Sri Lankans can bring about a toxin-free nation if they opt for organic methods of farming

Sri Lanka has already been listed alongside Afghanistan as a nation that will have no food during the impending global food crisis

Citizens and various organizations are also contributing to help fellow citizens overcome the economic crisis

Tudor Rajapaksa’s vegetable plot is now a centre of attraction at GotaGoGama. A variety of plants from red spinach to curry leaves, lime, pandan leaves have already been planted on his plot. This is his way of showing the masses how Sri Lanka could transform into a toxin-free nation. While Rajapaksa is busy educating people on how to setup a home garden with organic components, several community kitchens have been setup to feed children and adults in vulnerable segments thereby supporting them to overcome the impending food crisis. However, as people continue to be inconvenienced with the shortage of cooking gas and fuel they have once again taken to the streets; this time with their own kitchen utensils.   

A toxin-free vegetable plot at GotaGoGama
Rajapaksa hails from Balapitiya. His goal is to show that people can grow organic produce in any part of the country; be it a land facing the sea or elsewhere. “I have been planting food crops since mathini’s time,” he told the Daily Mirror, recalling a statement by the then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. “Back then she requested people to grow vegetables and other food crops and I remember purchasing manioc barks for Rs. 10 and planting them. That is how I got into farming and have been a farmer for the past 22 years,” said Rajapaksa.  

But farmers in other parts of the country are unable to harvest paddy even though the season has now begun. This is mainly due to the errant decision taken to ban the import of chemical fertiliser overnight in a move to become a fully organic nation. Rajapaksa’s main three sources of nutrients include rice husk charcoal (Dahaiya), coco peat (kohubath) and cattle manure (goma pohora).   

By the time we visited his small vegetable plot Rajapaksa was forming layers of each of these components prior to planting some Ridged Gourd and Snake Gourd seeds. “We can bring about a toxin-free nation if we opt for organic methods of farming. You can easily make compost fertiliser out of albesia (Silk plants), keppetiya (Croton) and other dry leaves,” he explained.   

When asked if organic fertiliser is expensive, Rajapaksa responded in the negative. “It won’t cost a fortune to have your own home garden. A pack of fertiliser could be bought at Rs. 350 and seeds at Rs. 750,” he said.   
At age 75, Rajapaksa is proud of the fact that he hasn’t been ill for the entirety of his life and believes that sourcing toxin-free vegetables, fruits and other food items is the key to a healthy life.   

‘We Are One’ – A social safety net programme by Sarvodaya 
Food security has become a major challenge in Sri Lanka with rulers warning people that they may have to survive; perhaps on two or one meal per day. Sri Lanka has already been listed alongside Afghanistan as a nation that will have no food during the impending global food crisis. While Sri Lanka is in the process of receiving humanitarian assistance from a state level, citizens and various organizations are also contributing to help fellow citizens overcome the economic crisis.   

Sarvodaya is one of the organizations that launched its first set of community kitchens based on marginalised Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres in Nuwara Eliya district. This initiative was done as part of Sarvodaya’s signature Social Safety Net programme titled ‘We Are One’. “There are three components to the project; the first phase is a community kitchen, second is a food bank and third is home gardening,” said Udesh Fernando, Director, Sarvodaya Institute of Higher Learning.

“We plan to expand this among 110 early childhood development centres which have been selected based on malnutrition indices. Why we chose pre-schools and ECDs was because a child’s brain develops between ages 2 and 5. So we provide all utensils and materials for volunteers and get the community to contribute. We are also in the process of establishing the first model community kitchen in Lakshapathiya, Moratuwa which will be a lab of experiments. This model was executed by Sarvodaya some 30-40 years back during the height of the ethnic conflict and this is a fresh start to something that was stopped long time ago.  

“Food banks on the other hand will serve a dual purpose of receiving and giving away donations,” Fernando continued. “Sarvodaya has its own shramadana societies and we plan to convert the 25 district centres into food banks. These will cater to vulnerable and marginalised communities where people in vulnerable communities could access dry rations or meals depending on the requirement,” said Fernando.   

The home-garden concept is a long-term solution aimed at creating home garden cultivation’s and small scale community farms to combat urban and rural economic depression. “The first phase of the home garden initiative was to give away a pack of seeds to around 400 beneficiaries to promote home gardening. There’s a therapeutic benefit when nurturing plants especially at a time like this. The main idea is for every household to get some nutrients to their food plate from their own home garden,” said Fernando.   

The team is looking forward to partnering with youth groups and signing partnerships with interested parties to sustain the three components of the ‘We Are One’ initiative. 
  
More details could be obtained on this regard by calling 0720101010 while donations can be made to Account – Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, Commercial bank (Account number – 1590048419). The Swift code is – CCEYLKLXXXX

Voice Foundation feeding the needy 

Volunteers at work at the Voice Foundation community kitchen in Rajagiriya

When Akash De Silva of the Voice Foundation came across a family surviving on a jackfruit for three days he immediately wondered how he could help them. This was how the thought of setting up a community kitchen struck him. “Giving dry rations alone won’t help since there’s no cooking gas available,” he said in an interview with the Daily Mirror. “Then we did some research and came across the community kitchen concept. Since June 1 the Voice Foundation premises in Rajagiriya has been converted into a community kitchen; feeding poor and vulnerable communities in the area. We had 85 people on the first day and then the numbers have kept increasing. Our initial plan is to provide lunch on weekdays because people don’t go to work over the weekends. Some are in queues and have been affected by the crisis. Our plan is to collect food for the next three months and then provide dinner as well,” said De Silva.   

The Foundation has joined hands with a leading supermarket chain where they purchase unsellable yet consumable vegetables. “The kitchen also requires around 15 volunteers every day because kitchen operations include cooking as well as serving. Thereafter the team sets up the place for the next day. Subsequently two more community kitchens were open to the public in Negombo and Kadawatha,” he added.
  
More information can be obtained by calling 0772512374 or 0773206501. Donations can be made to Account name – Voice Foundation, Account number – 101000432815 at NDB (Battaramulla). Swift – NDBSLKLX

‘Kitchen Lament’ grows louder

Kitchen Lament -  A protest where kitchen utensils do the talking 

While several citizens and organizations are working towards bringing about food security in the country, a majority of citizens continue to languish in queues awaiting their turn to obtain either a gas cylinder or fuel. Since last Saturday, people now keep coming to the streets, but this time with their kitchen utensils, banging on to them and expressing their disappointment over the new Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe administration.  
Here’s what a few protesters had to say:   
“Rulers living in their own bubble” - Jayaweera
Jovanka Jayaweera operates a catering business, but the shortage of gas has been a challenge. “We are in a political deadlock, the rulers are living in their own bubble and don’t care about what the citizens are experiencing. People are unemployed and are dying of starvation. I wanted to participate in this protest to voice my disappointment against the government,” said Jayaweera.   
“The voice of people should be loudest now” - Rehana
Himashi Rehana works at a private organization and feels that now is the time that the voices of people should be the loudest. “People are experiencing many financial difficulties that they cannot have their own meals or purchase rice or essentials. Hospitals don’t have medicine and there’s no fuel. Therefore I came here on behalf of everybody who has been inconvenienced due to these crises,” said Rehana.  
“Why are rulers troubling people like this?” – Priyadarshini 
Nirmala Priyadarshini hasn’t been able to buy a gas cylinder for two months. “I had to stay in a queue for five days to get milk powder. My son couldn’t get fuel even despite waiting in a queue for five hours because the filling station has run out of petrol. Why are rulers troubling people like this? Why is it that they can’t leave? There are knowledgeable youth in this country who can do a better job than these elderly people. We had good standards of living prior to this crisis. Now we can’t afford to buy a coconut or two to make a coconut sambol. There’s no option, but to offer a plain tea to someone who visits our house. This country is cursed and the rulers are craving for more,” said Priyadarshini.  
“Poor people cannot afford milk tea anymore” - Poulier
Deadry Poulier has joined the protests after observing how poor people are unable to afford a cup of milk tea. “That was one thing they could afford, but not anymore. Basic food items aren’t available. Bread and butter are a luxury now. How will poor people survive?” asked Poulier.  
“We are fed up with this government” – Public servant 
A public servant at the protest, who spoke on conditions of anonymity said that he doesn’t see any solution to the prevailing crisis. “Therefore we are protesting in a peaceful manner. Everybody from poor to urban middle class has been affected by this crisis. I waited in a queue for more than three hours to obtain petrol. We are fed up with this government,” grumbled the public servant.   
“Leaders seem to be deaf” – De Silva 
Marisa De Silva has been at the people’s protests since March. “We started protesting in our neighbourhoods which expanded to the Galle Face aragalaya and now we are back in the neighborhood because we see a need to turn up the volume because the leaders seem to be deaf. We are seeing that the President is trying to appoint people or make decisions to try and legitimise himself when he has clearly lost the mandate of the people. As such there’s nothing more that is left for him to do other than step down and us moving to an election. People will keep protesting until this point. This is one of the reasons why neighbourhood protests have begun again and this time it will be louder than ever. We cannot afford candles, so now we are using whatever we have at home, using our voices, pots and pans and we are going to keep coming out and keep fighting until our demands are met,” affirmed De Silva.