Mihimaw Vidya Padanama

Polgasowita, Sri Lanka

An Overview Of Our Solution

The NGO Mihimaw Vidya Padanama (MVP) has been working closely with two highland village communities in the Narangala mountain range (MASL 1450) of Badulla district in the past 2 years promoting land management practices in 63 farm plots and conserving a 600 ha forested land as a village resource. The forested land is high in biodiversity recording142 species of flora, and105 species of birds, 69 species of butterflies, 07 amphibians, 09 mammals and 25 species of reptiles as fauna. In the proposed project this work will be extended to 62 more families whose farm plots are subjected to erosion and degradation. The forested land will be demarcated to stop further encroachments and to protect the biodiversity. The farmers will be weaned away from agro-chemical to organic farming methods through the manufacture and use of liquid and solid organic fertilizers.

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Rural

Organization type

Nonprofit

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Forests

Freshwater

Oceans/Coasts

Population impacted

1445 people

Size of agricultural area

195 hectares

Production quantity

Paddy 3500 kilos, Pepper 11500 kilos, cereal 7000 kilos, vegetable 33,000 kilos (2016)

People employed

21 full time (14 women, 7 men)

Describe your solution

MVP promoted conservation practices, habitat enrichment, organic farming, increase in yields and income, improve biodiversity, among other practices to work towards a solution for farmers whose agricultural practices were harmful, non-productive and not addressing food security issues or safeguarding lands or common resources of the village. In the proposed project further work towards the solution would be to Demarcate the Narangala watershed and forest area of 600 ha, Land management techniques to minimize erosion in the sloping lands of 68 further families Advocate methods such as Kandyan Home Garden systems and promote the two villages as model demonstration units for the area Promote organic farming methods for pepper, paddy, cereals, tubers and yams, vegetables, fruits and leafy vegetables in a further 86 ha Establish a marketing mechanism to obtain higher prices for farmer produce Establish a organic fertilizer production unit and orient farmers to use processed cattle urine and dung in their farming Training on sustainable non timber forest product collection especially in tapping the Kitul sap (fishtail palm), reeds for craft making, arecanut and other valuable forest products Promote a guarantee system (PGS) by farmers for their products, as certification process is costly. Promote livestock keeping, such as free range chicken and cattle for milk production and the use of dung for manure Training and education programmes

Describe your implementation

Specific activities - Demarcation of 600 ha of forested area will minimize encroachments and illicit tree felling. Address erosion through soil and water conservation methods such as SALT, stone hedges, lock and spill drains, planting of reflection crops. Kandyan Home Garden system will be established in 33 ha of home plots. A gravity water scheme will provide water to 25 families. Organic pepper cultivation in 33 ha will enhance income and planting of 36 varieties of food crops and fruit trees will address food security issues. Promoting a community seed bank for seed conservation and a seed guarantee system, developing a model organic fertilizer unit and training farmers in producing organic fertilizer in own farms will enhance production. Natural pest control methods in 68 plots and a farmer certification (PGS) method will be introduced. A one kilometer buffer zone will be established to grow food crops and fruit trees for animals. Change in human activities achieved through training, awareness, education and capacity building; establishing a Community Based Organization (CBO) and a savings and credit scheme in each village. Enabling conditions - adapting a transparent participatory approach, identification of village leadership, enabling women’s participation and recognizing capacities. Training in herbal balm and shampoo production using local materials, assisting in designing labels and bottles, frequent visits and close monitoring. A village centre built for meetings, health clinics, religious or other activities. Key successes - illicit tree felling minimized with the perpetrators joining the CBO, better social cohesion through reduction in the brewing and use of illicit liquor. Exposure to expert knowledge, higher yields for crops and a better income. Obstacles - spreading rumours about uselessness of project, encroachment of forest for a temple and the tea company cultivating cardamom in the forested area to resist it being declared common land.

External connections

Key partners are the Local Authorities i.e. the District Secretary, the Departments of Forestry and Wild Life Conservation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Export Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Development. The assistance of prominent persons at village level, such as the Principal and teachers of the village school, Prelate of the Buddhist temple was obtained. In the effort to declare the 600 ha forest area as a community forest, the cooperation and official backing of the Minister of Science and Technology was obtained; the Chief Minister of Uva Province officially signed the document of declaration and urged agencies at district level to endorse the decision. This can be considered a major achievement as law enforcement in Badulla district is at a low level. This also demonstrates the fact that with community action, commitment and lobbying, effective change can be brought about in conserving resources that are vital for the well being and livelihoods of communities and protect habitats and eco systems for the flora and fauna that depend on them.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

The selected two villages are located in the main watershed area of the Narangala mountain range. Due to alternate extremes of cold weather and drought conditions farmers face difficulties in getting water for cultivations. Commercial tea cultivation is a main crop in the area. Erosion in abandoned and degraded tea lands, felling of trees for timber and fuel wood has added to the drying up of lands, wells and ponds. The rapidly decreasing forest cover has intensified human animal conflict and has become an additional problem to these subsistence farmers. The objective of the initiative is to promote sustainable land use management with training in technical measures, increase harvests and farmer produce while conserving biodiversity. It also aims to minimize release of agro-chemicals into the watershed through promotion of organic farming, increase soil and agro biodiversity, enrich habitats through the propagation of non-cultivated food crops, cultivation of traditional varieties

Describe the context in which you are operating

When MVP initiated activities in the two marginalized villages two years ago the communities were backward and lacked knowledge and capacity on farming, value of environment conservation and livelihood enhancement. Hardly any state agency showed interest in providing facilities to the communities. With the training they received and exposure to advice from experts, university lecturers and students, their confidence and capacity improved, so that they could voice their troubles and receive a response. In the 63 families, 42 participated actively in project activities, their knowledge on environment improved. Due to the reduction in the use agro chemicals (from 8000 kilos per season to 4000 per season) 300 downstream families got cleaner water. Food security and food sovereignty improved as 36 new varieties of food crops and trees were planted in home plots. Family health improved through the consumption of non-chemical foods and a saving of LKR 225,000 per season for the village can be recorded from reducing the use of agro chemicals

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

The main activity in improving biodiversity is the conservation of the 600 ha forest area. This was a degraded and abandoned tea land which developed into a secondary forest over a period of 20 years. The baseline survey in 2013 recorded 92 bird species, 52 butterflies, 5 amphibians, 8 mammals, 19 reptiles. A biodiversity assessment in 2015 by a university, recorded 105 bird species, 69 butterflies, 07 amphibians, 09 mammals and 25 species of reptiles, 1fresh water fish. 6000 trees were planted on the stream banks and in fire prone areas of the forest as part of a collaborative program with the government in creating animal corridors. The newly formed Childrens’ environment society members record their observations e.g. ‘new’ birds and butterflies are recorded in visits to the forest or in home gardens, demonstrating better awareness on biodiversity. Increased interest and awareness of parents and adults have occurred. The forest patch has become a sanctuary for wild animals especially pythons and snakes caught by villagers who release them here. With the promoting of organic agriculture and introduction of 36 crops, mix cropping in home gardens agro biodiversity has increased. With land management techniques soil biodiversity has improved.

Language(s)

Sinhalese, Tamil & English

Water

With the improvement in tree cover, water retention, water recharging capacities have improved which can be observed through the appearance of marshes.

Food Security/Nutrition

Food security is increased through the planting of 36 crops including tubers and yams which are flood and drought resistant, leafy vegetables, ability to collect uncultivated food items e.g. fruits and young leaves of ficus. With the introduction of new technology i.e. biomass drier for food/spice drying, the community can dry spices, excess vegetables and fruits for later use.

Economic/Sustainable Development

Increased income achieved through support to sell village produce e.g. pepper, vegetables and cereals, and through providing opportunities to expand livelihoods and diversify crops to obtain higher yields. Introduction of value added production such as organically grown traditional rice varieties are sold at higher price in a niche market. A Community Centre was constructed for village activities and to develop eco-tourism. The two rooms in the centre is being used by groups who visit the villag

Climate

The villagers are of the opinion that there is a change in the micro-climate, and an increase in rainfall with the development of home gardens, enrichment of soil, protecting the forested land, stream bank conservation among other activities. They uphold that the community water supply scheme which bring water to their homes through a pipe from the spring in the forest area used to be limited during the dry season but in the past two years the supply has been continuous which they believe is du

Sustainability

The grant from the Global Environment Facility of US$29,000, assisted in initiating the work in the village. The main activity undertaken was to establish erosion control methods in village farm plots in sloping lands which gave the farmers the opportunity to protect their lands and soil from further erosion. They are fully convinced that protecting their land is a key to better crops and higher yields. Soil conservation practices and land management practices therefore will continue in the village regardless of external monetary payments. The income for the farmers come from market based activities i.e. selling their produce for an acceptable price. One of the main benefits have been the fact that the exploitative middle man has been

Return on investment

The direct investment for project activities was $29,000. The lands developed for cultivation using the money is as follows - 195 ha of Pepper lands. In 2015 the selling of Pepper harvest brought in US$12,280 to the village. Paddy 22 ha brought in US$2200, Vegetables 43 ha, brought in US$4000. Total return on investment for one year is therefore US$18480.

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

The initiative was a demonstration project on land management and environment conservation through community participation. The participatory approach was a transparent process with capacity building, training and awareness as its core premise which led to the success of the project. In the next phase the project activities will be extended to 62 families with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders from the state and private sectors to the involvement of community organizations and communities in the selected villages. The required funding will be in the range of US$30,000 to 35,000 and will include continuous capacity building of all stakeholders on eco system and habitat protection, biodiversity conservation, adapting to the changing climate and sustainable livelihoods for both men and women.

Overview