New lease of life for conflict-hit forest community

Every Friday people crowd into Rammalappu Dhanapala's yard, eager to hear the fortune teller's prophecies and seek his advice on how to avert imminent disasters.

"I have supernatural powers given to me by my grandparents and my parents," he said, showing vials of potions that he dispenses to cure various ailments.

Carrying on a long family tradition, Dhanapala who lives in Panama village in Ampara offers his counsel in a newly-constructed shrine room filled with the scent of incense. Its brick walls are decorated with colourful pictures of the many gods, he invokes.

What is unique about the fortune-teller's operation is that a local community-based organisation, the Movement of Young Social Workers (MOYS), spent Rs. 60,000 in funding given it by international non-governmental organisation ActionAid - to build him a bigger shrine room that would accommodate more clients. Since then, his clientele has doubled, bringing him Rs. 5,000-6,000 on a busy day.

MOYS' support for Dhanapala is only a small part of its support to the Padu community.

The community was forcibly uprooted from the nearby Kumana forest 18 years ago by police. Brought to Panama under duress and left to fend for themselves, the once self-sufficient members of the Padu community found it difficult to adjust to a new way of life.

Thirteen families now live in Panama while others have made their home in nearby villages. Besides being displaced victims of the conflict, they also suffered human and material losses from the December 2004 tsunami.

In Dhanapala's case, said Niroshan Perera, chairman of MOYS, "He has an unusual occupation and one of our aims is to encourage and support the traditional livelihoods of the Padu community. He is also quite successful at what he does, so we felt he deserved help to improve his standing in Panama."

Dhanapala's brother, R. Sugathapala, scours the forest to bring honey made by wild bees.

The honey is highly prized in the village and beyond for being wholesome and nutritious and his 'Kumana' brand has now made a name for itself.

"This is the first time we have got any help from any organisation," said Sugathapala, who used to barter the honey in exchange for goods his family needed. MOYS is helping Sugathapala acquire skills, including how to manage his business, as well as funding costs to start a small poultry farm that his wife will manage to give the family an additional income source.

MOYS also helps other members of the community by providing funding and technical expertise for livelihood projects such as growing seasonal crops of chillies, aubergines and millet, and for the `chena' cultivation.

But MOYS does not just assist the community in developing livelihoods and increasing incomes. A relationship has grown up between the agency and the community that enables it to advise residents on issues affecting their lives, including how to save sufficient money for emergencies and ways to ensure their kids get an education. "We want to look into their health, improve their living standards, ensure their children go to school and assist their psycho-social development through giving them economic support," said Perera.

Perera pointed out that members of the community knew little of some aspects of modern life such as banking extra income for future investment, and banding together to promote their interests as a group. MOYS has helped them set up a rural bank and is organising them into a group so as to better defend its interests.

IRIN