Save 10 acres of biodiverse forest in Sri Lanka

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! 

As mentioned in our previous report, Sri Lanka has been going through turmoil over the past 6 months. Bankruptacy, political instability and unprecedented rates of inflation are just some of the issues facing the island. 

The newly appointed president is trying his upmost to get Sri Lanka out of this mess but even he has admitted that this will be an uphill task and could take several years before Sri lanka is on the road towards recovery. 

So what has been happening at the Forest Healing Foundation? Well, despite the turmoil around us we have continued to plant and nurture our newly planted trees and offer some temporary jobs for some of the local villagers. 

Some of the highlights are:

- Offering more jobs to support our tree planting efforts

- Planting and donating spice & endemic trees to the local community

The sad news is that we are seeing an increase in deforestation in our surrounding area. The economic pressures are forcing locals to sell their trees for timber at rate we have not seen before and it is becoming a real battle to save some of the neighbouring forests.In a time when the environment should be the primary focus not only in Sri Lanka but globally, it is downplayed yet again citing a global economic recession. 

Despite the slow global efforts to tackle the environment and climate change we will continue to do our part ableit in a small way. With your support we will offer more employment opportunities, keep planting trees and spread the importance of protecting our beautiful forests.

Thank you,

Emma, Remon and the entire FHF team..