Kilinochchi

Kilinochchi is a war-affected region in the North of Sri Lanka. Following close to three decades of conflict, resettlement in the North has been a long and difficult process. In partnership with grassroots organisation KKM, this project aims to support widows from the civil war, one of the most marginalised groups post-conflict.

You can watch Kamachi’s story to get a sense of the challenges that women like her encounter.

This 18-month project  focused on 21 women-headed households and involved:

• Provided all households with drip irrigation technology and training on use.
• Training in organic cultivation + the provision of seedlings for a range of fast-growing and long-term cash crops.
• Established a cooperative with a revolving credit facility. This enabled women to access affordable credit to improve their livelihoods and address any vital expenses e.g. health or education related expenses.
• Linked the cooperative to buyers in the local and national market – formed partnerships with three local firms through MoUs.

This project was succesfully completed in 2021.

This project has been made possible due to the generosity of the Vasudhara Foundation, and the Lak Saviya Foundation.