Her Family Farm

Life is hard for rural women in Sri Lanka. They often face a variety of social and economic issues such as poverty, lack of access to education and healthcare, and limited economic opportunities. Mostly they lack Land rights and economic rights and are completely isolated socially, economically, and culturally from the rest of society.

"Nagenahiru Foundation in Sri Lanka works to make women a bit more independent by improving their economic situation."

About 160 women farmers initially rallied around the “Her Family Farming Project”, implemented at the Madampa River Lagoon in Galle District & Kalpitiya Coastal Lagoon in Puttalam District. This project is delicated to promoting solidarity among rural women through sustainable and regenerating agricultural practices with more sustainable traditional practices integrated with modern scientific knowledge.

This initiative also tapped the opportunity for agricultural diversification that can also lead to income diversification, while decreasing the pressure on natural resources such as forest and soil.

The main objective of this is to strengthen the livelihoods of rural women and preservation of biodiversity. Environmental education, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, rainforest protection, family planning, and conservation are the side effects of this.

Community Structure of the Proposed Her Family Farm 1. Initially Her Family Farm developed 5 community groups of 10 in each woman’s self-help groups. 2. Her household farm will also develop as a demonstration farm to educate the other women in the society. 3. Considering the progress of this village level Her Family Farm Society will enhance the formation of family farm groups in different areas.

Volunteer Opportunities

1. The volunteers will be accommodated in a separate room in the house of female farmer leaders.
2. Volunteers will be cared for by the home parents as their own children.
3. How volunteers can help the Her Farm Family.

• Teaching the women leader of the family farm to keep accounts and deposit additional income in a bank account.
• Volunteers will be able to develop the conversational skills of families and their children to improve their English speaking skills.
• Volunteers will learn about traditional and indigenous agricultural techniques used on the farm, and they will be able to transfer scientific knowledge of cultivation to the owners of their farm.
• Volunteers will be able with family members during their visits to religious places and their friends' homes as well as the cultural and social events held in the area.
• All volunteers will work as a group with a few young leaders of the village.
• Every volunteer plants a long-term fruit tree at the house to keep the memories of their service among family members.
• Volunteers always join the family members during their short visits to nearby recreational locations etc...

Her Family Farm Concept

Way Forward...

With the Successfully experience and evidence of highly motivation of the women farmers of this project Nagenahiru Foundation planning to Expanding to further develop this concept to achieve the following task.

• Reducing gender gap of at least 1000 women leaders in for administrative districts in coastal and central highlands of Sri Lanka
• Providing year round income to the participant families by selling surplus products to the other villages their buy “She Feed the Village”
• Opportunities to the households to earn year round economic benefits from the harvest of the Her Agroforestry Home Gardens
• Introduction of fruits, vegetables, spices, yams, medicinal etc. at their home gardens.

Important Other Benefits

• This Agroforestry Home Garden will facilitate the conservation of natural carbon sink reducing the adverse climate crisis.
• All Her Agroforestry Home Gardens will include specific high globally demanded identified plant species to facilitate value chain concept ensuring the long term sustainability of the project. Nagenahiru Foundation already identifies the world famous Sri Lanka Organic Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) for the value chain concept.

Establishment of Demonstration and Training Center for the Her Agroforestry Home Garden Project

• To further expanding the Her Agroforestry Home Garden through the island of Sri Lanka, Nagenahiru already reserved a 1 hectare block of land adjoining the existing Nagenahiru Environmental Learning Center to develop a demonstration and training facility to interested women leaders as to divert them towards Her Agroforestry Home Garden in future.
• Nagenahiru strongly believes that this proposed project, if successfully implemented, will be able to regenerate the disappearing traditional agricultural practices while facilitating carbon sequestration, the Her Agro Forestry Home Garden project and also addressing the socio economic issues of the present day in Sri Lanka.