Save 10 acres of biodiverse forest in Sri Lanka

Shortly after our last report, the International Monetary Fund approved a bailout for the Sri Lankan economy. This was incredibly good news for starting to stabilise the country’s debt and reviving much-needed goods imports. Since then, the value of the rupee has rebounded somewhat, however the day-to-day costs of living for local people are coming down much more slowly and the population continues to feel the strain.

For the Forest Healing Foundation, this definitely feels like a turning point (albeit a slow one!). With a more stable economy we can once again look towards longer term projects that make a sustained difference for forests and communities. However, we remain conscious of how the immediate financial needs of local people are integral to the success of any work we do.

So what are we working on? Some highlights from this quarter:

• Nel has been a whirlwind of activity, working with local smallholders to plant spice and mee trees;
• The Foundation office is nearly complete and we have started the recruitment process for a coordinator to be based there. We are also finalising additional conservation and tree-planting support to help grow our reach from our original two reforestation projects;
• Our Eko Land Produce community spice initiative continues to grow. If you are based in the UK, we currently have some fantastic spice gift boxes available – perfect for that friend who loves to cook or a special housewarming gift. Please email remon@ekoland.lk to order;
• We are researching and looking to trial new models for supporting smallholder livelihoods through our work, specifically through leasing land for restoration and new tree mortgaging approaches. More coming soon on this!

As always, we are eternally grateful for your support in making all of this happen. Please get in touch at info@foresthealingsrilanka.org if you have any thoughts, ideas or questions. Isthuthi.

Sending best wishes from our community to yours,

Emma, Remon, Nel and the FHF Community

Links:

• Forest Healing Foundation website

Our previous report was completely depressing and rightfully so. With inflation over 60%, unemployment at record highs, political unrest and shortages of essential items, Sri Lanka was in complete turmoil. 

Over the past few months, we have reasons to be (quietly, very quietly!) optimistic. Sri Lanka has managed to negotiate on their outstanding debts, avoid further unrest and increase foreign earnings which has stabilised the country. This has brought tourists back and a renewed sense of hope among all of us at the Forest Healing Foundation. 

Emma, our FHF coordinator visited us in January this year with her dad, Richard who has been supporting us for over 3 years. It was an absolute priviledge to show one of our biggest donors our work.   

We are also re-shuffling the FHF Board with some members taking a more active and operational role. We are therefore also looking for anyone that might be interested to join us in a directional capacity.

We also have started negotiations with the Forest Department about reforesting abandoned Tea Estates in our area using natural regeneration which is very exciting! With the future looking positive and a new office space coming soon we hope this will give us the platform to expand our reforestation on a larger scale. 

A FOREST HEALING SPACE! 

We are so excited to announce a new FHF office which is coming in July all thanks to our wonderful Emma. And it will be right here, in the jungle! The FHF office space will have an office, 2 bedrooms, bathroom and a kitchen, making it an ideal place for volunteers and nature lovers. 

With the recent increase of tourists, the interest in our efforts has also risen. There is no better feeling when visitors appreciate our work and offer support towards our project:). With Sri Lanka regaining interest and our office opening soon, we are now looking for a fulltime coordinator to join our team so if you are interested please email us at info@foresthealingsrilanka.org. 

We are happy to share that the 10 acres of land remains untouched. We are in regular contact with the land owner who is still keen to sell but doesnt seem desperate. Construction of the road circulating the land has also stopped due to insufficient funds which is good news for biodversity but not for the locals. We must not forget the challenges people face and the role people play in succesful conservation efforts.We are now discussing the option of leasing the land and focusining our attention towards other surronding forests at risk.  

In terms of our donations, we are thankful to Polwaththa Eco Lodges and Eko Land Produce who have continued to support us through their sales and guests. We havent forgetten our other donors including those sending monthly donations - we are forever grateful and we hope that we can really step up our efforts this year. Thank you for your continued encouragement and support:) 

Much love from the Jungle!