Livelihood Assitance in Sri Lanka

JEN staff visited the agricultural exhibition by the Northern Province Department of Agriculture in Mannar District. Some of the JEN’s project participants also came to as part of a workshop to learn new skills. Also we considered how the knowledge would make impacts on the participants and so the staff researched on many presentations of other agricultural associates in the exhibition.

The theme of the exhibition was “Bringing Eco-Friendly Agriculture to the Market” and it mainly featured / showcased water-saving technology such as aquaculture methods, trickle cultivation and sprinklers, various planting techniques, crop disease, and cultivation technology.

We especially took interest in drip technology-by slowly providing water directly to the surface of the soil and the root area, it is an irrigation system that minimizes the consumption of water and fertilizer. We hope that we can promote improvements in water management, organic farming, and the use of new crop species.

It seemed that the associates produced dry foods made from coconuts as well. JEN donated dry food producing units in the current project; it was stimulating for the project participants to witness the success of the machines.

 The Deputy Secretary of Kilinochchi and Mullativu Districts also attended the exhibition and researched on companies and organizations. He introduced new types of crops and species preservation technology.    Also, Mr.Kirushunan, one of the project members and exhibition participants, was impressed by the variety of dry foods were selling in the exhibition. Mr. Kirushunan makes dry foods for his household now, and he says he would be able to produce enough to sell to neighbouring villages with improved methods. The JEN staff and the project participants plan to study methods for packing these dry foods in the future.

We believe that supporting the project participants who experiment with the new methods acquired from the exhibition supports community strengthening. The exhibition was an important opportunity to learn new skills and share the latest knowledge with JEN’s project participants.

A workshop on Marketing in Kilinochchi district, Northern part of Sri Lanka

 On December 8th last year, JEN held a workshop on marketing for 32 people who participated JEN’s project.

 In this workshop, we focused on the importance and necessity of marketing for local residents to sell their harvest effectively. The participants showed a great interest and worked on the project enthusiastically.

 To encourage the understanding and cooperation among the participants, we worked on the agenda below in the workshop:

- What is marketing?

- Where and what we sell?

- Marketing strategy

 Also, we discussed a new method and a strategy of marketing such as what kind of crops we will produce during the rainy season. Through this workshop, the participants were able to obtain important skills to plan ahead for the future. For example, they learned when to produce what kind of crops in accordance with each season.

 These marketing strategies should enable the locals to manage their businesses more effectively, which help them to increase their profit and income.

In the group discussion, we discussed the items below:

  How to ensure customers and consumers both in local and urban areas.

  How to decide the prices at the market.

  How to grow better quality crops.

  How to sell their products and what issues to solve.

 At the workshop, to take proactive steps for the rain season, we explained that dried food or powdered products are in on demand.  The lecture about crops and products that can be adopted for changing weather was popular among the participants. It seemed that the marketing lecture featuring seasonal issues was helpful for the participants.

 At the end of the workshop, the lecturer explained about the flour mill and the dried food factory that JEN has built, and it is possible to make their solid financial stability which would be effective growth and selling crops.

We hope that these efforts could empower and sustain the growth of the community.