argued that the increasing interest in training for the informal sector during 

the 1980s failed to recognise the involvement of women, and therefore to develop

209 

programmes and strategies which distinguish between women and men as economic 

producers. He further stated that the failure to recognise that women and men 

engage in different economic activities in different sets of circumstances and 

therefore have different training needs has resulted in a relatively male-biased 

delineation of both skill acquisition and work in the informal sector, in which 

women are largely invisible. Nevertheless, there is a large body of literature, 

relating to skills training, which argue that poor women in particular need 

awareness raising if they are to overcome the barriers that face them when they 

enter the public arena, which is dominated by men (Moser, 1991; Longwe, 1998; 

Williams, 1994 and Parker, 1993). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to 

examine the impact of skill training on women's economic and social status of the 

participant in the Palameenmadu village and also sought to find out what constitutes 

effective training for women’s development. 

Methodology 

The structured questionnaire was designed to capture the impact of skill training on 

women's economic and social status in the Palameenmadu village. This included 

collecting information about how and whether the training created changes in the 

women's personal life, changes in activities carried out, amount of time spent on 

each, changes in household circumstances, resources required for her productive 

work, uses made of skills acquired during training, changes in income, changes in 

external circumstances which might influence her productive work and what she 

does with any additional income. Case studies were also conducted using structured 

interviews with participants at the start and the end of the project period at regular 

intervals. Thus, the sample of the study was limited to the women who were 

training participants. 


The age of the participants varied in the study area was from 18 to 51 years, with an 

average of 30.4. About 31.3 percent of the participants fall in the age group of 21 to 

30 years and only 6.3 percent of them were over 50 years. According to the survey 

62.5 percent of the participants were married while 35.4 percent of them were 

unmarried and 2.1 percent were widows and current heads of their households. 

The education of participants was determined by the highest school grade they had 

completed. It was observed that educational levels of 58.3 percent of the 

participants had completed the ordinary secondary level while 18.8 had completed 

the advanced secondary level. Only two percent of the women had never been to 

school, the remainder had between one to six years of schooling. Most of the 

participants had completed their secondary education and unemployment was the 

reason for their high participation.

210 

Self employment (37.5 percent) was thea main occupation of the participants. They 

were very keen to learn new technologies to strengthen their capacity to engage in 

profitable businesses. This is one of the reasons for the high participaption in the 

training programme. It was further found that 33.3 percent of participants were 

house wives wants to start self employment or to fulfill their family needs in order 

to reduce their economic burdens. Moreover, 27.1 percent of them were 

unemployed school leavers who had acquired necessary new skill and information 

to produce items for their own purpose and also for an alternative carrier in future. 

Women start their own businesses because they are unable to find formal 

employment. Women’s inability to access formal institutions results in women’s 

businesses most frequently being situated within the informal sector. Hart (1997) 

found that women who want to re-enter the work force, after their children are 

grown, sometimes find employment opportunities closed to them, so the alternative 

is to become a “domestic entrepreneur”. Women’s businesses are more than likely 

to be home-based and they can be started quickly (Van Der Wees and Romjin 

1995). Domestic responsibilities might require women to remain near their home, 

hence establishing a business in proximity or in the home resolves potential 

conflicts. This often results in women’s businesses being part-time. 

Regarding preference of skill training 22.9 percent of the participants followed 

sewing techniques and fabric painting while 20.8 percent of the participant followed 

fabric painting alone. According to the study, the monthly income of their 

households before skill training was revealed to be below Rs. 3000, for 54.2 percent 

of the them. Most of them had had very hard lives and unhappy childhoods were 

currently engaged in some form of economic activity at the time of training while 

10.4 percent in the range of Rs 3000 to 5000 rupees and only 2.1 percent earned 

above Rs 5000. Furthermore, 33.3 percent of the participants were school leavers 

not involved in any form of economic activity at the time of the training. The 

follow–up interview with the participants took place eight weeks after the training. 

At that time, all of the women had experienced some increase in income, although 

in some cases, they showed evidence of having used some of the skill acquired 

during the training. The data clearly documented the way in which these skills were 

used as well as the impact on their incomes and on their status in the home and the 

community.The data revealed that the percentage of women whose income was 

below Rs. 3000 was reduced from 54.2 percent to 47.7 percent while income of Rs. 

3000 to 5000 increased by 4.2 percent. Further, the income of those earning above 

Rs. 5000 increased by 2.1 percent. Most of them made significant changes to their 

economic activity as a result of the training and saw a significant improvement in 

income. The impact of the training on woman was immediate. One of those 

participants reported that before the training she had no work but by the end of the 

training programme she had bought a sewing machine and started sewing dresses. 

Interestingly, however, she said that the training had made her more qualityoriented 

and she had made changes to attract customers but lack of capital investment is the 

main constraint to expand her business.

211 

Regarding the result of the study the average living standard and income had a 

value of 3.98. It falls in the range of 3.5

212 

like real business women. The link between increased income and access and 

control of resources also appeared to be quite strong, with the women controlling 

their own financial affairs. However, the link between increased income and 

increased household decision-making was much less clear; although the men were 

usually very appreciative of what the women were doing, and in some cases were 

actively involved in the business, there did not appear to be any great shift in power 

and authority within the household. The training provided under this programme 

was effective in providing a significant number of women with slightly improved 

livelihoods and an element of empowerment. 

Bibliography 

Goodale, G. (1989). Training for women in the informal sector. In: F Fluitman (ed) 

training for Work in the Informal Sector. Geneva: International Labour 

Organization. 

Hart, G. (1997). From Rotten Wives to Good Mothers: Household Models and the 

Limits of Economism. IDS Bulletin28 (3):14-25. 

Longwe, S. (1998). Education for women's empowerment or schooling for women's 

subordination. Gender and Development 6 (2):19-26 

Moser, C. (1991). Gender planning in the third world: Meeting practical and 

strategic gender needs. In: T Wallace and C March (eds) Changing perceptions: 

writings on gender and development. Oxford: Oxfam, pp 158-171. 

Parker, R.A. (1993). Another Point of View: A Manual on Gender Analysis 

Training for Grassroots Workers.UNIFEM. 

Van Der Wees, C. and Romijn, H. (1995). Entrepreneurship and Small- and 

Microenterprise Development for Women: A Problematique in Search of Answers, 

a Policy in Search of Programs’. In: Dignard and Havet (eds.), Women in Microand 

Small-scale Enterprise Development. Boulder: Westview Press. Pp. 41 - 82. 

Williams, S. (1994). The Oxfam Gender Training Manual. Oxford: Oxfam.

VI. LIVELIHOOD RESTORATION ACTIVITIES 

213

214

HOME GARDENING AS A TOOL FOR IMPROVING 

FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY - A CASE STUDY 

AT MADIHA AND GANDARA IN SRI LANKA 

K.K.I.U. Arunakumara, S. Subasinghe and Ranjith Senaratne 

Abstract 

Improvement of food and nutritional security of coastal communities affected by the 

Tsunami is a matter of great concern. Home gardening, in this regard, is highly 

considered as it could make an important contribution towards both livelihood 

improvement and food security. Waste management through composting is found to 

be a viable tool in meeting the nutritional requirement of the crops grown in home 

gardens. The present paper assessed the viability of implementing waste 

management and home gardening programs together to improve food and 

nutritional security of the people in Madiha and Gandara. 

Based on their interest, thirty home gardens from each village were selected for the 

study. A group of people comprising a member representing each selected garden 

was trained on home gardening and waste management. They were provided with 

planting materials, farming tools and bins for composting. Their gardening was 

routinely monitored and necessary information and guidance was given. Despite no 

specific way of discharging household waste was found initially, composting was 

found increasingly popularized among the involved people as the programs 

proceeds. Crops are now fertilized with only organic manures by the majority 

(71%) of the people who were totally dependent upon chemical fertilizers. As a 

consequence of composting, the problem of discharging household waste has now 

been solved and people begin to receive organic manure at low or no cost. Before 

the program was implemented, the majority (60%) of the selected families was 

totally dependent upon the market for their vegetables and none of them consumed 

homemade vegetables only. As the home gardening program progressed, the 

vegetable production at home gradually increased and some of them (4%) started to 

sell the excess creating an extra source of income. However, as most of the gardens 

(81%) are relatively small (> 0.25 Ac), market oriented farming seemed difficult in 

these villages. Despite being highly dependent upon the family preference, the 

species diversity in these gardens is high, minimizing the risk of crop failure. Waste 

management has also contributed effectively to minimize the pest and disease 

incidents in the gardens. Consequently, diversity of food which positively influences 

nutritional security has begun to increase in these villages as they grow more and 

more vegetables.

190 

Introduction 

Approximately, two-thirds of the coastline of Sri Lanka (over 1,000 Km) was 

affected by the Tsunami on 26 th December 2004 (Asian Development Bank, 2005). 

The severity of the damage was different from place-to-place depending on waterborne 

energy received, seabed and terrestrial terrain of the area. The salinization 

caused by the sea water has direct negative effects on soil biology and crop 

productivity, and an indirect effects leading to loss of soil stability through changes 

in soil structure (Szabolcs, 1996). Depleting soil quality would negatively influence 

plant and animal health also (Doran and Parkin, 1994). However, soil property 

related crop performances (yield, water and nutrient uptake) could be variable in 

space (Sparovek and Schnug, 2001). 

Home gardening, apart from providing an alternative source of income, can play 

several other roles such as restoration of affected agro-ecosystems and improvement 

of food and nutritional security. Diversity of food along with income resources 

could be considered as the main buffers against the vulnerability of coastal 

communities. The causes of food insecurity and malnutrition are complex. In some 

cases, people are food-insecure because they don’t have the income to purchase the 

food they need. In other cases, they don’t have the income to purchase the inputs 

whereby they can produce their own food. In still other cases, they don’t have 

access to cultivable land, or they don’t have enough knowledge about cultivation. 

It is generally believed that, in most of the low income groups, food comprises one 

of the largest components of household expenditure. Any savings on food 

expenditure thus translates into family income which is then available for non-food 

expenditures and improvements in living conditions. Out of various strategies 

available for reducing the expenditure for food, some prefer to grow their own 

vegetables and fruits in the backyard garden. Estimates suggest that in low income 

countries, 10-40% of the income of households can come from them producing their 

own food (Smit Jac, 1998). 

The diversity of food in low income groups is limited as they always go for 

inexpensive sources of energy. Consequently, vulnerable groups, such as children 

may be badly affected as they can suffer from deficiency of micro-nutrients. The 

direct economic and health benefits could thus be expected from home gardening 

which can increase the amount of locally grown food, in particular, vegetables and 

fruits. Additional environmental and social benefits could also be resulted if 

successful waste management program is implemented along with the home 

gardening. The present paper assessed the impacts of introducing waste 

management and home gardening programs together to improved food and 

nutritional security of the people in Tsunami affected coastal villages in Southern 

Sri Lanka.

191 

Methodology 

Study area description 

Madiha and Gandara, the selected two villages located in the Southern coastal belt, 

about 175km away from Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. About 350 families are 

living in each village. The most important form of livelihood in Gandara is fishing 

while in Madiha, service sector and small scale industries are found dominant. 

Agro-based livelihoods are not prominent in either village. The beaches of the area 

comprised of predominantly sandy coastline with natural beauty and the nearby 

home gardens hosted for few coconut and tropical fruit plants have been severely hit 

by the Tsunami. 

Selection of families and trainings 

Based on their interest, thirty families from each village were selected for the study. 

Species diversity, crop performances and some soil quality parameters of selected 

gardens were assessed before been formulated actions to be implemented. A series 

of training workshops were then conducted with the participation of members of 

selected families. Basic home gardening techniques and practices including crop 

selection, planting season and crop establishment, training and pruning, maturing 

etc, were the key areas focused. Attention was also paid on composting and waste 

utilization. 

Gardening and monitoring 

Selected families were then provided with seeds and other planting materials, 

farming tools and equipments to start with farming. Their gardening was routinely 

monitored and guidance and assistance were given as needed. As gardening 

proceeds, several field demonstrations were also conducted at farmer fields for the 

best interest of the involved people. 

Viability assessment 

At the end of one and half years, viability of introducing home gardening and waste 

utilization programs together was assessed using a questionnaire distributed among 

the involved people. Field observations were also made in addition to the interviews 

conducted with villagers. Data were analyzed and interpreted as appropriately. 


Despite the fact that no agro-based livelihoods were reported in the investigated 

area, home gardens with at least with some crops were found badly affected by the 

incursion of large amounts of salt water, leading to development of soil salinity. 

Furthermore the evidence demonstrates that intrusion of debris and marine sediment

192 

to home gardens has worsened the consequences. This might be a major reason to 

keep the householders away from the gardening. Before the program was 

implemented, the majority (60%) of the selected families was totally dependent 

upon the market for their vegetables and none of them consumed homemade 

vegetables only (Fig.6.1). As the home gardening program progressed, it was found 

that the production of vegetable at home was increased gradually (Fig.6.2). 

Figure 6.1: Source of vegetables of the people in Madiha and Gandara before home 

gardening and waste management (CIDA project) was implemented 

Figure 6.2: Source of vegetables of the people in Madiha and Gandara after home 

gardening and waste management (CIDA project) was implemented 

As most of the gardens (81%) are relatively small (> 0.25 Ac), space availability 

was found major constrain which limits the market oriented production 

(Fig.6.3).Therefore,thoughsome of them (4%) have started to sell the excess 

creating an extra source of income, most of the growers shared the excess with the 

neighboring people. This sort of subsistence farming is traditionally resorted to 

during times of social stress, economic hardship or war to ensure food security and 

survival and to supplement income (Curtis, 1995).

193 

Figure 6.3: Land size distribution of the home gardens in Madiha and Gandara 

Time spent on gardening by the involved people was continued to be increased in 

both villages. This might be due to improved family harmony as mentioned by 

involved people (86%) who work together and share experiences. A close 

association between gardening and other family activities could also be found 

among most of them. Results further revealed that housewives and children have 

mainly been involved in gardening and thus introduction of home gardening could 

strengthen the role of women in the society. In addition, the majority (93%) of the 

people believed that homemade vegetables are more tasty and healthy. This in fact 

is due to the fresh nature of the produce which has a greater likelihood of having a 

high quality vegetables compared with produce that has been stored or transported 

for long periods during which both flavour and nutritional value can deteriorate as 

reported by Lobstein and Longfield (1999). 

Despite the fact that no specific way of discharging household wastes was found 

initially in these villages, composting was found increasingly popularized among 

the involved people as the programs proceeds. According to them, around 37% 

involved people knew nothing about composting before the program was 

implemented. Some of them (21%) have never practiced it though they possessed 

adequate knowledge on composting. Crops are now fertilized with only organic 

manures by the majority (71%) of the people who had been totally dependent upon 

chemical fertilizers. As a consequence of composting, the problem of discharging 

household wastes has now been solved and people are beginning to receive organic 

manure at low or no cost. This of course sounds as frequently found near cities 

where food production is practiced using the city’s waste (UNDP Publication 

Series, 1996). 

It is a well-known fact that a diet low in vegetables and fruits is associated with an 

increased health risk. Low intake of vegetables and fruit is also associated with 

micronutrient deficiencies, hypertension, anaemia, premature delivery, low birthweight, 

obesity, diabetes etc., in addition to heart disease and cancer (WHO 

Technical Report Series-797, 1990). Estimates suggest that 30-40% of certain 

health hazards are preventable by increasing daily intakes of vegetables, fruit and

194 

fibre (World Cancer Research Fund, 1997). Despite being highly dependent upon 

the family preference, the species diversity in these gardens is high, minimizing the 

risk of crop failure. Waste management has also contributed effectively to minimize 

the pest and disease incidents in the gardens. Consequently, diversity of food which 

positively influences nutritional security has begun to increase in these villages as 

they grow more and more vegetables. 

Conclusion 

Though involved people initially knew nothing or very little about gardening they 

are now confident that they could act almost as model farmers. As there is a great 

potential for home gardening to improve the livelihoods of people in these 

communities, the establishment of a few model gardens encourage the involved 

people and they can act as models in and around the Tsunami affected villages. 

Acknowledgements 

The financial assistance received from the CIDA Restore Project is greatly 

appreciated. 

Bibliography 

Curtis, P. (1995). Urban Household Coping Strategies During War: Bosnia- 

Hercegovina, Disasters Volume 19: (1). 

Lobstein, T. and Longfield, J. (1999). Improving diet and health through European 

Union food policies: A discussion paper prepared for the Health Education 

Authority, London, Health Education Authority. 

Smit, Jac. (1998). TUAN, Personal Correspondence. 

Sparovek, G. and Schnug, E. (2001). Soil tillage and precision agriculture, Soil 

Tillage Res. 61: 47-54. 

Szabolcs, I. (1996). An overview of soil salinity and alkalinity in Europe. In: Soil 

Salinization and Alkalization in Europe: eds. N. Misopolinos, and I. Szabolcs, pp. 

1-12. European Society for Soil Conservation. Giahudis Giapulis. Thessaloniki, 

Greece. 

UNDP Publication Series for Habitat II, Volume 1. (1996). Urban Agriculture: 

Food, Jobs and Sustainable Cities.

195 

WHO Technical Report Series-797. (1990). Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of 

chronic diseases: Report of a WHO Study group. 

World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research.(1997). Food, 

nutrition and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective, Washington, DC, 

World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. 

Webography 

Asian Development Bank. (2005). An initial assessment of the impact of the 

earthquake and tsunami of December 26, 2004 on South and Southeast Asia. 

[Online] Available at:http://www.adb.org/Documents/Others/Tsunami/ 

impactearthquake-tsunami.pdf.

196

CRAB FATTENING IN WOODEN CAGES AND THE 

ENHANCEMENT OF THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE 

FISHERMEN FROM PAALMEENMADU, BATTICALOA 

P. Vinobaba and M. Prishanthini 

Abstract 

A community based crab-fattening project was initiated by the CIDA Restore 

Project at Palameenmadu village of Batticaloa District as an alternative livelihood 

to the fishermen for proper utilization of available resources in their region and for 

increasing the opportunity for additional income generation other than fishing. The 

watery mud crab, Scylla serrata was chosen for crab fattening which is successful 

in fattening and creating alternate income through this project. The watery crabs 

were placed for fattening in wooden cages. The feeding was done regularly at the 

amount of ten percentage of body weight at two times per day with fish offal, 

chicken meat shop waste materials. In twenty nine days, maximum of about 559 

gram weight increment was observed likewise the final product of more than 1300 

grams received which have a value of more than Rs.1500 per kg. This is very 

profitable aquaculture system in this area and if we use the high carapace width 

crabs then the final product will receive high market demand and profit to the 

farmer. The technology introduced, economic feasibility of the cage culture system, 

participation of village community and the effectiveness of this project are 

discussed in this paper. 

Keywords: aquaculture, crab fattening, Scylla serrata, watery crabs 

Introduction 

In Sri Lanka, brackish water areas are approximately 120,000ha in extent, out of 

which 40,000ha are shallow lagoons, tidal flats and mangrove swamps. These areas 

are endowed with rich bottom fauna and flora which provide a good habitat for mud 

crab, S. serrata. The mud crab or mangrove crab 4 is known to occur abundantly in 

the estuaries, mangrove swamps, tidal flats and shallow lagoons of Srilanka (Pinto 

1986). Mud crabs from the Batticaloa lagoon used to be very large and fetch very 

high prices in the international market but the average size of the crab has declined 

in the recent times (Samaranayake, 2003). 

4 Locally called Peru Nandu in Tamil and Kalapu kakuluwa orKadol kakuluwa in Sinhala

198 

Raphael (1972) reported preliminary pond culture trials of S. serrata in Sri Lanka 

with a survival rate of 36 per cent during an eight-month period. Subsequent 

experimental culture undertaken by the Government in Pitipana Station showed less 

success because of high mortality due to cannibalism. Numerous farmers have tried 

crab culture in net cages in the Negombo Lagoon (Samaranayake, 1986), where 

juveniles were collected from the wild and fattened in cages using trash fish. Today, 

there are no known crab culture operations in the island on a commercial scale. 

Experiments carried out in one private farm with crablings fed on trash fish and 

shrimp head meal for 15 days have shown 44 percent survival with an average 

weight gain of 200-300 g (Samarasinghe and Fernando, 1992). At present with the 

declining catches of crab due to overfishing, widespread clearing of mangroves and 

increasing consumer demand, the monoculture and fattening of crabs have become 

increasingly essential and popular in Sri Lanka 

The cultured species S. serrata is one of the members of Genus Scylla and there are 

two other species of this genus, S. oceanica and S. transquebarica which are also 

used in fattening processes. Sexual maturity in females is reported to be attained at a 

carapace width of 9-11cm (1 year+) and grow up to 2kg, 22cm carapace. The 

growth rate is 10-15cm in 1-3 years. Females migrates to offshore to spawn and the 

larval development occurs in the open sea, while juveniles, sub-adults and adults 

occupy mangrove habitats, estuaries and lagoons. 

The cultures of mud crab are of two kinds such as fattening and grow out. All 

crustaceans undergo moulting 5 and fattening refers to the holding of recently 

moulted ‘watery crabs’ 6 for short duration to enable them to acquire certain 

biological attributes and hence command higher prices. The desire end products of 

fattening are gravid females with well developed ovaries, or hard shelled crabs with 

solid meat (Chong, 1995). The mud crab (Scylla serrata) takes 20 to 24 days for 

fattening. Crab fattening is a cheap and easy to adopt method and is very much 

preferred by the small-scale farmers because in this operation the losses due to the 

fluctuations of the physiochemical conditions of the aquatic environment and 

cannibalism are comparatively low. Experimental studies on Mud crab fattening by 

Mwaluma (2002) recommends that fattening should be done on the floating cages 

rather than submersion into pond bottom to obtain better results. The following 

should be essential to check the quality of the watery crabs for fattening. 

The weight of the crab should be more than 400g. 

Damaged crab (one legged, broken carapace) should be avoided. 

Soft crab should be avoided for the fattening purposes; it may die during the 

handling process. 

5 a process by which their exoskeleton is shed in order to grow 

6 recently moulted crabs which do not fetch attractive prices at the market and they are 

usually discarded in catching

199 

Sheltered bays and mangrove areas are selected to locate crab cages for protecting 

them from strong wind and waves during adverse weather conditions. The water at 

such sites should be 0.5-1m depth. Areas with low salinities should be preferred, as 

saline water inhibits the growth of mud crab. There should be availability of 

abundant and good quality water. Mud crabs are highly tolerant to varying salinity 

conditions, so brackish water is ideal for crab fattening operations. Table 6.1 shows 

the physiochemical parameters suitable for crab fattening. 

Table 6.1: Physiochemical parameters suitable for crab fattening 

Parameter 

Value 

Salinity 

10 to 34 ppt 

pH 8.0 t 8.5 

Temperature 23 o C to 30 o C 

Dissolved oxygen Should be more than 3 ppm 

Source: Mudcrab culture. SEAFDEC Asian Aquaculture 

Trash fish are most commonly used as feed. Fish offal and chicken gut wastes are 

also employed. Feeding rates are around 10 percent of estimated body weight. After 

the fattening period, mud crab can be harvested individually by hand. The crabs are 

then bound with straw or string to enable easy handling. A skilled labourer is hired 

to bind the pincers of the crab. Exposure of the crab to sun and wind should be 

avoided, as this may lead to weakening and eventual death. 

Background of the selected project area 

Paalmeenmadu is a small village located about 5 kilometers from the Batticaloa 

town. Most of the people of the area are engaged in fishing activities. This is one of 

the most environmentally stressed coastal area of the Batticaloa district by both the 

Tsunami disaster of December 2004 and the destruction of ecologically sensitive 

mangrove area due to unplanned developmental activities following Tsunami 

(Santharooban and Vinobaba, 2007). Population increases, lack of other 

employment opportunities, and low literacy level force the local villagers to depend 

mainly on the fishery resources that can be harvested from the adjoining lagoon 

nourished with mangrove biota. As most of the fishermen do not have adequate 

financial support for large vessels, they are restricted to coastal areas and the bar 

mouth area of the lagoon that are easily accessible with small boats. Strained by 

decreasing fish catches, they are often compelled to use more effective and also 

destructive fishing methods, which reduce the productivity of the coastal resources 

even further. Overfishing and the use of destructive fishing methods have been 

prevalent for many years in this village.

200 

In order to improve the living conditions of fisher folk and to reduce the pressure in 

the coastal marine ecosystem, alternative livelihood schemes were introduced to 

empower the village community especially for the women to earn extra income on 

their own and to help their family to enhance their socio-economic status. The Crab 

fattening programme is one of scheme initiated by the CIDA Restore Project in the 

Palameenmadu village with support from the Department of Fisheries, Batticaloa. 

Through the preliminary studies it was identified that village itself has the potential 

with ideal conditions to carryout crab fattening in cages. 

The main objectives of the study are to assess the growth and production 

performance of mud crab Scylla serrata in wooden cages and to determine the 

economic feasibility of the floating cage culture system and to assess the 

enhancement of the economic status of the participating community. 


Twenty families were selected from the whole village trained in the process of crab 

fattening by the CIDA Restore project (Marine-based Ecosystem) team during 

September 2008. The training covered all aspects of fattening from choosing the 

moulted crabs, fattening, feeding the molted crabs with inexpensive feed and the 

harvest of fattened crabs. A training manual on Crab fattening was prepared and 

provided free of charge. From the training workshop, 20 candidates, who are 

interested and having the necessary facilities to hold the cages nearby their homes, 

were selected. After the training programme, each of them was provided with a crab 

cage measuring 90cm x 90cm x 45cm. The cages were made up of palmyrah 

petioles and timber wood. This type of cage was designed in an environmentally 

friendly manner to minimize the physical damages on the crabs and for the 

reusability of the cages. Watery crabs weighing more than 400g were purchased 

from the local markets and dealers and provided to the selected beneficiaries. 

Figure 6.4: The wooden crab cage 

Figure 6.5: Stocking of watery crabs into 

the cage

201 

Among the 20, five cages were selected randomly to carry out this study. These five 

cages were located in a mangrove swamp beside the home of one of our selected 

farmers at the depth of about 40cm. Initially the physiochemical parameters of the 

water body were measured using the equipments purchased through the CIDA 

Restore Project. Each of the cages was stocked with 10 watery crabs after weighed 

and acclimatized. They were fed twice a day with trash fish, shrimp heads, fish offal 

and fine pieces of chicken gut wastes obtained from the meat shops, which was10% 

of the body weight. During the farming period, once a week the fouling organisms 

and waste feed inside and outside cages were removed to maintain a healthy 

environment and to facilitate easy circulation of water. At the end of 30 days the 

crabs which attained expected growth were harvested and the rest were kept for 

another 5-10 days for further growth. Weights of crabs at the time of harvest were 

measured. Average weight gain was calculated using the following formula. 

Percentage weight gain was calculated using the following formula. 

In addition, the cost of expenditures of and the income from the crab sales were 

calculated to estimate the net profit per cage. 

Results and Discussion 

Results from the crab fattening indicated that the fattening of crabs is possible and 

growth and survival can be achieved through proper management and feeding of 

crabs. The risks involved in fattening are less, culture period short and easy to 

manage. Table 6.2 shows the physiochemical parameters of the holding water body 

at the beginning of fattening. The values were at optimal levels for a better growth 

of crabs. 

Table 6.2: Physiochemical parameters at the site of crab fattening 

Parameter Value 

Salinity 12 

pH 7.7 

Temperature 32.8 o C 

Dissolved oxygen 

Surface - 6.9-7.9 ppm 

Bottom - 9.2-9.7 ppm

202 

In this experiment, the mean survival percentage was 88% and mean mortality was 

12%. The mortality was at an acceptable level and it was experienced at the initial 

stages of the fattening. These initial mortalities occurred during the first ten days 

could be due to a highly stressed new environment and poor handling during 

collection and transport. It is therefore felt that the survival rate can be improved 

considerably through better collection, handling and transportation methods. In crab 

fattening systems, mortality may also be caused by poor quality of water at the 

bottom of the mud. But in the floating cage system, this type of mortalities cannot 

be expected. Table 6.3 provides the data regarding the growth, survival, and 

production of crabs. 

Table 6.3: Growth, survival and production of crabs in the first farming cycle 

No. of No. of 

Avg.wt at Avg.wt at 

Cage 

% 

*Avg. **% 

Crabs Crabs 

stocking Harvesting wt wt. 

No 

stocked Harvested 

Survival 

(gm) (gm) gained gain 

C 1 10 10 100 540 915 375 69.44 

C 2 10 7 70 580 945 365 62.93 

C 3 10 8 80 740 1299 559 75.54 

C 4 10 10 100 600 1024 424 70.66 

C 5 10 9 90 475 825 350 73.68 

In this experiment, individual weight gained during fattening was 414.6g for crabs 

weighing 587g. These growth increments were seem to be very high in comparison 

with other studies done by Bensam, (1986), who recorded average monthly 

increments of 8.0-16.2g for crabs of initially weighing 50g, 14.7g for crabs 

weighing between 51-100g, and 19.6g for crabs initially weighing between 101– 

151g. Figure 6.6 indicates the growth performances of crabs from each cage.

203 

Figure 6.6: The growth performance of crabs of 5 cages 

Feeding was not a problem during the fattening period because all the crab feed 

employed such as trash fish, fine pieces of chicken gut wastes, shrimp heads, fish 

offal and kitchen leftovers were well accepted. The feed consumption and 

calculated FCR values are shown in the Table 6.4. All cages showed values greater 

than one. 

Table 6.4: Feed consumption and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) for the first 

farming cycle (30 days) 

Cage No 

Total wt. of feed 

FCR(on wet weight 

Total wt. gained(kg) 

provided(kg) 

basis) 

C 1 16.275 3.570 4.56:1 

C 2 14.210 1.925 7.38:1 

C 3 15.440 2.352 6.56:1 

C 4 16.870 3.150 5.35:1 

C 5 14.940 2.412 6.19:1 

Throughout the fattening period totally 45kg of Trash fish (Rs.70.00/kg) was bought 

from the local fishermen and 45kg chicken wastes (Rs.20.00/kg) were bought from 

the local markets and meat shops. Except these two main diets other feed were 

obtained free of charge and employed as supplementary food items. At the end of 

30 th day the total weight of the crabs which attained expected growth (>1kg) was 

38kg and rest of the crabs totally weighing 5.8kg were fattened further for 7 

days. After 7 days of fattening, they attained a total weight of 8.2kg. The costs of 

feed for the first and second phases were computed to determine the feed cost per 

kg of production. The feed cost for the first phase of fattening was Rs.3870.00 and

204 

that of the second phase was Rs.540.00. At the end of fattening total production of 

crabs was 46.2kg with the cost of Rs.4410.00 and finally the cost of feed per kg of 

production was Rs.95.45. 

Figure 6.7: Crabs of harvestable 

size inside the cage 

Figure 6.8: Harvested crabs ready for sale 

Maintenance costs of floating crab cages are minimal compared to the fish cages. 

The crawling of crabs along the wooden poles or side nettings of the cages helps to 

reduce fouling. Except for attached seaweeds, there is no fouling by barnacles or 

other organisms. Such organisms probably serve as an alternative food source for 

the crab. 

Table 6.5: Economic analysis for the operation of 5 cages in the first fattening cycle 

Particulars Quantity Rate(Rs) Total(Rs) 

Expenditures 

Wooden cages 5 Nos 2650.00 13250.00 

Cost of Watery crabs 30kg 600.00 18000.00 

Feed cost 4410.00 

Cage repair and 

maintenance cost 

700.00 

Harvesting charges 1000.00 

Total 37360.00 

Income 

Crab sales-1 38kg Rs.1500.00/kg 57000.00 

Crab sales-2 8.2kg Rs.1500.00/kg 12300.00 

Total 69300.00 

Profit (5 cages) 31940.00 

Profit (1 cage) 6388.00 

The net profit of the operation was SL Rs.6388.00 per cage. At the same time in our 

crab fattening programme the beneficiaries were provided with a wooden crab cage 

costs, Rs.2650.00 and 10 watery crabs costs, Rs.3000.00. Through the first farming 

cycle they obtained Rs.5650.00 per cage additionally. This amount of money is

205 

enough to establish another cage with watery crabs to continue the next fattening 

cycle. 

If one could run about maximum of 10 fattening cycles in a year the estimated 

annual income will be Rs.63880.00. This ultimately depends on the effort taken by 

the individual and the prevailing ecological conditions of the region. 

Conclusion 

The lack of awareness and viable alternative livelihood programmes are major 

hindrances to improve the socio-economic status of fisher folk in the 

Paalmeenmadu village and also threatens the sustainable use of the coastal marine 

ecosystem. The present ‘demonstration project’, focusing on awareness and 

alternative livelihood programmes, showed good results among the fisher folk and 

is now a role model to other coastal villages of the country. The creation of 

awareness coupled with alternative livelihood programmes in these villages has 

created considerable interest among the people to protect, conserve and manage the 

coastal marine resources for the future generations. Such level of awareness and 

viable options for income and food generating activities should be replicated at a 

larger geographic scale in order to keep sustainable use of these resources. 

Crab fattening is a simple process and it can be used as one of the viable alternate 

livelihood programmes for earning additional income by the fishermen. The daily 

economic loss due to ‘moulted crabs’ was unavoidable for fishermen until recently 

when the crab fattening process was initiated. The crab fattening saves the resource 

and gives an additional income averaging Rs.6000-6500 per cage as a net profit in a 

fattening cycle. 

Crab fattening has become very popular, as it is highly viable with good market 

value. Other funding agencies have also come forward to provide training to coastal 

fisher folk in crab fattening. However, in order to provide more hands on trainings 

to fisher folk, a training unit in this particular village is essential. This training unit 

could also help to give proper guidance and monitoring of the fattening activity by 

the villagers. 

The assistance from Government Agencies, NGOs and donor agencies are expected 

by the people of Palameenmadu to promote this activity in the village and we 

suggest initiating similar efforts in other villages in the Batticaloa District, having 

the potential for crab fattening in the near future and throughout Eastern Province in 

the longer term.

206 


The authors are thankful to District Administration, Village Heads, Staff of District 

Fisheries Extension Office, Assistant Director Fisheries, Batticaloa, the entire team 

of CIDA restore project for the support to conduct the trainings and crab fattening 

programme and financial support by CIDA. 

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countries.Worldfish Centre Conference Proceedings. pp.67,1120

207 

Samarasinghe, R.P. and Fernando, D.Y. (1991). Culture of mudcrab Scylla 

serratain ponds. Andriesz Mariculture Ltd., Sri Lanka II. 

Santharooban, S. and Vinobaba, P. (2007). How can mangroves be protected and 

be used in a proper way An Awareness Hand book. CIDA Restore Project 

Publication. Eastern University, Sri Lanka.

208

BIOGAS AS AN APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR 

RESOURCE POOR FAMILIES TO MEET THEIR 

ENERGY AND FERTILIZER NEEDS; A CASE STUDY IN 

MADIHA EAST ON THE ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY 

FOR A POOR FAMILY WITH MARGINAL RESOURCES 

K.D.N.Weerasinghe and S. Wijetunga 

Abstract 

The present paper gives an overview of the experience gained by the authors as a 

case study in Madiha village during 2005-2008, under the biogas dissemination 

program of the CIDA restoration project. It demonstrates how efficiently that 

biogas technology could be incorporated into the lifestyle of a resource poor farmer 

who had only 6 perch land with a few heads of cattle. It has been also demonstrated 

that the success of the program was mainly due to the active role played by the 

entire family with a devotion and dedication. The technology appeared to be a 

promising way to double or treble the income of the family which gives number of 

livelihood options such as sales of compost, slurry for hydroponic media, nursery 

plants, hydroponically grown leafy vegetables, etc. The technology guaranteed the 

self sufficiency in energy needs for cooking, and fertilizer need for home gardening 

during the entire period of three years without any interruptions. The technology is 

proven as a very efficient technology for cattle farmers to be self sufficient in their 

home energy needs for cooking and bio fertilizer need for horticultural and 

gardening practices. 

Keywords: biogas, bio fertilizer, energy, technology transfer 

Introduction 

Energy resources and Technology will be the deciding factors in sharing economic 

and social progress of a country in the new millennium. As stipulated in the 

conference on Asia Energy vision 2020, an urgent action has to be focused to tackle 

the rural poverty and energy gap through the installation of decentralized locally 

appropriate and affordable renewable energy systems. 

In the rural sector of the south Asia region, the fuel wood and agro residues are the 

dominating energy sources. It has been identified in the number of studies that share 

of biomass and wood energy in the total consumption of the region will not change

210 

substantially in near future. Overall contribution from these sources amounts to 

about a 40% contribution of non-commercial sources of energy. 

In Sri Lanka, still the largest energy production is exploited by the biomass based 

sources (48%). Most of the biomass based energy sources is used for the 

preparation of food while tea industry, bakery industry and other few industries are 

used biomass as an energy source in very limited quantity. The contribution of 

hydropower is about 8% of the total energy need in Sri Lanka. Over 44% of energy 

requirement is met by the imported petroleum based fossil fuels 1 . Therefore, it is 

apparent that the alternative sources of energies can play a vital role in Sri Lanka for 

the future energy supply while mitigating the risks involved in the use of 

conventional energy sources. Micro hydropower, wind energy, geo-thermal energy, 

wave energy, solar power, bio-energy are the possible sources to be utilized to meet 

this demand. Bio energy adoption for different situations, as Biogas or bio fuels has 

received much attention in the recent development programs, to address the climate 

change and associated global warming problems due to the heavy use of fuels. 

Biogas technology which is getting wider popularity at present in developed and 

developing countries including India, China, European union etc. as a green energy 

source has the potential to create a big revolution in the years to come as a viable 

option to address the world burning issues in energy and waste management sectors. 

The potential of the biogas technology among the other green and clean energy 

sources such as ethanol and bio-diesel, is enormous since it could have three fold 

fronts to address the energy crisis by resolving the mess in waste management while 

producing energy and organic fertilizer for agriculture without leaving any traces of 

harmful by products which can add to environmental degradation. It also can reduce 

methane emissions into the atmosphere as a harmful greenhouse gas. 

The beauty of the biogas technology is associated with the liberation of the gas as a 

result of a simple bacteriological process, which does not use any chemicals or 

hazardous materials other than exploiting naturally existing anaerobic bacteria. In 

other words it is the harnessing and accelerating of a naturally existing 

biotechnology process for our benefit. Therefore technology could be adopted at 

different scales starting from simple micro generators for the home consumption of 

energy up to the sophisticated systems of mega scales which could provide energy 

directly to the electric grid. 

A research and development program in biogas is commenced by the Dept. of 

Agric. Engineering in 1996 considering biogas and the byproducts of the 

biomethanation as a viable alternative source for resource poor people to meet their 

energy and fertilizer needs. This program emerged as one of the prominent research 

and development programs in Sri Lanka to meet the rural energy demand for 

resource poor people. 

The Ruhuna CIDA Tsunami Restoration program gave us a rear opportunity to 

introduce the technology to the affected people of the 2004 Asian Tsunami in

211 

Matara District, by way of conducting a community adoption and technology 

demonstration program in Madiha east and Gandara. In the present paper biogas 

technology adoption for a very poor farmer with marginal resources, in Madiha east 

village is described. The objective of the program was to introduce biogas as a 

viable technology and livelihood option for a resource poor farmer to avail his day 

to day energy need for cooking and lighting and free access to the organic fertilizer 

need for the home garden improvement. 


The biogas adoption and demonstration program was conducted in Madiha east, 

Matara District during March 2007-2009. Madiha comes under the Agro ecological 

zone Wet Zone Low Country (WL2) with average annual rainfall of 2500mm. 

Madiha situates within 1km distance of the southern coastal belt, which underwent 

complete inundation during the 2004 December Tsunami. Soils of the area are 

sandy soils overlying a hard Calcaric layer. Groundwater is saline and lies at the 

depth of 1.5 to 3m. 

Around 350 families are living in the village and almost all the families are affected 

by the Tsunami. The total death toll of the village was around 10. Most of the 

villagers were engaged with fishing and coir based lively hood activities prior to the 

Tsunami. Very few families are involved with animal rearing. 

In order to achieve the objectives of the program, initial search and inquiry was 

made in early January 2005, to identify the families who would be willing to adopt 

the biogas option as an appropriate livelihood activity. At the initial survey only one 

family had given consent for such a program; the technology introduction and 

adoption program commenced for this family just after the inquiries made in 

January 2005. 

The name of the headman of the family is Sirisena. He is a poor farmer having only 

6 perch of land in his home garden. He had about 8 cattle and a bullock cart. He 

loved to rear cattle. Due to the lack of space in his small home garden his cattle 

were reared in a coconut land closer to the beach. He had two milking cows just 

before the Tsunami. During the night two milking cows with the two calves were 

kept in the cattle shed. He was a father of two daughters and three sons. His wife 

and three children were dependent on the income gained by him from the bullock 

cart and milk sales. By the time of introducing the biogas program to his family 

main income source of the family was the selling of 4 liters of milk per day. The 

bullock cart had been virtually unused prior to the tsunami restoration work. 

Sirisena had just escaped from the tsunami and lived in a congested house. His 

house, cattle shed, well, toilet and bullock cart occupied almost all the available 

space in the home garden. His limitations with the un-managed space made his 

family life very miserable.

212 

CIDA restoration Project helped him to construct a biogas plant and reconstruct his 

cattle shed to couple with the biogas plant. He and his family members were trained 

to use the biogas for cooking purposes. They were also trained to manage the small 

garden space to raise vegetables using biogas slurry. He was trained to pack and sell 

excess manure. His daughters were trained to adopt hydroponics technology for 

crop production. Now the life pattern of Sirisena is changed and he is self sufficient 

on vegetables for home consumption, and energy for cooking. He is now an owner 

of a small boutique named “Punchi Watte” Green Corridor (Tiny garden). His 

income and life style change will be discussed in the present paper. 

Biogas story 

The technical expertise, material inputs and the cost of the skilled labour for the 

construction of the biogas plant was provided by the CIDA Tsunami Restore 

project; the land excavation cost for the preparation of the pits for the biogas 

digester construction had to be bone by Sirisena, who is going to be the owner of 

the digester (Fig.6.10). Since a properly constructed cattle shed is very important for 

the maintaining of a biogas digester, his cattle shed was also renovated to facilitate 

the digester charging with cow dung. 

Figure 6.9: Commencement of digester construction by a mason with the assistance 

of Sirisena 

Technical details 

The basic criteria adopted for the design of a suitable digester are the availability of 

raw materials and the home energy demand to be met with biogas. Based on the 

available no of cows who could be put in to the cattle shed, a 8m 3 digester was 

designed for the Sirisena’s family. Initially Sirisena was asked to renovate his cattle 

shed to have the access of the cow done to the inlet of the biogas digester. For a 8m 3

213 

digester The fresh cow dung requirement is about 40-50kg/day which could be 

easily obtained from 4-5 adult cows. The digester was designed and constructed 

according to the SLS standards. The total construction cost of the digester excluding 

the labor was Rs.40000.00. 

Figure 6.10: View of the digester and the inlet just after the construction 

For the correct functioning of the digester the cow dung, should be mixed with 

water at 1:1 ratio and feed to the digester daily. The digested cow dung coming 

from the digester has good fertilizer value as well as it has pest repellant properties 

in vegetable crops. Without the use of digested material, the real benefits of the 

biogas digester could not be enjoyed. Therefore the management of digested 

material and the use of them in home gardening were initially explained to Sirisena. 

The construction of the biogas plant was completed in August 2008. Ceremonial 

opening of the Biogas plant was conducted in August with the blessings of Maha 

Sanga and Participation of members of the Sri Lankan and German Biogas 

associations and members of the Goethe Institute, Sri Lanka. 

Figure 6.11: Ceremonial opening of the biogas plant with the blessings of Maha 

Sanga and participation of members of the Sri Lankan and German Biogas 

Associations and Head of the Goethe Institute

214 

Benefits from biogas 

Production potential of Biogas in a digester of 8m 3 capacity is around 2m 3 per day 

and it is sufficient for the preparation of meals (three times a day) for a six member 

family 4 . The biogas plant helped Sirisena to perform the kitchen work. Prior to the 

construction of the biogas plant Siresena’s wife had to spend a considerable amount 

of time for the collection of fuel wood from nearby lands and occasional purchase 

of fuel wood. Furthermore the use of fuel woods in the compacted low roof kitchen 

without a chimney, liberated lot of smokes and it was hazardous for their health. 

The use of biogas avoided the health risks and made it a smoke free kitchen 

(Fig.6.12). 

Figure 6.12: Sirisena in the smoke free kitchen with biogas stoves 

Digested material (Biofertilizer) of the biogas plant 

Digested material coming out from the digester has a good fertilizer value. This is 

an ideal fertilizer with about 3% N, 0.5% p, and 0.1% K. It was successfully used 

for the Sirisena’s home gardening activities. CIDA project team trained Sirisena 

family to manage his space to convert his garden to an attractive home garden 

(Fig.6.13). He never used chemical fertilizer or pesticides for gardening. The total 

harvest obtained from the garden, was more than sufficient for the home 

consumption. This helped Sirisena family to earn extra income by selling the 

excess.

215 

Figure 6.13: Pesticide free roof garden on the toilet roof 

Proper Space management and arrangement of crops within the small space of the 

garden improved the aesthetic environment in the garden. 

Compost production from biogas slurry 

The Compost made out of digested material, after dewatering and filtering through 

soil and drying in the shade has a big market demand. Sirisena learned the technique 

of packing the bio fertilizer in poly bags and commenced the bio fertilizer selling 

(Fig.6.14). The project assisted him to buy a balance and polythene sealer for the 

fertilizer packaging. 

Demand for the biogas fertilizer for vegetable and ornamental plants production was 

increased in the area after observing the Sirisena’s garden by the villagers. He 

formulated a selling price of a two kg pack of compost as Rs.50. This gives an 

additional income of about Rs.4000 /month for Sirisena family. Selling figures of 

the biogas fertilizer for January-October 2008 by the Sirisena family are illustrated 

in Fig.6.15. As depicted in the Fig.6.15 The total income from the sales of biogas 

fertilizer selling from 10 months period was Rs.40000. This demonstrates that the 

construction cost of a biogas digester could have been met alone by the selling of 

fertilizer material for about 10 months period. 

Liquid fertilizer use 

After exposing the Sirisena family to use liquid component of the digested material 

as a hydroponic media for the green vegetables production, they commenced the 

hydroponic culture using the discarded plastic bottles collected from the beach. 

Sirisena himself experimented with the dilution ratio of the biogas liquid for the 

better performance of plants. Leafy vegetable production in diluted liquid biogas 

slurry media (soilless culture) has opened another income generation activity for

216 

him. The selling price of the Kankun plant grown in a discarded plastic bottle was 

marked as Rs.50, and the day by day the plant selling in Hydroponic media were 

also improved. According to the analytical results; electrical conductivity of the 

biogas slurry was 9990 micro siemens/cm and the pH was 7.3. With the dilution of 

15 times, conductivity has been reduced to about 1800 siemens/cm which is an 

acceptable level for the performances of the plants. Now Sirisena plans to bottle the 

slurry and sell the bottle at a rate of Rs.50/liter. 

Rain water harvesting from roof 

The expansion of the agricultural activities in a small garden of just 6 perch, while 

exploiting all the available places including the roofs has increased the water 

demand for crop irrigation and cleaning activities of the cattle shed. In order to 

compensate for the part of his water demand a 1.5m 3 tank was constructed in a 

corner of the garden to collect the roof water for different purposes. 

Figure 6.14: A 2Kg biofertilizer pack ready for selling (Sirisena stands in front of 

the garden)

217 

7000 

6000 

5000 

Income Rs. 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct 

Months (2008) 

Figure 6.15: Income generated from biogas compost during Jan.-Oct. 2008 

Nursery production 

With the availability of the fertilizer material and water for irrigation, Sirisena could 

expand his nursery production to sell the plantlets. The monthly income gain from 

plant selling was improved day-by-day and in average he got an additional income 

of about Rs.3000 per month from the nursery production. 

Sales outlet 

The entrepreneurial activities of Sirisena was improved day by day and CIDA 

project helped him to construct a small sales outlet and named it as “Green 

Corridor” (Fig.6.16). This outlet helped Sirisena to change his life pattern to be a 

vender of the green products, and introduce green concept to the Madiha village. 

The present day look of the Green corridor is illustrated in Fig.6.17. The school 

children of the area used to visit Sirisena’s green corridor to buy their day to day 

requirements including the plantlets to grow in their home gardens from time-totime.

218 

Figure 6.16: Opening ceremony of the sales outlet by the Head of the Goethe 

Institute Sri Lanka, Mr. Richard Lang with the blessings of Maha Sanga 

Figure 6.17: Opening of the sales 

outlet green corridor 

Figure 6.18: Present day appearance 

As a result Sirisena contributed much for the “Waga Sangramaya” (food drive) and 

the “Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu” program by demonstrating production potential of 

a 6 perch land which could sufficient for a family of 8 to have a reasonably good 

life pattern. Rupavahini Corporation made a special program on Sirisena’s 

development and publicized it through the “Govi Gedara” program which gave a 

wider popularity to him and the program. 

Day-by-day Sirisena’s life pattern and Social recognition has improved. He was 

offered a garden management program in the Sujatha Vidyalaya, Martara by the 

principle of the school after observing his gardening practices. He accepted the task 

for a very nominal fee and within about 6 months the school garden has been 

immensely improved. The relation which has been built up with the school teachers 

and children helped him to improve his milk sales in School. He became a friend of 

virtually all the children of school which may lead to a big change in the minds of 

the children in time to come.

219 

Conclusion 

The biogas technology is an appropriate technology option for a poor farmer having 

one or two cattle to raise their living standard at least by doubling their income, 

while achieving the self-sufficiency in energy need for cooking and the fertilizer 

need for home gardening. 

Construction of a small biogas plant of about 8 m 3 and the correct utilization of 

biogas and bi products of it, can help a poor family having one or two cows to add 

aesthetic beauty to the garden, by reducing the odor problem in the garden arisen 

from direct disposal of cow dung in an unplanned manner. It helps directly to have a 

smoke free kitchen, and reduce burden comes on fire wood collection. 

The small land holding of about 6 perch may not a constraint to construct a small 

scale biogas plant to meet home energy needs of a village family of about 8 persons, 

when available space is properly utilized and managed for home gardening. 

A biogas fertilizer can help farmers to raise their home garden crops without adding 

chemical fertilizer or pesticides to them to enjoy the chemical free fruits and 

vegetables from the home garden. The correct utilization of the slurry coming out 

from the Biogas digester for composting can make an additional income of about 

4000 Rs per month for over and above the cost reduction on firewood or natural gas 

for cooking purposes. 

Biogas slurry can use as the hydroponic media for leafy vegetables such as 

Kangkun (Ipomea prescapry) or Gotukola (Centella asiatica ) when it is diluted 

about 15 times with water. cultivation of Leafy vegetables can be successfullydone 

in discarded plastic bottles when biogas slurry is used as the hydroponic media. 

The case study confirmed that biogas as an appropriate technology for a small 

farmer family to successfully engage with the Waga sangramaya (Food Drive) and 

the Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu (Lets grow and develop the Country) program. 


The authors are grateful for the CIDA Restore project for providing an excellent 

opportunity to apply and test the biogas technology as a viable livelihood option for 

the resource poor farmers. Special thanks in this regard is extended to Dr. Jana 

Janakiram (Canadian Coordinator), Prof. Ranjith Senarathne (Sri Lankan Director), 

Prof. D. Atapattu (Deputy Director Ruhuna) for the continuous interest and support 

extended to carry out the present program. The continuous assistance offered by the 

Sirisena and members of his family is gratefully acknowledged.

220 

Bibliography 

Mathur, A.N. and Rathore, N.S. (1992). Biogas management and utilization. 

Himanshu publications, 5k51, Ram singh K1 Badi, Sector 11, Udaipur (Rajasthan). 

SLS 1292:2006 - Code of practice for design and construction of biogas systems: 

Part 1 – Domestic biogas systems (2006). Sri Lanka Standard Institute, Colombo, 

Sri Lanka. 

Wijetunga, S. and Weerasinghe, K.D.N. (2008). Construction of biogas digester 

and its maintenance. CIDA Tsunami restore project, university of Ruhuna 

(Sinhala). 

Webography 

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka. [Online] 

Available at:www.unescap.org/esd/energy/dialogue/community/documents/ 

Country%20paper%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf [Accessed 03.25.2009]

VII. LESSONS LEARNED 

221

222

COMMON CHALLENGES IN POST DISASTER 

RECOVERY: A CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE 7 

G. Vickneswaran and R. Muniyandi 

Abstract 

The knowledge about the community under recovery is essentially required by the 

actors engaged in restore projects to carry out developing tasks without much 

hindrance. Nevertheless it is expected that participatory rural appraisal can 

facilitate the acquisition of sound knowledge about the community which is under a 

recovery project, in practice, it is not great enough to get familiar with the 

community and its problems as well. Civil society actors can make significant 

contributions to recovery projects in this regard. Their capacities may help to 

create the conditions for rebuilding their social life. The nature of destructions in 

the post-disaster recovery period provides the most compelling argument for the 

participation of civil society in recovery processes. This paper examines the general 

challenges faced by the CIDA restore project in Puthukudiyiruppu and 

Palameenmadu villages in civil society perspectives. The main concern of this study 

is the analysis of the challenges that brought out by the lack of civil society 

participation in this restore project. The study also scrutinizes the other factors 

which created difficulties in the implementation of the restore project. This study is 

mostly based on qualitative methods and to a lesser extent quantitative methods. 

This study relied both on primary and secondary sources. As far as this study is 

concerned with village communities, ethnographic data was collected primarily by 

field work in order to get first hand information. The study discovered that though 

civil society participation was almost available in the intermediary level of the 

process of recovery projects, it was hardly found in the primary stage of recovery 

process. 

Introduction 

There have been so many efforts undertaken to rebuild a disaster-affected social 

component in the present days. Recovery is a challenging task and there have to be 

arrangements and proper coordination of tasks. In a post-disaster recovery activity, 

there can be several actors engaging recovery activities in a social condition and 

7 Action Research on CIDA Restore Project at Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

224 

coordination between those actors and incorporation of those several actions in a 

particular area. Realizing the importance of the coordination of recovery tasks, this 

action research is aimed at analyzing the part of civil society in post-disaster 

recovery activities. Participation of civil society in recovery activities is widely 

acknowledged and seems inevitable for the successful completion of recovery 

activities. 

This paper examines the general challenges faced by the CIDA Restore project in 

Puthukudiyiruppu and Palameenmadu villages with respect to civil society 

perspectives. The main concern of this study is the analize the challenges that were 

brought out by the lack of civil society participation in this restore project. The 

study also scrutinizes the other factors which created defects in the implementation 

of the restore project. The objectives of this study were to identify difficulties for 

any non-governmental organization to work successfully in a post-disaster area the 

without civil society participation and to find out ways to promote the participation 

of civil society in recovery activities. This study relied both on primary and 

secondary sources. As far as this study is concerned with village communities, 

ethnographic data was collected primarily by field work in order to get first hand 

information. There is no single method used to collect data in this field work, it 

varied according to the field background. Primary data was collected by using 

unstructured and focused interviews, focused group discussions and observation. 

This combination of methods helped to obtain data from different perspectives. 

The term “civil society” is highly ambiguous in academic arena and has been given 

a wide range of definitions. But this research assumed that civil society is a nexus of 

free individuals without reference to state. 

Importance of civil society recovery activities 

When people become directly affected by natural disasters, they develop a central 

interest in contributing to the recovery of their community. Despite being 

confronted with harsh realities and huge dilemmas, civil society actors can make 

significant contributions to recovery projects. Their capacities may help to create 

the conditions for rebuilding their social life. The nature of destructions in the postdisaster 

recovery period provides the most compelling argument for the 

participation of civil society in recovery processes. It is not just that the natural 

disasters caused death of community members, but devastated their infrastructure 

and institutional structure and left alone the survivors of the community in a 

struggle for their existence. Individuals, the family and the community are again 

entitled to a problem of order. As people become directly affected by a natural 

disaster, they develop a central interest in contributing to recover their social life. 

Living in a recovery era and alongside the aid actors, they have greater need, and 

greater potential to take part in recovery projects. And as recovery processes 

increasingly result in changes to economic and social institutions and relationships 

in a society, people also have a right to participate in these processes.

225 

It’s necessary for any organization involving in the recovery activities to get a clear 

understanding about the traditional make-up of the community concerned. Getting 

familiar with the social structure, primarily norms and values, of the particular 

society is one of the prerequisite responsibilities for actors engaged in recovery 

activities to be able to undertake their tasks successful. And it will also be helpful to 

actors engaged in recovery activities to identify the problems, to recognize the areas 

to which priority should be given and get clear-eyed with the target activities. 

Participation of civil society in the recovery activities will be beneficial for actors 

engaged in recovery activities to furnish the abovementioned necessities. By 

advocating and facilitating dialogues, civil society can bring the mentality of 

members of the community towards recovery activities. It can also generate a 

central interest or help consensus building in the process of recovery. Civil society 

can have its involvement in recovery from the very outset of the recovery process 

and it can exert its influence or bestow assistance in designing and implementing 

recovery activities. Public mobilization via community organizing prominent for the 

triumphant of recovery process is expected to bring up by civil society. 

Condition of civil society at the outset of this project 

 

 

 

 

 

Less developed in community organizing and participation 

Fragmented institutional relationship within community 

Conflicting nature among members 

Gashed ideas towards process and actors in recovery projects among 

members 

No cooperation among community based organizations 

Challenges 

1. Evil characteristics of civil society 

While civil society organizations (CSOs) is theoretically expected to play a primary 

role in articulating central interests of the communities, in the both project areas, 

CSOs have specific weakness in this regard, since it was fragmented in the 

communal lines of class, family and gender. In addition to the specific weakness, 

CSOs of both project areas appeared to have the inherent difficulty of moving 

beyond articulating specific interests to aggregating a broad agenda. It was 

identified that CSOs are only capable enough to create general consensus on matters 

not relevant or not very much important for rebuilding social structure and to some 

extent played a role intentionally to ignore principle participation with other 

organizations engaged in recovery project in their areas. Along with these manners, 

CSOs in these two project areas remained inevitably to take part in a secondary role.

226 

2. Appalling conditions in equal participation 

It turned out that, in both project areas, there has been difficulty to get equal 

participation from members of all categories of the communities. Vulnerable and 

powerless people were marginalized in the arena of contribution and participation in 

recovery tasks. Such kinds of marginalization occurred along with the unequal 

layers of gender, class and caste. In Palameenmadu, for instance, women’s 

participation was high in the involvement of this project, but the case is vice versa 

in Puthukuddiyiruppu where women were ignored in paying contribution to this 

projects. In both areas, lower status groups like members of lower castes and 

families under the poverty line have been found subservient to higher status 

members and their contribution in generating central interests were almost lost 

regarding this project. 

3. Feuds 

Feuds between members of the CSO often led to tit-for-tat retaliation and paved the 

way to exacerbate existing contradictory nature in these project areas. CSOs failed 

to address the conflicting nature between members of the community clearly at the 

outset of this project. They seemed to conceal this conflicting nature between their 

members with respect to the project coordinators as leaders of CSOs who were in a 

position not to degrade their community in any way and try to show them as having 

harmonious relationship among them. Apart from this trend, CSOs of these two 

project areas created new conflicts or to exacerbated existing hostilities. This added 

a further burden to the project coordinators as they had to cope with these conflicts. 

4. Improper representation and false allegations 

Some CSO leaders became representatives under this project failed to represent 

whole communal interests and worked in a biased way showing favoritism and 

nepotism. Those leaders have been identified as engaged in granting forged 

information, looting and corruption. When people pointed their fingers towards the 

CSO representatives alleging that they had been involved in discriminatory 

activities, the CSO representatives turned this criticism away from themselves 

toward the project coordinators. These CSO leaders or representatives deliberately 

in a sophisticated way obscured their forged activities and justified their false 

allegation toward the project coordinators. This created a gap in making reciprocal 

relationships between community members and project coordinators. 

5. Trouble in coordination 

The CSO has to develop a permanent dialogue and consensus building mechanism 

so as to make recovery activities a success. A series of new players emerged often 

surpassing traditional actors in terms of resource available. This research found that 

the fragmented relationship and contradictory nature at the individual and 

institutional levels inevitably led to competition among community based groups 

and organizations. Those groups and organizations were competitive to get

227 

influence in the recovery activities. If one got engaged in one recovery project, the 

other one tried to trespass it or refrain from the particular project activity. Therefore 

this project coordinators faced problems in getting coordination among community 

based organizations of both project areas. For instance, in Palameenmadu, Rural 

Development Society (RDS) was not happy with the participation of women 

association in this project and ignored their support to this project and work with 

other organizations. 

Coping strategies 

As far as this study is concerned, it was found that in-depth engagement in 

community organizing is essential to overcome the above said challenges. 

Promoting community organizing is required to facilitate movement from the 

traditional model of community organizing towards a new one. Generally, 

community organizing refers to that process or methodology for motivating people 

to act as a group towards some developmental goals or objectives. Based on this 

general concept, traditional model of community organizing are aimed at getting 

people and institution to fight for and win resources. Working with this narrow 

scope will not be worth to overcome those challenges arising in implementing 

recovery activities, since it can create more competitive social relationships within 

civil society members and complicated situation to be handled for project actors. 

New model of community organizing is proposing a broad scope and this could be 

an appropriate one to cope with those issues in recovery activities. According to the 

new model, community organizing is a process of motivating people to act as a 

group towards development goals or objectives. 

Capacity building is also essential to make social arrangements compatible with 

recovery activities. It should be conducted at the outset of this project. Capacity 

building is a critical concern to manage the transition from the relief period to the 

recovery period since the pace of transition to recovery varies from community to 

community. This is early need for strengthening civil capabilities to carry out 

recovery tasks smoothly. As the early concern of recovery is the reconstruction of 

the community, it is necessary to promote the capacity of the community so as to 

support recovery activities. Civil society should be strengthened so as to respond 

spontaneously and rapidly to unmet recovery needs. As civil society groups have 

also been essential for organizing recovery operations in cooperation with NGOs, 

local government and national authorities, capacities of civil society members in 

relation with recovery task can be enhanced through awareness programmes, 

training seminars, and workshops.

228 

Conclusion 

When people become directly affected by natural disasters, they develop a central 

interest in contributing to the recovery of their community. Despite being 

confronted with harsh realities and huge dilemmas, civil society actors can make 

significant contributions to recovery projects. Their capacities may help to create 

the conditions for rebuilding their social life. The nature of destruction in the postdisaster 

recovery period provides the most compelling argument for the 

participation of civil society in recovery processes. It is not just that the natural 

disasters caused the death of community members, but it devastated their 

infrastructure and institutional structures and left alone the survivors of the 

community in a struggle for their own existence. Individuals, the family and the 

community are again entitled to social order. As people become directly affected 

by a natural disaster, they develop a central interest in contributing to recover their 

social life. Living in a recovery era and alongside the aid actors, they have greater 

need, and greater potential to take part in recovery projects. And as recovery 

processes increasingly result in changes to economic and social institutions and 

relationships in a society, people also have a right to participate in these processes.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE RESTORE TSUNAMI 

PROJECT IN SRI LANKA 

Ranjith Senaratne, J. Janakiram and G.C. Filson 

Throughout the project cycle from project design to appraisal, implementation, 

monitoring and evaluation, the Canadian and beneficiary country partners learned a 

number of key lessons. Each of them is briefly described. 

Requests for Projects by CIDA: The request for tsunami projects by CIDA came by 

the end of 2005, a year after the tsunami devastated the different countries. Luckily, 

Guelph and a consortium of universities in Canada and Sri Lanka (RESTORE 

Consortium) with the assistance of the World University Service of Canada 

(WUSC) had already done a survey of the devastated areas in Sri Lanka. This gave 

the RESTORE consortium a head start in formulating the proposal for the project. 

Since the time frame to submit the proposals was very short from the time of 

request, a detailed needs assessment was not done. A proposal was put together 

quickly and the partners agreed that if we received the project a needs assessment 

through PRA would be completed and the findings used to implement the project. 

The lesson learned from this was that the needs assessment should be done before 

the project proposal is submitted and the donors should demand this as a 

requirement to base the project. The RESTORE consortium believes that 

completing the needs assessment after the project was approved placed a few 

restrictions to the implementation of the approved project. 

Needs assessment 

At the conceptual stage of the project, the partners discussed the needs of the 

beneficiaries with the assumption that the local partners knew what these needs 

were. The team decided to validate this idea scientifically and so designed needs 

assessment surveys. When the Needs Assessments were completed and analyzed, it 

was clear that though the target beneficiaries were in favour of the project, their 

needs were different from those initially identified or assumed by the planners. 

In the project, it was seen that the needs assessments were extremely important in 

determining what the real needs of the target populations or beneficiaries were. This 

showed that planners and project initiators should distinguish between the “situation 

that is supposed to be” and that which “really is”. An efficient, effective and 

objective way to make this distinction is to carry out a scientific survey through 

Participatory Rural Appraisals of the potential population to be affected by the 

project.

230 

Participatory approach to project design and ownership building by 

stakeholders 

From the very beginning of the project, a number of stakeholders were involved in 

the identification of priorities, the methods to achieve the objectives and the general 

methodology for implementing the project. Though this was achieved to a certain 

extent, it was discovered that ownership building is a process that matures through 

constant and continuous education, understanding, tolerance and above all, system 

analysis. Ownership of a project does not occur through mere consultation, but 

through genuine interest in the goals of the project. The partners learned that 

participatory approaches lend themselves to democratic processes. And since 

democracy is a slow but sure process, enough time has to be allocated to allow all 

the partners to participate fully and effectively in the decisions being taken. Thus, 

this approach should be expanded and more time allocated, so that each phase of the 

project cycle is considered carefully with the active involvement and participation 

of a cross-section of the stakeholders. Unfortunately, in this project, much time was 

not given and since there was a deadline all processes had to be hurried and it 

appeared as if the “product” was more important than the “process”. 

Project leadership - democratic choice 

When projects are developed, it is usually the designers or funding agency that have 

responsibility for, or major say in the implementation of the project. In this project, 

the situation was deliberately designed to be different. Once the project was 

approved, a cross-section of the participating members of faculty voted to choose a 

project leader. Their rationale was that a person may be an excellent proposal writer 

but may not have the management skills to direct and lead the project. In certain 

countries, leaders of similar projects are often appointed by the university 

administration. But the faculty members who mooted the idea and wrote the 

proposal decided to make a difference by electing a member from their group to the 

leadership role of the project. This proved to be of immense value to the project as 

all core members stood by their leader even under difficult circumstances. 

Project goals and a shared understanding of the project 

The goals or objectives of a project could vary from person to person and from 

group to group. Many project initiators and designers understand the project 

differently from those who are expected to benefit from the project, participate in it 

or implement it. This is no doubt a function of the differential perceptions, 

divergence in values and experiences and differences in expectations among the 

implementers and stakeholders and within each group. Our experience with this

231 

project suggests that once the various partners sit around a table to streamline 

project goals and share an understanding of the road ahead, many of the problems 

that arose in the implementation of projects can be overcome or minimized 

Trust, mutual respect 

Trust and mutual respect are paramount if the project is to achieve its goals. These 

qualities are built over years of getting to know each other and through the actions 

of those who interact on a regular basis in pursuit of a common or collective goal. 

Trust and respect yield fruitful results if they are cultivated horizontally and 

vertically. The leaders strived to do this well and have continued to nourish, nurture 

and protect these values. Furthermore, it is important that the partners commit to the 

long term. Building trust is not a short-term enterprise and cannot be achieved with 

deadlines. It takes both time and resources and quite a bit of humility. 

True and equal partnership 

Partnership is a two way process in which each partner is given an opportunity to 

demonstrate the qualities of truth and equality towards each other. Our experience 

has shown that when these values exist between partners prior to the 

commencement of a project, they have a greater probability to be strengthened and 

endure throughout the project cycle. In a situation when the executing agency (e.g. 

University of Guelph) has greater affiliations and enjoys the benefits of greater 

proximity and understanding of the rules and procedures of the funding agency, it 

is important that these privileges be passed on to the partners on the other side 

faithfully. It is at this point that the executing agency will be expected to respect its 

partner and provide guidance and access to information that the partner institution 

may need to be more effective and accountable. Information on budgets, reports and 

plans of work are among the critical materials to share so that effective decisions 

can be made together for the good of all the partners. 

Democratic communication 

Effective Communication has been critical in bringing the project to fruition. The 

establishment of trust and mutual respect among and between the members of the 

project brought significant, positive impacts on the members of the project and on 

the project as well. Ground rules were established from the beginning and reviewed 

as the project progressed to give each member a feeling of belonging, a sense of 

self-esteem and the recognition they deserve. The members knew that all matters 

they discussed at meetings were for the benefit of the project and their own 

improvement. Thus frank and fruitful discussions characterized the projects’

232 

meetings and produced diverse inputs that were carefully evaluated by the group 

and incorporated into project activities. 

Support of host institution and administrators 

In Canada, the persons who develop and implement projects are the faculty. They 

enjoy considerable freedom in submitting for and carrying out international 

projects. Institutional and administrative support are usually forthcoming as long as 

the university’s policies are followed. In Sri Lankan institutions the administration 

plays a major role in overseeing the project and they have reasons for it. Therefore, 

the support of the host institution and administrators are vital for the successful 

completion of projects. Without their consent, efforts can be crippled and initiatives 

stalled completely. 

Education, information and on-site communication 

Recognizing the need to create awareness among institutional leaders, the project 

management should send copies of all correspondence to the university 

administration. Photocopies of the project proposal should be distributed to 

institutional heads. In this project, because of the change in institutional heads at 

different times during the project period, this was not followed and it did create 

structural challenges. Without the administrator’s understanding of the project, it is 

difficult for them to visualize where the project wants to go and how and why the 

project leader wants to take the project on a chosen path. 

Remove barriers to participation by women and marginalized groups 

It was expected that women and marginalized groups would participate equally in 

project activities. This was stated explicitly in the project documents. Unfortunately, 

the number of women and people belonging to marginalized groups, who actively 

participated in the project were few. In fact their numbers were fewer than earlier 

planned. We learned that the project management might have actively encouraged 

the participation of target groups, but the individuals might not have had the 

capacities to participate effectively. For example, the percentage of female faculty 

may be very few in an institution and they are sometimes heavily loaded with 

duties. 

Therefore, there were not many women available for project work. With regards to 

institutions, we learned some specific lessons. They should enforce policies to 

encourage hiring, participation, promote shared and experiential learning, provide 

incentives and improve access.

233 

Politics 

It would be healthy if development projects were to be insulated from partisan 

politics but this is not the case in most countries. This is a reality and one has to 

work with the authorities of the government as they are ultimately responsible for 

development in the country. In this regard, any project must inform the government 

officers of what is happening in their region and they must be kept informed and 

involved at all times. 

Cultural relativity of time 

The timelines often established during a project design are at best guidelines or 

projections. This must be recognized by all the actors in a project. The datelines set 

in the project document hardly coincided with the reality in the field during 

implementation. This was due to unexpected changes in the economic, social and 

political conditions of the country, whereby faculty and staff had to cope with more 

work with same or less pay. Also, a number of factors such as transport, electricity 

fluctuations, poor road networks, lack of repair and maintenance personnel for 

equipment and lack of incentives hamper implementation. These should be 

anticipated and factored into all project designs. 

Active listening and flexibility 

The experience of the team in Guelph was greatly enriched by active listening to the 

stakeholders in the country. The partners benefited from the careful listening and 

the flexibility with which project goals and recommendations were reached. When 

the team in Guelph was unable to meet the requests of their overseas partners, 

clearance was sought from the donor agency and executing agencies. The flexibility 

and empathy with which the project officers worked and listened to the suggestions 

of those implementing the project greatly facilitated project execution and the 

attainment of results under difficult circumstances. 

Sustainability of the project 

In Sri Lanka the partner universities have demonstrated their preparedness to 

continue with the projects. Participating faculty acquired skills which have 

improved their teaching in on-campus courses and management of other projects. 

Structurally, the physical facilities are in place and the clients are sensitized to the 

benefits of community development. It is now the responsibility of the key 

personnel within those institutions to decide what they would like to do and

234 

continue so that the spirit of community development and responsibility to the 

people are demonstrated. 

International development projects such as the ones conducted in partnership with 

institutions and communities in Sri Lanka are unique. Their uniqueness is 

characterized by the commitment of the individuals and institutions that work in 

them, and the institutions that have provided the support that has carried the ideas to 

the level of concrete projects. The role of participating University of Guelph 

personnel has been mainly that of facilitation. Through these collaborative 

partnership projects, the partners have learned a number of lessons, which, at the 

outset, may have looked insignificant but turned out to be significant, as most 

challenges were not technical. It is our hope that persons working on future projects 

will benefit from the lessons learned.

235 

AUTHOR INDEX 

Abe, ......................................................................................................................................66 

Abeywickrama, L.M., .........................................................................................................147 

Agarwal, B., ..........................................................................................................................17 

Agnesini, M.V.C., .................................................................................................................99 

Ahmad, M.N., .....................................................................................................................143 

Ahmed, A.N., ........................................................................................................................75 

Aka, İ., ................................................................................................................................100 

Al-Degs, Y., ........................................................................................................................143 

Alenand, S.J., ......................................................................................................................143 

Al-Jufaili, M.S., ..................................................................................................................165 

Alwis, A.A.P., .....................................................................................................................151 

Amarasinghe, M., ...............................................................................................................112 

Amarasinghe, O., ................................................................................................................164 

Anderson, M.B., ...................................................................................................................14 

Ankila, O., ..........................................................................................................................166 

Antoine, G., .......................................................................................................................... 35 

Ariyabandu, M.M., ..................................................................................................... 194, 195 

Arslan, I., ............................................................................................................................ 140 

Arunakumara, K.K.I.U., .....................................................................................................189 

Asahara, H., ..........................................................................................................................28 

Ashley, C., ............................................................................................................................11 

Badilles, D., ........................................................................................................................136 

Balakrishnan, ......................................................................................................................166 

Balasingham, H.S., .............................................................................................................207 

Balasooriya, N.W.B., ............................................................................................................ 49 

Banerjee, .............................................................................................................................166 

Basri, H.B., .........................................................................................................................100 

Benitez, L.V., ......................................................................................................................128 

Bensam, P., .........................................................................................................................202 

Berg, P.G., ............................................................................................................................36 

Bhatty, J.L., ........................................................................................................................100 

Bourdieu, P., .........................................................................................................................15 

Browns, D.J., ........................................................................................................................66 

Buddhika, S.A., ..................................................................................................................163 

Buendia, ..............................................................................................................................136 

Bunch,, .................................................................................................................................. 18 

Candemir, F., ...................................................................................................................... 101 

Cannon, T., ...........................................................................................................................12

236 

Carney, D., ............................................................................................................................11 

Castanos, M., ......................................................................................................................136 

Cecily, P.J., .........................................................................................................................167 

Chakrabarty, R.D., ..............................................................................................................127 

Chambers, R., ........................................................................................................... 11, 12, 14 

Chandana, P.G., ....................................................................................................................35 

Chayanov, A.V., ...................................................................................................................17 

Chihiro Yamanaka, ...............................................................................................................28 

Chong, L.P., ........................................................................................................................198 

Coleman, J.S., .......................................................................................................................15 

Conway, G., .................................................................................................................... 11, 14 

Curtis, P., ............................................................................................................................192 

De Silva, M., .......................................................................................................................112 

De Silva, P.K., ....................................................................................................................112 

Dennis, S., ...........................................................................................................................166 

Dharshini, S., ......................................................................................................................127 

Dominey-Howes, D., ............................................................................................................28 

Doran, .................................................................................................................................190 

Duenas, C.E., ......................................................................................................................128 

Dupin, M., .............................................................................................................................83 

Eagle, P.J., ............................................................................................................................ 36 

Einon Mariya, V., .................................................................................................................99 

Ellis, F., ................................................................................................................... 11, 19, 167 

Elmhirst, R., ........................................................................................................................194 

Eronnr, ..................................................................................................................................36 

Fernando, D.Y., ..................................................................................................................198 

Fernando, P.R., ............................................................................................................... 57, 99 

Ferraris, R.P., ...................................................................................................................... 128 

Filson, G.C., .............................................................................................................. 1, 11, 229 

Fondo, E.N., ........................................................................................................................118 

Gahdough-Guebas, F., ........................................................................................................113 

Ganapathy, C., ....................................................................................................................100 

Ganewatta, G.K.H., ............................................................................................................ 163 

Gardner, J., ............................................................................................................................ 1 

Gimeno, E., ................................................................................................................. 140, 142 

Gordon, M.S., .....................................................................................................................134 

Guilhem, S., .......................................................................................................................... 35 

Gülser, C., ........................................................................................................................... 101 

Gunaretnam, V., ..................................................................................................................185 

Gunawickrama, S.H.K.K., ....................................................................................................25

237 

Gündüz, L., .........................................................................................................................101 

Harris-White, B., ..................................................................................................................17 

Hart, G., .............................................................................................................................. 210 

Hatai, S., ...............................................................................................................................66 

Häuser, M., .........................................................................................................................166 

Hewamanage, D.S., ..............................................................................................................65 

Hiroshi Matsumoto, ..............................................................................................................29 

Hogarth, P.J., ...................................................................................................................... 112 

Hüseyin, A., ........................................................................................................................ 101 

Ikeda, M., ..............................................................................................................................28 

Illangasekare, T., .................................................................................................................. 83 

Imamura, F., ............................................................................................................... 194, 195 

Iqbal, Y.B., ...........................................................................................................................75 

Janakiram, J., .................................................................................................................. 1, 229 

Jayasinghe, C., ....................................................................................................................194 

Jayatissa, L.P., ....................................................................................................................113 

Jaysmaha, D.I.S., ................................................................................................................ 128 

Jiang, X.Z., .........................................................................................................................140 

Johnson, H.F., ............................................................................................................. 195, 196 

Juario, J.V., .........................................................................................................................128 

Kalpan, M., ........................................................................................................................... 66 

Kerrim, Z., ............................................................................................................................ 35 

Khraishen, M.A.M., ............................................................................................................143 

Kim, S., ............................................................................................................................... 140 

Kim, T.K., ...........................................................................................................................140 

Kinniburg, W., ....................................................................................................................100 

Koedam, N., ........................................................................................................................113 

Krishanthan, S., ....................................................................................................................57 

Kullinger, B., ........................................................................................................................ 36 

Kurniawan, A., .....................................................................................................................25 

Lee, C.S., ............................................................................................................................134 

LI Xiao-ying, ......................................................................................................................140 

Liu, W.Q., ...........................................................................................................................140 

Liu, Y.J., .............................................................................................................................140 

Liyanage, M. de S., ...............................................................................................................66 

Lobstein,T., .........................................................................................................................193 

Longfield, J., .......................................................................................................................193 

Longwe, S., .........................................................................................................................209 

LUO Si-zhen, ......................................................................................................................140 

Malbert, B., ........................................................................................................................... 36

238 

Mallawaarachchi, R.S., .......................................................................................................194 

Manan, M.A., ......................................................................................................................100 

Marapana, R.A.U.J., .............................................................................................................65 

Martens, E.E., .....................................................................................................................118 

Marx, K., ......................................................................................................................... 16, 17 

Mathiventhan, T., ................................................................................................................113 

Matsumoto, H., .....................................................................................................................28 

Mmochi, A.J., .....................................................................................................................129 

Moreau, Y., ...........................................................................................................................83 

Moser, C., ........................................................................................................................... 209 

Motogi Ikeya,, ......................................................................................................................28 

Motoji Ikeya, ........................................................................................................................29 

Msuya, F.E., ........................................................................................................................129 

Muniyandi, R., ....................................................................................................................223 

Mutagamba, M., .......................................................................................................... 195, 196 

Mwaluma, J., ......................................................................................................................198 

Nawas, M.F., ......................................................................................................................139 

Nemes, G., ............................................................................................................................12 

Nikonov, A.A., ............................................................................................................... 29, 66 

Normann, K.A., ..................................................................................................................165 

O’Laughlin, B., .....................................................................................................................18 

Okuroğlu, M., .......................................................................................................................99 

Opara, L.U., ........................................................................................................................165 

Ormad, M.P., .............................................................................................................. 140, 142 

Örüng, İ., ...............................................................................................................................99 

Ovelleiro, J.L., ............................................................................................................ 140, 142 

Öztürk, T., ...........................................................................................................................106 

Panabokke, C.R., .................................................................................................................. 84 

Papathoma, M., .....................................................................................................................28 

Park, C., ..............................................................................................................................140 

Parker, A.N., ......................................................................................................................... 11 

Parker, R.A., .......................................................................................................................209 

Parkin, .................................................................................................................................190 

Parvathakeethan, A., ............................................................................................................. 99 

Pearson, E., ...........................................................................................................................36 

Perera, A.P.G.R.L., ...............................................................................................................84 

Perera, H.S.C., ....................................................................................................................163 

Pinto, L., 112, .....................................................................................................................197 

Pirapaharan, K., .................................................................................................................... 25 

Piyadasa, R.U.K.,............................................................................................................ 35, 83

239 

Postacıoğlu, B., .....................................................................................................................99 

Prahasan, K.M., ..................................................................................................................185 

Prishanthini, M., .................................................................................................................197 

Priyashantha, K.G., .............................................................................................................163 

Puig, A., ...................................................................................................................... 140, 142 

Putnam, R., ...........................................................................................................................15 

Ramanathan, S., ..................................................................................................................128 

Ranaweera Banda, R.M., ....................................................................................................201 

Rapport, D., ..........................................................................................................................11 

Rathnayake, C.V., ............................................................................................................... 163 

Ratnasooriya, H.A.R., ................................................................................................. 194, 195 

Razavi, S., ........................................................................................................... 12, 16, 17, 18 

Razmy, A.M., .......................................................................................................................75 

Reid, K.J., ...........................................................................................................................100 

Requintina, E.D., ................................................................................................................129 

Resurreccion, B.P., ............................................................................................................. 194 

Rizvi, E.M.J.M., .................................................................................................................193 

Roche, M.P., ............................................................................................................... 140, 142 

Romijn, H., ........................................................................................................................210 

Rossignolo, A.J., ...................................................................................................................99 

Rowell, J., ............................................................................................................................. 12 

Safeena, M.I.S., ..................................................................................................................179 

Şahin, S., ....................................................................................................................... 99, 103 

Samaranayake, R.A.D.B., ........................................................................................... 197, 198 

Samarasinghe, R.P., ............................................................................................................ 198 

Samarawickrama, S.P., ............................................................................................... 194, 195 

Sampath, R., .........................................................................................................................83 

Santharooban, S., ........................................................................................................ 111, 137 

Santharooban. S., ................................................................................................................199 

Sarasa, J., .................................................................................................................... 140, 142 

Schieder, İ., .........................................................................................................................102 

Schnug, E., ..........................................................................................................................190 

Schuster, W.H., ...................................................................................................................128 

Scoones, I., ................................................................................................... 11, 14, 16, 17, 18 

Senaratne, R., ............................................................................................ 1, 65, 147, 189, 229 

Seran, T.H., .........................................................................................................................207 

Seresinhe, R.T., ....................................................................................................................65 

Shantharuban, S., ................................................................................................................123 

Sharma, ...............................................................................................................................168 

Sheldrake, R., ....................................................................................................................... 66

240 

Shin, E., ..............................................................................................................................140 

Shiva, V., ............................................................................................................................ 198 

Shldrake, R., .........................................................................................................................66 

Short, A.,............................................................................................................................ 100 

Sidorin, A.Y., ........................................................................................................................28 

Smit Jac, .............................................................................................................................190 

Smith, D., ..............................................................................................................................28 

Sparovek, G., ......................................................................................................................190 

Stromberg, U.B., ...................................................................................................................36 

Subasinghe, S., ..................................................................................................... 66, 147, 189 

Sydneys, K., ........................................................................................................................165 

Szabolcs, I., .........................................................................................................................190 

T van der Plas, ......................................................................................................................25 

Tekinsoy, M.A., .................................................................................................................100 

Thayaparan, K., ..................................................................................................................127 

Tomonori Matsuda, ..............................................................................................................28 

Twigg, J., .............................................................................................................................. 12 

Ujhely, J., ............................................................................................................................100 

Uluata, ................................................................................................................................103 

Van Der Wees, C., ..............................................................................................................210 

Van Veen, B., .......................................................................................................................25 

Vasantharuba, .....................................................................................................................150 

Vatvani, D., ...........................................................................................................................25 

Veneman, A.M., ......................................................................................................... 195, 196 

Vickneswaran, G., ..............................................................................................................223 

Vinobaba, P., ...................................................... 111, 112, 113, 118, 123, 127, 137, 197, 199 

Wadge, G., ............................................................................................................................36 

Watanabe, W.O., .................................................................................................................134 

Weerasinghe, K.D.N., ....................................................................................... 35, 83, 91, 209 

Wen Yue-zhong, .................................................................................................................140 

Whitfield, V.D.E., ...............................................................................................................166 

Wibergk, ...............................................................................................................................36 

Wickramasinghe, M., .................................................................................................. 194, 195 

Wijayawardhana, L.M.J.R., .................................................................................................. 83 

Wijetunga, S., ..................................................................................................................... 209 

Willey, A., ..........................................................................................................................127 

Williams, S., .......................................................................................................................209 

Wilson, R., ............................................................................................................................ 66 

Wiscoski, A.P., .....................................................................................................................36 

Woodrow, P.J., ............................................................................................................... 11, 14

241 

Yağanoğlu, A.V., .................................................................................................................. 99 

Yamanaka, C., ......................................................................................................................28 

Yılmaz, İ., ...........................................................................................................................101 

Young, K., ..........................................................................................................................194 

Young, P.S., ........................................................................................................................128 

Yuan, Y.,............................................................................................................................. 140 

Zain, M.F.M., .....................................................................................................................100 

Zong, Y., ...............................................................................................................................28

242

Workshop - University Grants Commission - Sri Lanka

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