VI. TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND APPROACHES TO BIORESOURCE MANAGEMENT

6.1 Traditional approaches to natural resource management

The rural settlements were developed close to the water reservoirs, which became the focal points for structuring the community and for evolving traditions and codes of conduct, to safeguard the natural resources in the vicinity of the habitations.

The common thread guiding the population was the tenets of Buddhist philosophy of ‘Maitriya’ and ‘Ahimsa’ and the knowledge of natural phenomena based on long periods of observations. Myths and legends also played an important role in guiding the behaviour pattern of the society.

The villages evolved systems for collective action to share the responsibilities to safeguard the land, water and biological resources for sustainable use. The forests covering steep slopes and the catchment areas of streams and rivers were protected, to minimise the processes of erosion and sedimentation transported into the reservoirs. The maintenance of embankments and water channels leading to paddy lands was a shared responsibility. The de-silting of canals and the village tank was done during the dry season.

6.2 Community planning for paddy cultivation during the Maha season (N.E. monsoon)

With a view anticipating the intensity and distribution pattern of the forthcoming Northeast monsoon women and men of the village community would hold discussions to make an assessment. It would be based on observations of natural symbolism related to wind speed, direction; colour and height of clouds, lightening; humidity in the air; and behaviour of plants like shedding or appearance of new leaves, hardening of bark, abnormally high or low flowering and fruiting in certain trees. For example, profuse flowering and fruit setting in two tree species ‘Palu’ (Manilkara hexandra; Sapotaceae) and ‘Weera’ (Drypetes sepiara; Euphorbiaceae), common in Anamaduwa area of Northcentral dry zone, would indicate poor rainfall amounting to drought. Tennakoon (1986) had referred to other tree species showing abnormal flowering and fruiting which would help in forecasting the forthcoming monsoon season: the flowering of ‘Tala’ tree (Corypha umbraculifera; Palmae) was considered a certain precursor of a forthcoming calamity in form of a severe drought. These tree flowers just before its death, after growing vegetatively for twenty to thirty years. The excessive bearing of fruits of the ‘wood apple’ (Limonia acidissima), ‘katukeliya’ (Erythrina fusca), ‘eraminiya’ (Ziziphusnapeca), ‘damba’ (Syzigium cordifolium) and ‘mora’ (Nephalium longana; August – September) would also indicate drought after a poor Northeast monsoon. Incidentally, the drought indicator plant species also were a good source of wild edible fruits. As if, nature anticipating the coming of poor monsoon had provided some food to tide over the difficult times ahead. However, good flowering and fruiting in other tree species would indicate a normal or high monsoon spell. The flowering of Mata bimbiya (Maesaperrottetiana), a wild plant was a harbinger of a good monsoon.

The respondent narrator, a village physician, near Anamaduwa referred to the calling behaviour of certain bird species as related to rainfall. If a bird named ‘Awichhiya’, which arrives around October, makes a certain type of noise while hovering over the fields and ponds, it would indicate drought or near drought condition. But if ‘Ukussa’ bird, flying high or a ‘Wahilini’ bird flock made big noise, it would indicate that rains were imminent. Flocks of ‘Seru’ birds flying over the village tank also indicated the same feature. Small crabs (‘Kakkuta’) coming out of cracks in a dried portion of the reservoir also indicated imminent rain. In the light of these observations the village community would assess the Maha season rainfall. The time of arrival and the behaviour of the rainy spells would be considered before taking decisions about the paddy sowing, whether crop sown should be of long or short duration and how much of the land should be put under cultivation. In case a drought had set-in, the community could decide to even forego the paddy sowing, for water in the village tank would not be adequate to see the crop to maturity. Individual families would go for drought tolerant crop plants, like greengram, cowpea, chillies, ‘rata kadju’ (groundnut) and others. If highland was available some chena cultivation would be resumed for short duration drought-tolerant crop species.

6.3 Traditional rituals observed for the Maha crop season

Under the guidance of Vihara, a crop almanac was prepared, indicating the auspicious and inauspicious times for sowing and harvesting the crop. It was mainly based upon the two luminaries, the zodiacal position of Sun as related to the phases of Moon. It is a very common practice even now.

At the auspicious time (‘Nakatha’), all farmers would come to the paddy fields (‘Kaieya’), to start sowing. The Government official, head of the village (Gram Niladhari), and Bhikkus from the nearby Vihara perform ‘Perith’ i.e. Recall Buddha's teaching, and farmers would start ploughing the fields. In between, young girls holding winnows in their hands, would perform a cultural dance called ‘Kulu Natuma’ and sing traditional songs.

The Maha season paddy harvest was usually completed before the beginning of the Sinhala New Year falling on 13–14th April. The village community would offer special prayers and make symbolic food offering prepared from new rice to propitiate different Gods and Goddesses. The preparation of is a collective activity and would be distributed among relatives and friends. The recently harvested paddy would also be shared among neighbours. At harvesting time, village women would dance and make ‘Khiri Bhat’ and offer it to people working in the field. After harvest, the new rice is first offered to Lord Buddha and Lord Kataragama and to the Lord of the field, where a Buddha statue is kept in a small hut. Later on the farm families would come together and share the cooked new rice. Some quantity of paddy is given as a gift (‘Pangguwa’) to relatives and friends (Exchnage of germplasm).

The village community settled around the tank was in a way an extended family, who would cooperate and share responsibilities and assist each other, taking care of the old and infirm widows and others in distress. In such a state of communal harmony, nobody was left hungry or in want of food. The relatives and neighbour shared the moments of joys, sorrow and deprivations.

6.4 Storage of paddy seeds

The paddy seeds were stored for next year's crop in closely woven large cane baskets (Wee bissae). Storage bins called ‘Atuwa’ were made of strong hardwood obtained from Jack tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) for large quantities. In the home of a farmer (Anamaduwa area), an about three meters high traditional seed storage bin (“Bissae”) was kept in the courtyard. It was made of closely woven bamboo, with a protective cover of clay with cowdung (“Goma Meti”), to insulate it against the external temperature and humidity variations and against the growth of various saprophytic fungi and insects. The dried seeds were mixed with Neem (‘Kohamba’) leaves for added protection against harmful insects. A small thatch covered the bin, which was kept on a wooden base, about a meter high. This bin could store 85 bushels (45 bags) of paddy.

Such traditional paddy storage bins have almost gone out of use. The paddy is now kept in bags made of waterproof synthetic material, which are usually stored within the home. The paddy bags are also being stored under large tailored waterproof tarpaulin housing. The dried seeds of lesser grains, legumes, and vegetables are kept in polythene bags and stored in the kitchen. In the dry zone, the cobs with their sheath are hung on a bamboo under the shade of the trees, or were kept near the hearth in the kitchen. The female members of the family perform the task of, seed storage especially of chena crops.

6.5 Role of women in building indigenous systems of health and food security

A respondent farmer interviewed was candid in pointing out that his wife knew all that was known to him about various aspects of dry zone agriculture. Women's knowledge of traditional paddy cultivation was comprehensive. She could take charge of soaking, sowing and transplanting paddy and released men to prepare the land. While visiting the fields for weeding, she would supervise the watering and detected occurrence of any abnormal rise of pests or a developing pathogenic disease in the crop.

Women visited the nearby forests for picking buds, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, edible yams and mushrooms for cooking purpose. Vegetables obtained from wild plants were cooked frequently. The knowledge base of the food or medicinal value of different plants had gradually been built up and was verbally passed from one generation to another. This knowledge was of immense help during periods of drought and the consequent shortage of food and family funds to buy the household supplies. Women would make ‘Anuga’ chutney by using the fruits of ‘Kone’ (Eugenia bracteata); collect copiously produced nectar in the flowers of ‘Mi’ (Madhuca longifolia) to make treacle and extract edible oil from its seeds. Its flowers were also eaten as a vegetable. With no spare money at hand to buy washing soaps, powdered seeds of ‘Penela’ (Sapindusemarginatus; soap tree) would be used. To purify the water for drinking purpose, seeds of ‘Igini’ (Strychanos potatorum) collected from the wild are used (Tennakoon, 1986).

When men had gone out to seek employment elsewhere, women would use her knowledge of medicinal plants found in the nearby forests to collect and sell them to ayurvedic drug manufacturers. Plant species such as ‘Goda Kaduru’ (Strychanos nux-vomica), ‘Bulu’ (Terminalia bellirica), ‘Aralu’ (Terminalia chebula), ‘Kaduru’ (Cerberamanghas) and other are commonly collected and sold. However, in spite of women's good knowledge of the medicinal plants, the village physicians were always men.

Women had the knowledge of plants, which could be used to preserve cooked food, for example dried fruits of ‘Goraka’ (Garcinia morella). The women collect the fruits and sell in the weekly roadside markets. For colouring food on festive occasions, and for dyeing clothes ‘Rata Kaha’ (Bixa orelana) was used. There were a number of other sources of dyes, which are obtained from various plant species.

6.6 Cultural beliefs and practices related to bio-resources

The traditions in Sri Lanka based on Bhuddist beliefs calls for respecting all forms of life. According to various cultural beliefs and practices have evolved as a symbolic gesture to respect lives of fauna and worshipping the means of sustenance. These are reviewed here as illustrations.

6.6.i Respect to wildlife

Wild animals, which would harm the crops were warded off rather than killed. Elephants were never killed or harmed for their mythical association with Buddha's birth and their place in Hindu religious traditions. The bird fauna, which would keep the insect pests under control, was given protection. Invariably a portion of the cultivated field, called “Kurulu Paluwa”, nearer to the forest, would be kept aside to feed the birds, (Weerawardana, 1994). As far as possible, people avoided killing even poisonous snakes like vipers and kraits, particularly cobras, which according to legend had shaded Lord Buddha under their hood. Certain animals like crows, monitors, and tortoises were never killed. As a method of biological pest control, Dimiya ants (Ecophylla smaragdina)were propagated in the vegetable and fruit gardens, to check any abnormal growth of pests and harmful insects. The aquatic fauna living in the paddy fields and reservoirs was protected for its beneficial role. The village pond was never completely emptied, but some amount of water was left for the survival of aquatic animals and for birds and other terrestrial animals for drinking.

As a part of a tradition, fruits from upper branches of trees were not plucked, but were left for birds and other animals to share. This practice not only gave sustenance to other wild animals, but also helped in the propagation of seeds (Weerawardana, 1994).

People believed that other animals that shared the habitat had a right to exist, and therefore, should not be intentionally harmed. This belief would prompt the chena cultivation to go around the field and shout loudly to request the birds and beasts to leave before lighting fire to the earlier slashed vegetation. He would apologise for any small animal; featherless bird or egg that were burnt, and would also welcomes them to share a part of his crop later.

Even though, the cultivators themselves managed subsistence living, often no effort was made to kill wild animals, including elephants that would invade the crops in the night. Women and men would sit the whole night and sing loudly and beat the drums, to scare away the wild animals. In later period, British officials, sportsmen brought shotguns and used the watch huts to kill animals and often induced the cultivators to use guns.

6.6.ii Thovil ceremony for good health and agriculture prosperity

Men only performed the role of ‘Gurunnanse’ for ‘Yakadura’, the master of evils. A narrator who lived in a village in Deniyaya explained the ritual; he performed the ceremony for those who would need his help. The ritual would require putting on devil masks, prepared from special wood obtained from two Apocynaceae tree species namely ‘divi kadurii’ (Pagiantha dichotoma) from the wet zone, and ‘gonkaduru’ (Cerberaodollam) coming from coastal area mangrove forests. The beard and moustaches for the mask were made from the fibres of Boehmeria malabarica (madu - diyagul). The ‘Deva-thovil’ prayer would require an offering of banana sheath, immature coconut taken from the flower bud, five types of seeds (moong, sesame, paddy, blackgram, and rattan), mature flower buds of coconut, banana, dried sea fish (sprats), dried meat of deer or goat, bones of fish (malueta), etc. The ritual of special prayers by chanting mantras was performed during the waxing phase of moon, but not at the time of full moon day (Poya). The ‘Deva-thovil’ ceremony was to propitiate ‘Yak’, for recovery from ill health, rain at proper time, and increase in the yield of crops. The ritual during the period of the waxing of the moon was to cast a bad spell, to harm the enemies.

In another ‘Thovil’ ceremony called ‘Kem’, a tree called ‘Kalaniya’ would be used against heavy infestation of insect pests. Small branches of this tree would be pulverised and put in four to six corners of the paddy field (Vitarana and Withanage, 1991).

6.6.iii Trees as abode of Gods or Demon (Yakka)

All tall and massive trees were considered to be abodes of good spirits, for example ‘Na’ (Mesua ferrea), Rukaththana (Alstonia scholaris), Bo (Ficus religiosa), Sapu (Canangaodorata) and Ehala (Cassia fistula). The flowers of Atteria (Murraya paniculata) are offered to Lord Buddha, who once had resided in an Atteria garden. The leaves of mango tree are used to worship goddess Paththini. The Katarodu creeper (Clitoriaternatea) was considered sacred, because of its blue flowers were offered for prayers to Lord Vishnu. Certain plants such as Jayapala (Ilex zelanica) have some powerful purgative properties. There is a belief that just sitting under its shade of Jayapala tree can cause diarrhoea (Vitarana and Withanage, 1991).

VII. CONTEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND GENDER ROLES

The undulating topography in the low lying dry zone has traditionally been utilised to grow short-duration comparatively drought-resistant crops of coarse grains, grain legumes, oil crops and vegetables on the highland. The cultivation has followed ‘slash and burn’ methods to clear the land of natural vegetation, reduce the focus of insect pests and fertilise the soil. Large trees were left intact for setting up watch-huts and smaller trees were chopped down to breast height to re-sprout. Since the dryzone receives rains during the Northeast monsoon, the land preparation was completed before its normal onset in November. This form of cultivation was named ‘chena’ (earlier called ‘hena’). The practice of the chena cultivation dates back to the early tribal communities in Sri Lanka, and later adopted by settlers who arrived from India around 3rd century B.C.

Women traditionally have played a key role in determining the seed combinations to be sown each year. Since the success of crops depended upon the vagaries of nature, the women to minimise the risk of food shortage, the women took complete charge of cultivating coarse grains, especially ‘kurakkan’ (Eleusine coracana) right from seed sowing to harvest, threshing and storing the grains. Even a modest harvest of coarse grains during a bad year would ensure the minimal food and nutrient requirements to survive. In tribal societies the women had been the master conductors of the entire operation. During the British period, chena cultivation was discouraged, especially in hilly areas, for reasons of damage to forests and wildlife and the increase in soil erosion. The tribals were ejected out of the wet zone and had to move into the dry zone in the eastern regions. Other communities were discouraged from ‘slash and burn’ cultivation.

But there is no denying to the fact that chena cultivation in association with lowland mono cropping of rice paddies and a home garden had helped in providing a wider food and nutritional base for a farm family, keeping hunger and malnutrition in abeyance. Today, nearly 18 percent of the land area, amounting to 1.2 m ha, is under chena cultivation, and about 250 000 farm families depend upon it for their livelihood. Even though chena is a low-intensity land use, it produces about 80 percent of the country's coarse grains, legumes and vegetables (Baldwin, 1991).

Presently, with increases in population pressure, demarcation of forestry and wildlife conservation areas and opening of new settlement schemes under major Mahaweli and Walwe Ganga and other river valley projects, the land available for traditional chena cultivation has been in decline. The chena cycle has changed from an 8–10 year to a 1–2 year fallow period interval. A growing number of chena cultivators are even raising Yala as well as Maha crops annually by using innovative irrigation practices. In the Ratnapura - Deniyaya area, the traditional chena fields are being converted into small owner tea plantations, for the benefit of a better market price of this export crop. Elsewhere there is a growing emphasis on vegetable cultivation for a ready market and high returns. This shift has also brought a change in gender roles.

This change has been facilitated by the induction of new farm practices, to compensate for the poor-ash based nutrient in the field by inorganic fertilisers, pesticides and water from dug-wells and drains by portable diesel sets to grow crops during the non-monsoon

season. Women have continued to play their traditional role in managing the cultivation of coarse grains. Men have taken charge of crops like banana and vegetables because of their high market value. The emergence of the market economy has been an important factor in altering gender roles and reducing the position of women to that of farm labour rather than planners and managers as in the past.

The agricultural practices concerning crop preference have been undergoing major changes during the recent decades. The changes were brought in by (i) the expansion of irrigation facilities, (ii) introduction of high yielding varieties of paddy and other crops, (iii) gradual mechanisation of farm operations; (iv) increased use of an inorganic fertilisers, weedicide-pesticide combinations, and (v) the building of a regional and export-oriented agricultural market economy.

This section presents an overview of the conditions and changes in the production systems that influences the community participation and gender roles. The cropping systems considered here are: rice paddies, Chena cultivation and home garden.The illustrative depiction of the crop arrangement in the three systems in relation to homestead is presented in Figure 7. The gender roles vary in these systems.

Figure 7

7.1 A general of view of participation by crop system

Summaries of the community participation and gender roles in the three farming systems are presented in Table 2. These responsibilities of men and women are later examined

set in the context of changes that have occurred through introduction technology and development investments.

Table 2. Agricultural systems and participation by community and gender roles Chena Fields Rice Paddies Home Gardens

Community Land selection, slashing - crop protection hunting of wild animals for meat; fishing from tanks (Men)

Decisions regarding the crop variety related to monsoon expectancy.Determiningauspicious time for land preparation, sowing and harvesting of crop

NIL

Men Burning, land preparation, sowing, fencing of plot, maintenance of fence, crop protection from wild animals, harvesting of vegetable and miscellaneous. Crops

Land preparation, seed sowing, use of weedicides,application of fertilisers pesticides, threshing, winnowing by machines; carrying harvest home; marketing

Plucking fruits from coconut, tapping sap from kitul, harvesting fruits, spices, coffee, picking tea leaves, transporting home garden products and the market

Women Weeding, Crop combination,Harvesting of coarse grains, threshing, winnowing, cleaning, storage for home use and seeds, for next years crop.

Puddling,Transplanting,weeding (if weedicides have not been used) carrying meals, tea to field for labour and men of the family, arranging for female labour, on payment or exchange basis.

Cleaning fallen leaves, making compost, watering plants, sowing vegetables, cleaning, drying of fruits, seeds and storing for home use and seeds for next years' crop, kitul, making of jaggery, cakes and treacle

7.2 Changing agricultural practices by crops

Sri Lanka has introduced planned interventions to improve agriculture productivity, these include new technologies and production techniques. These have impacted the production processes and household level responsibilities as reviewed in this section.

7.2.i Rice paddies and irrigation schemes

The increase in irrigation facilities through traditional expansion and renovation of storage reservoir, river diversion and lift irrigation schemes has extended the irrigated acreage to by 200 000 ha. Besides, the large multipurpose Mahaweli Ganga Scheme provided a major thrust to further expand irrigation facilities to over 400 000 ha. Another major irrigation scheme on the Walwe Ganga in the southern region has opened new avenues for settlements in the irrigated areas in the dry zone. Taken together, these schemes may irrigate most of the dry zone area from Humbantota District in the South to

Vavunia (Northwest), Anuradhapura (North-Central) Polonaruwa, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts (Southeast).

The major and minor development schemes in the dry zone have opened new areas for agricultural operation and human settlements. These schemes, with their socio-economic development programmes, encourage crop diversification as per land capability. Other influencing factors are enterprises and socio-economic development, assisted by income generation and infra-structural development of roads, electricity, housing, and education and health facilities. This phase of development generated around irrigation schemes, which brought changes in the landuse. However, one of the important adverse impacts has resulted in the destruction of natural ecosystems and wildlife. This impact was partly compensated by the development of protected areas in the form of national parks, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries.

In order to improve paddy production, new fertiliser-responsive varieties were introduced which along with the use of herbicides-cum-pesticides inputs, helped in lifting the yield to 3.6 MT/ha. (Gunasena, 1997). It made the cultivation of low yielding traditional paddy varieties comparatively uneconomical. Although the paddy yields increased, higher cost of inputs reduced the profit margin. The place of shared labour by farm families was taken over by hired labour. It further added to the cost of paddy production at less lucrative returns.

The entry of fertilisers and pesticides into the reservoirs in certain areas encouraged growth of aquatic weeds such as Salvinia and Typha and caused a decline in the fresh-water fish population. The introduction of weedicides, mechanised ploughing, threshing, and winnowing further reduced on-farm employment opportunities for poor farmers and landless people. Since women labour was traditionally utilised for weeding, harvesting and winnowing their employment opportunity has sharply declined.

The Mahaweli Economic Agency in Walwe Ganga encouraged new crop combinations on the basis of land capability in the settlement areas. In the south and the southeastern dry zone, improved clones of different banana varieties, a cash crop have been introduced. This has led to a major spurt in earnings per acre, compensating poor returns on paddy cultivation. To encourage sugarcane production elsewhere, cost-free irrigation has been provided to farmers for five years. Women labourers have an only limited role in employment in sugarcane cultivation.

a. Poor rural women groups - Walwe Ganga settlement area

Keeping in view the unemployment problem among farm women in the Walwe Ganga Settlement Area, the Mahaweli Economic Agency (MEA) has encouraged the formation of women's association. The women's association groups were to help their members to organise shared farm-labour in each other's fields for sowing, weeding, harvesting, etc. The Management Agriculture Operations in MEA arranged to provide 40 kg of good-quality paddy seed free of cost to women's groups for multiplication. These associations also provide modest loans of Rs.2 000 to Rs.5 000 per member, out of a central pool created by members, contributions. In Embilipitiya, about one hundred women organised themselves into twelve groups. The loans are utilised for opening a boutique, selling items of daily use; fruits, vegetables, cold drinks, tea, etc. Along the roadside or as an

extension of the homegarden. The association also helps widows, and single women and settles marital discords.

b. Changing agricultural practices and trends in women's role

The gradual commercialisation of agriculture involving a new range of agricultural practices reduced the traditional role of women. Since the emergence of seed companies, the role of women in seed selection and seed storage and planning a strategy for crop combinations has become marginal. Male members have taken over the responsibility for deciding crop combinations of say paddy and banana and also marketing of the produce. Since, large amounts of money enters into the hand of the family, a major part of it is deposited in the bank. The bank account is invariably in the name of the husband. The wife's role has been relegated to home, activities related to the homegarden and occasional manual help on the farm. In case the family has a boutique, it is run by female members. Money earned is spent on the purchase of a mobike, electric fan, furniture, electronic items, crockery and other household items. From the field visits, a correlation was found that higher the family income, more subordinate is the role of the female members.

7.2.ii New crop combinations in wet zone areas

In the lowland areas of the wet zone, the plantation crops of smallholdings such as coconut and rubber have been combined with paddy cultivation. In mid and up-country areas, rubber and tea plantations of lowland small holding, have become highly remunerative. But near Ratnapura area, frequently paddy fields lying fallow have been observed.

The harvest of tealeaves and seasonal haul of various spices, both export oriented crops, have provided high economic return. The Government has encouraged the farmers with low holdings, as these add substantially to tea and rubber production. The tea and rubber plantations have become a source of regular income. The tea processing factories buy the graded tealeaves from small tea growers. Tealeaf harvesting, grading and transport to tea processing factory have evolved into a smoothly working system, involving tea grower, grader and transporter. In the entire process, the women besides tea picking help in general management looking after home garden etc. However, the men play major role in decision-making, marketing and finances.

7.2.iii Changes in Chena cultivation

The chena cultivation is practised extensively in the dry and arid zone areas of Sri Lanka, covering about 18 percent of the cultivated land area. It is being practised on high land portion of the undulating landform in low country. Its main features were:

Land clearing in a forested area by slashing standing trees and shrubs, and subsequently burning dried leaves, twigs, fallen logs, before the onset of the monsoon. The fire reduced the insect population. The large quantity of ash derived from mainly woody vegetation suffices to sustain mineral nutritional requirements of the crops. In-organic fertilisers and pesticides were not utilised. This cultivation mode was totally depended upon rainfall. Therefore, the selected crops were comparatively drought-resistant and of short duration.

The crop combinations sown would meet family's requirement of staple food and nutritional requirements. They would include maize, millets, legumes, lentils, vegetables and gingelly, and mustard as oil crops. Female family members would play an important role in choosing the crop combination, and subsequent care of the crop, along with men. After meeting the family's requirement, surplus would be sold in the weekly village market or to traders. Roadside stalls were also set up to sell the home garden produce like coconut, banana, woodapple, beli, tamarind, etc. If a farm family owned high as well as lowland for irrigated paddy cultivation, male members looked after the lowland and female members took charge of the highland for chena cultivation. The economic returns were low and farm families mostly lived at subsistence level.

7.2.iv Recent trends in Chena cultivation

The increase in the rural population, reduction in the forested areas, new settlement areas in newly created irrigation zones, have brought changes in the mode of Chena cultivation. The slash and burn periodicity gap from a minimum gap of 8–10 years has been reduced to a one yearly cycle, thereby reducing the ash content obtained mainly from non-woody plants. Therefore, the farmers have taken recourse to inorganic fertilisers. Pesticide use has also been initiated.

To reduce rainfall dependency, dug wells are constructed for limited amounts of irrigation. Farmers are also using diesel pumps for lift irrigation, wherever an opportunity exists. The crop combinations in partially irrigated areas have also undergone changes, with greater emphasis on vegetable crops, which provide higher returns. In hilly areas of the wet zone, Ratanpura district, chena land is being converted into smallholding tea gardens, for reasons of higher and steady income. Except in certain tribal pockets, chena cultivation is ceasing to be shifting cultivation. Farm families have settled on smallholdings of 2–3 acres on highland in the dry zone, and raise annual crops during the Yala as well as the Mahaseason by improvised irrigation.

Certain chena crops have shown declining trends in the last 15 years of production and area under cultivation. The production declined considerably in case of Kurakkan, Maneri, Sorghum, Dhall, Gingelly, Cow pea, Sweet potatoes and Mustard. Greengram and Potato production have also declined, though not drastically. Paddy and Maize production have increased and chilly production has more than doubled during the season. Obviously, cropping pattern are changing adversely and are becoming concentrated on crops like paddy and maize. This is also substantiated by a count of the area under cultivation. In most cases acreage have been reduced (Statistical Abstracts, Department of Census and Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Sri Lanka, 1996).

Such a serious fall in output and cropped area have serious negative implications for conservation of the genetic base. Moreover, some of these crops are also the ones that have high nutritious and medicinal value. For example, consumption of millet is considered by people as health food for those suffering from high blood pressure and

diabetes, besides its high protein and mineral content. For nutrition and health security of the household, a diversity of crops has to be maintained if not enhanced. One way of ensuring conservation of these cultivars is by establishing market links with up-country super-markets and large departmental stores that deal in organic and other health foods. This would automatically increase the economic stake in conservation. The vanishing trend of domestic cultivars in favour of paddy, maize or other mono-cropping patterns can thus be reversed.

Expansion of irrigation facilities in the coming years is likely to limit chena cultivation. In the Walwe Ganga left bank scheme command area new settlements will be opened in the arid zone of Humbantota district in the S.E. region. However, by introducing new technologies of rainwater harvesting and scientific water management, the changing practice of chena cultivation carries with itself the potential of high agricultural productivity and higher farm incomes. Its continuation may help in continued cultivation of millet and other traditional crops of high nutritive value and a wide genetic base.

7.2.v Highland crops in Chena cultivation

Chena cultivation has played a crucial role in in-situ on-farm conservation of germplasm of traditional crops. The crops mentioned above have a wide genetic base in the form of local cultivars grown in different parts of the dry and arid zones. The farm family women engaged in highland crop cultivation have played the role of gene pool conservators. A list of chena crops is given below in Table 3.

Table 3. List of Chena crops Common English Name Scientific Name Local Name

A Coarse Grains 1. Finger Millet Eleusine coracana Kurakkan2. Millet Panicum miliaceum Meneri,3. Foxtail Millet Setaria italica Thanabal, Thane 4. Koda Millet Paspalum scrobiculatum Varagu5. Maize Zea mays 6. Sorghum Sorghum bicolor B Grain Legumes 1. Cowpea Vigna unguiculata Karamani2. Greengram V. Radiata Mung; Uthulu 3. Blackgram V. Mungo Urd; Ulundu 4. Ghurush V. Umbellata 5. Groundnut Arachis hypogea 6. Pigeon pea Cajanus Cajan Tur dhall, Ulundu 7. Lanka kadala 8. Soyabean Glycine max C Oil Crops 1. Sesame Sesamum indicum Gingely, Thala 2. Mustard Brassica campestris

D Vegetables

1. Cabbage Brassica oleracea var. Capitata

2. Chillies Capsicum 3. Cucumber Cucumis sativus 4. Pumpkin Cucurbita moschata Vataka5. Watermelon Citrulus lanatus 6. Brinjal Solanum melongena 7. Bittergourd Mimordica charantia Kararila8. Snakegourd Trichosanthes anguina 9. Green beans 10. String beans 11. Winged beans 12. Onion13. Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum 14. Ridge gourd Luffa acutangula 15. Sponge gourd Luffa aegyptica 16. Lady's finger Abelmoscus esculentum Okra17. Turnip Brassica rapa

E With tuber and other rootstocks

1. Cassava Manihot esculenta 2. Sweet potato Ipomoea batatus

F Small-scale Plantation Crops

1. BananaG Tobacco

7.2.vi Gender roles in Chena cultivation

Women have continued to play a traditional and important role in chena cultivation. There has been considerable increase in vegetable cultivation for reason of high returns from an expanding market. The mode of cultivation has therefore played an important role in the conservation of genetic diversity in traditional crop varieties. It could be considered as in-situ on-farm conservation. The continuation of chena with changed practice may help in continuing this process. Gender roles of men and women in Chena cultivation is presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Gender roles in Chena cultivation (slash and burn cultivation) Tribal

(Traditional)Today's Rural

(Modern)Male/Female Female Male Female

1. Land preparation A. Clearing ++ - + -B. Burning +- - + -C. Fencing ++ - + -

2. Crop combination decision -+ + - +3. Sowing

A. Vegetable, oil seeds -+ + + -B. Coarse grain -+ + - +

4. Weeding -+ + - +5. Protection against

A. Birds, wild boar, small animals ++ + + +

B. Elephants +- - + -6. Harvesting

A. Vegetable and oil seeds ++ + + +B. Coarse grain -+ + - +C. Threshing winnowing -+ + - +

7. Transport of harvest ++ - + -

8. Marketing of harvest Homeconsumption + + +

9. Selection of seeds -+ + +10. Storage

A. Seeds -+ + - +B. Grains -+ + - +

C. Processing of vegetables and other -+

11. Technological inputs A. Pumps for water NA NA + -B. Mechanised winnowing NA NA + -

C. New varieties vegetable crops + -

7.2.vii Significance of wilderness areas to Chena cultivators

The new phase of chena cultivation would require new policies and a framework for converting the land use pattern towards high economic returns while protecting the natural forests and wildlife. The former can be achieved by developing water-harvesting

and water-conserving technologies for the limited rainy season, in the form of dugwells and similar structures and the economic use of the meagre water resources by using new-generation water-saving irrigation technologies. Ecologically sound planning would create areas of wilderness under the collective management of the farm-families. For these latter would be most affected by the loss of natural resources.

In the arid-zone, what apparently looks like a thorny jungle to a developer in fact is a vast pool of useful genes, which control drought-resistance and also help in drought evasion They are also a reservoir of useful drugs. This thorny scrub flora belongs to the Afro-Arabia-Iranian floristic realm, highly specialised with adaptation to withstand aridity. The scrub forests with sparsely placed medium height trees are incidentally the ideal home of wildlife such as spotted deer, sambhar, wild pig, jungle fowl, lizards and other reptiles. These forests also provide a large number of medicinal plants such as Aralu (Terminalia chebula), Bulu (T. Belerica), Kumbuk (T. Arjuna), Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica),Eramasu (Hemidesmus indicus), (Kadumboda (Diospyros melanoxylon, coromandel ebony), Polpala (Aerva lanata), Him.himbutu-wel (Salacia prinoides), Bin kohamba (Munronia pumila), Kohomba (Azadirachta indica) and others. Since these plant species are not cultivated, there is a grave danger for their survival as they are the part of what is referred to as a jungle, which could be cleared without remorse.

The dry and dry zone areas frequently experience below-normal N.E. monsoons, affecting lowland paddy cultivation and also the highland crops, causing extensive food shortages. One farmer was able to grow paddy after a lapse of four years near Anuradhapura for the reason of poor rains. The village tanks did not store enough water for irrigation. In such a distressing situation, landless and poor farm families pick up edible wild plants for food from the nearby forests. A proper assessment of these natural resources for their economic, ecological and genetic value would help evolve a sound development and management policy for future land-use in the highlands.

Women in rural areas have developed extensive knowledge of the dry-arid zone flora. The local Sinhala and Tamil names of different plant species for day-to-day use were given by the women, for the reason of their frequent visit to the forests to pick up plants for food, medicine, oils, and natural dyes, handicrafts and other needs at home. This reservoir of indigenous knowledge about flora available with the farm-families should be utilised while preparing ecologically sound management plans.

7.2.viii Critical role of women in home gardens

A home garden is a cluster of economically important trees shrubs, climbers and herbs, which are grown around a homestead. The concept evolved during the medieval period and since then has become an integral part of the agricultural system in Sri Lanka. A home garden along with rice paddies on lowland and chena cultivation on highland met the complete food and nutritional requirements of the farm family settled in the vicinity of the village tank (Figure 8). The success of this concept can be measured from the fact that all over the country about one million ha are covered by homegardens, with maximum density in the wet zone. In Table 5 the different plant species frequently grown in wet-zone home garden is presented. The home gardens, as illustrated by the plant variety are both the reservoirs of plant diversity and sources of food security.

Since early development took place mainly in the dry zone, plants species occurring in the nearby forests were grown. Superior quality trees and shrubs from the wilderness were selected to meet food and medicinal needs. The ayurvedic system practised by Buddhist monks harvested its herbal medicines from the familiar evergreen monsoon forests and xeric scrub woods. Among the food plants, coconut, jackfruit, beli, tamarind, wood-apple, banana, citrus, etamba (Mangifera zeylancia), amba (M. Indica) drumsticks (Moringa oleifera), nelli (Amla; Phyllanthus amblica), etc. gradually became the most commonly grown plants. Kohamba (Neem) was grown for its medicinal properties. A mango tree was commonly planted near the house, for people believed that it warded off lightening. A similar function was attributed to ‘Myila’ (Bauhinia racemosa), which is also valued for its medicinal properties.

The basic reason for their introduction was the food, medicine and cultural values of the plants. Certain plants were introduced for they were the abode or favourite of certain Gods and certain others were avoided as trees of bad omen. For example, the ebony tree (Diospyros ebenum) was an abode of evil spirits, for no animal was ever found living on this tree. It was not introduced even though, its wood was preferred for various household purposes, (Vitarana and Withanage, 1993). The cultivation of timber plants and others, which were easily available from the nearby forests, were also not cultivated in the early days of homegarden development. The cluster of trees and shrubs around the home improved the immediate environment, providing shade and keeping temperature low.

Table 5. An illustrative list of plants grown in wet zone home garden Sr. No. Name Botanical Name

A. Fruit Trees:

1. Avocado Persia americana2. Areca nut Areca catechu3. Amberrala* Spondious dulcis4. Bread fruit rata del Arctocarpus altilis5. Jak A. Heterophyllus6. Coconut Cocos nucifera7. Banana Musa sapientum var. Ambul8. Beli* Aegle marmelos9. Durian Durio zibethinus

10. Mango amba Mangifera indica11. Etamba* Mangifera zeylanica12. Kitul Caryota urens13. Mangosteen Garcinia mangostana14. Rambutan Nephalium lappaceum15. Pomegranate Punica granatum16. Passion fruit 17. Rose Apple weli-Jambo Syzygium jambos18. Guava pera Psidium guajava

19. Wood Apple divul Limonia acidissima20. Lawulu Crysophyllum lanceolatum21. Papaya Carica papaya22. Custard Apple Anona, sini-attha Annona squamosa23. Lime Citrus x aurantiifolia24. Lemon Citrus x limon25. Pomelo Citrus grandis26. Cashew Nut caju Anacardium occidentale27. Billing Auroria bilinghi

B. Spices and Condiments:1. Cinnamon kurundu Cinnamomum verum2. Cardamom Elatteria cardamomum;

E. Ensal var. Major3. Clove karabuneti Syzigium aromaticum4. Nutmeg sadikka Myristica fragrans5. Black pepper Gam-miris Piper nigrum6. Goraka kokatia Garcinia morella7. Ginger Zinziber officinale8. Turmeric Curcuma longa9. Curryleaf karapincha Murraya koenigii

10. Rampeh Pandanus amaryllifoliusC. Timber Trees:

1. Mahogeny Swietenia macrophylla2. Nadun Pericopsis mooniei3. Linu-midella Melia dubia

4. Halmila trincomalletimber Berrya cordifolia

5. Thekka teak Tectona grandis6. Domba Callophyllum inophyllum7. Sapu Michelia champaca8. Ruk attana Alstonia scholaris

With the passage of time, traders introduced new economically important plant species from India and other countries. Later on the colonial powers - Portuguese, Dutch and British - introduced plants from far-away tropical countries. Important introductions were guava, cassava, cashewnut and papaya. During the British colonial period plantation crops, new fruit and spice plants were brought into cultivation. These introductions added to the diversity of the economically important flora, which became an integral part of a home garden, especially in the wet zone.

The home gardens became the avenue for the introduction of genetically superior plants drawn from a wider gene pool. The home gardens in a way were early genetic storehouses, which provided an opportunity for ex-situ conservation on-farm. Human

society then was not conscious of the significance of its conservation efforts, for it could not visualise the massive destruction of forests and associated wildlife in times to come.

In recent times, plantations crops of tea, coffee, coca, rubber are also grown as parts of the home garden. Increasingly restrictions on deforestation have encouraged the people to grow high-value timber trees such as mahogany, teak, satinwood and others.

With an increased range of highvalue economically important plants grown, a homegarden has become a source of regular income to the owner, besides meeting the needs of the family. The other agricultural crop plants which were subjected to vagaries of nature, pests - pathogen attacks and marketing anomalies, provided only seasonal income. The composite homegarden-cum-paddy cultivation has improved the financial prospects of the farmer. There is a regular inflow of income from the sale of home garden produce.

By growing foreign-trade destined spices, tea, coffee, rubber and coconut, the home garden economy has been commercialised. The State Agriculture Department and others are often providing cost-free superior clones to replace those already in cultivation. Also, depending upon the demand and supply-related variations in market price, the growers try to change the composition of plants depending on demand. The wide genetic base, which existed earlier, is also narrowing down. The home garden has become a booming commercial enterprise, especially in wet zone. The gender role, however, has shifted, where the men manage the marketing.

Women have continued to play the key role in the management of home gardens. The produce of dry-zone home gardens is comparatively limited for climatic reasons for, but strive to be of high commercial value. After meeting the family's needs, the surplus fruits, such as coconut, papaya, banana, and cashewnut are sold in small roadside stalls and weekly village markets, mainly run by the women. The stalls also sell pillows and mattresses with attractive designs, made by women at home.

The homesteads are located, on the hill slopes, above the paddy fields. Kandyan home gardens offer good example of a man-made replica of a natural ecosystem, in the arrangement of different plant species and conservation of genetic diversity. The Kitul trees (Caryota urens) which played an important role in the homegarden economy, by providing jaggery and treacle thick honey coloured sugary juice called kitul honey is gradually losing ground.

7.2.ix Home gardens - main features

1. The concept of the home garden was conceived and developed by women. Initially plants of food, medicinal and cultural value were introduced from the nearby forests.

2. Home gardens serve the purpose of meeting day-to-day requirements, and to supplement staple food.

3. Home gardens provide food security during below normal rainy periods. 4. The gradual process of introduction of new plant from other countries, increased

genetic diversity. 5. Frequent exchange of superior-plant species among farm families further helped

in species diversification and created conditions for natural hybridisation. Further

selections continuously led to genetic improvement. Women made significant contributions to this process.

6. Home gardens provide the habitat to a variety of natural flora and fauna. 7. Fallen leaves, flowers, fruits, twigs serve as good sources of homemade

compost.8. Surplus fruit and other products provide monetary benefits to the family. Women

manage the sales at roadside stalls close to the homesteads and through village markets.

9. Introduction of high-value fruit trees, spices and plantation crops help the farm family to an indirect access to the export-crop market through large commercial plantations.

10. Higher levels of income helped the farm families to avoid taking loans at high interest rates from commission agents, for the home gardens provide more or less a regular income.

11. Home garden income help to raise the standard of living. Some of these farmers often live in a well furnished home with modern amenities. The families invariably own a motorbike for transportation. The children are able to go on to higher education in technical schools and colleges. However, this situation exists mainly in the wet zone. In the low and mid-country home garden's high earnings came from tea, high-value fruits and spices. The up-country home gardens earn through high-value spice, tea, coffee and fruits.

12. Women still control management of home gardens. The men of the family, however, do the marketing.

13. Government agencies dealing with agriculture and plantation crops are attempting to provide genetically superior clones to replace the older ones of indifferent quality and yields. Although it may be a welcome move, it also threatens to diminish the larger gene pool representation in home gardens.

7.2.x A case study in home garden management and food security

The importance of home garden in achieving food security for a Sri Lankan rural family is illustrated in the case study presented here.

Case 3 Making a living within a home garden

A wet zone home garden

A farmer wife Mrs Kumari and her husband, own three fourth of an acre of land on a gentle slope, along the Colombo-Nuwara Eliya road. Theirs is an extended family of eight members, which includes aged parents, the wife's unmarried brother and sister, and two daughters. The elder one of 11-year age goes to school.

The piece of land was an abandoned part of a nearby tea estate. Along with the land, the family had acquired about 1 000 old tea bushes. The home garden has a great diversity of economically important plant species (30 species) grown on a limited space for use at home and commercial purposes. It included fruit bearing trees, vegetables, medicinal plants, tea and flowers. Irrigation is done by drawing water by a pipe from a small hill stream, running close to the home garden. The details of the plants grown by this family and their uses are presented below in the Table 6.

Home garden manuring practices adopted by the family

Fallen leaves and other vegetable matter are turned into compost. The latter is mixed with cow dung procured from outside, and used in growing vegetables and in flowerbeds. Inorganic fertilizer in form of a balanced NPK mixture was purchased from the market in 1 kg. packets, costing Rs.16/- per packet. Families would use about 15 packs for mainly fertilizing the tea bushes. To check the growth of insect-pests and fungal pathogens on vegetables, flowers and tea bushes, pesticides are used, about 16 oz of pesticides are used for 5 sprayings during the year, costing around Rs.100/-. The total cost of fertiliser and pesticide would come around Rs.350 for the year.

Home garden and family economics

The entire sales of products from the home garden in form of seasonal fruits, flowers, kitul jaggery and honey (treacle) were done in the roadside shops. Besides, family would buy fruits like banana and cut flowers from the market and sell with reasonable profit. The earnings from the shop provide Rs.3 000/- to Rs.4 500/- per month. The wife, aged parents and other members attend the shop.

A grown up daughter helps after school hours. The tealeaves are picked by family members, twice every 10–15 days, and sold to the tea-processing factory at the rate of Rs.15–20 per kg. to supplement the family income, the husband works as a part-time labourer at the nearby Tea Estate for 15–20 days per month and receives Rs.110/- as wage for a day's work, thus contributing around Rs.2 000/- per month to family earnings.

Household expenses are incurred in buying rice, dried fish, and eggs, cooking oil, curry powder and kerosene oil. The fuelwood requirement is partially met from the home garden. Total expenditure varies between Rs.3 000 to Rs.4 500/- per month.

The family is able to save some money for use in emergency and for the purchase of clothes for the members and festival time gifts to the relatives. For the children's education, the Government gave Rs. 500/-.

Procurement of seeds and storage for home garden

The family purchases seeds of vegetables and flowers from the market after an interval of 2–3 years. The women would select the ripe fruits for seeds, dry and clean and treat them with insecticide powder. The seeds are kept in polythene bags and stored in a wooden box kept in the kitchen, above the hearth, to save it from high humidity during the monsoon seasons.

Economic sustainability through home garden

The home-garden-cum-roadside shop helps the family to sustain itself economically. The diversity of plants grown for food, in addition of what is procured from the market, not only keeps the hunger away, but also provides a nutritionally balanced diet. Plant species like ‘gotukola’ and ‘aruda’ were domesticated from the wild state and thus conserved usefully. The men and women work in harmony under a reasonable division of labour. The women manage tasks related to the home garden look after the roadside shop beside

doing the household jobs of cooking, washing clothes, cleaning the house, looking after children.

Table 6. Details of the plants grown in the home garden and their useCommon Name Local Name No. Use

A Fruit Trees 1. Avocado Aligata 8 Sold in road side shop

Pera2. Banana clumps 3 Sold in road side shop 3. Mango Amba 1 Home use 4. Mandrin Naran 1 Home use 5. Ketul palm (Caryota

Urens)Ketul 4 Jaggery & treacle sold in

the road side shop 6. Guava Pera 1 Sold in road side shop 7. Lowulu (Chrysophyllum

lanceotalum)1 Sold in road side shop

8. Coconut Pol 3 Used at home and also sold 9. Pomegranate Delun 2 Used at home and also sold 10. Jak (Artocarpus

heterophyllus)Kos 2 Used at home and also sold

B Plantation Crop 1. Tea bushes 1 000 Tea leaves sold in Tea

factory C Vegetables1. Radish Small

bedsHome use

2. Tomato " "3. Brinjal " "4. Beans " "5. Mustard " "6. Calocasia " "7. ChilliesD Misc. Plant Species 1. Maize Ca 50 Home use 2. Sugar cane clumps 7 Home use E Flowers: Grown in small

beds1. Dahlia (Suckers) 20 Roadside shop 2. Paper flower 10 Roadside shop 3. Carnations 30 Roadside shop 4. Gladiolus 10 Roadside shop 5. Rose bushes 7 Roadside shop

F Medicinal Plants 1. Gotukola (Centella

asiatica)1 sq.m. Area Home use, Tonic, and as a

green vegetable for gruel making

2. Ginger 5 Clumps Cough, Cold and fever 3. Castor oil plants 3 Oil used for massage 4. Aruda (Ruta

graveolens)4 A tonic for hair growth and

body pain 5. Anoda (a small climber

with white flower) 3 For fever

The men prepare the crop beds, climb the coconut and kitul trees for picking fruit and tapping the sap. Women would spend time to thicken the kitul sap for jaggery and treacle. Men go to the market for purchasing banana and other fruits and flowers for the roadside shop. Occasionally, women would accompany men to work on daily wages in the nearby tea estate to earn extra money, near festival times. The housewife keeps the money and any major expense is made after consultation. This modest, fairly well managed homegarden enterprise provides economic security as well as food security through availability of nutritionally balanced food to the family. Incidentally, it also preserves the genetic diversity, by growing plant species drawn from varying genetic stock and by domesticating useful but comparatively rare wild plants like ‘aruda’ (Rutagraveolens).

7.2.xi Gender roles in small holding plantations

The new trend toward smallholding tea plantations of a hectare or less land developed by farm families in the mid, and up-country, of wet and intermediate zones have become very popular. The high value crop adds substantially and regularly to farm family earnings. Fairly efficient systems for the collection of the harvest at small growers' tea holdings have come to being. The day's harvest in large perforated coir or plastic bags, is brought down to the collection point, where from it is picked up by small trucks and carried to a privately run grading centre. The bags containing the graded tea are delivered to a tea-processing factory. The growers receive payments on a weekly basis as determined by for the quality and quantity of tealeaves. The gender roles in small holder tea plantation are presented in Table 7.

Table 7. Gender roles in crops on small-scale plantation owned by small farmers Crops Male Roles Female Roles

Harvesting, Marketing CleaningCutting old plants after fruiting; Cutting old leaves

Banana

Irrigation, mulching WeedingTapping TappingCollection of sap

Rubber

Marketing at collection centres Picking of leaves, Pruning Picking of leaves Packing in coir bags Cleaning

Tea

MarketingHarvest of nutmeg, Cinnamon Harvest of cardamom, cloves, cinnamon Trimming Cleaning, Drying, Storing

Spice

Marketing

VIII. GENDER ROLES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF WOOD AND NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS

The section reviews the importance of forest resources for the families to make a livelihood. The changing conditions in the forest environment and subsequent decrease in bio-resource base have significant implications for the livelihood and food security for forest dependent people. Herein, through a few illustrations the dynamics of shifting forest resource base as it impacts on family's food security is captured.

8.1 ‘Gotukola’ (Centella asiatica)

Centella asiatica (family Umbelliferae) is a small herbaceous plant with trailing habit, bearing near orbicular leaves on long stalks. In South Asia it has a wide geographic distribution from the Himalayan foot-hills to Western Ghats in India and also to Sri Lanka. ‘Mandoo Kaparni’, the ancient ayurvedic medical system in India had extolled its virtue as a drug to enhance memory and general vitality. In Northeast India, its leaves are used to treat stomach ailments. It has also been used in the treatment of leprosy and skin diseases and given to women with jaggery as a tonic after delivery. In France, its use in cosmetics has been patented.

In Sri Lanka the plant is popularly called ‘Gotukola’, occurs wild in the wet and intermediate climatic zones and also has become an integral part of home gardens, all over the country. It is used as a green vegetable in preparing gruel (Kanda). It is considered a tonic and given as a special food to growing children and women during pregnancy. The credit for its entry from wilderness into home gardens goes to women for having identified it as a safe nourishing green vegetable. They initially collected the daily requirement of leaves from the nearby forest, but subsequently thought it convenient to transplant the rootstocks into the home gardens and in the process domesticated the plant. Domestication saved the species from overexploitation of its natural sources. The clonal selection under domestication has produced sturdy large leaf cultivars, which have a genetic basis.

With increasing urbanisation, the demand for ‘Gotukola’ in the vegetable market also increased, which initially (partly even at present), were met by uprooting this perennial plant species from its natural sources. Keeping in view the sustained demand in the market and the bulk requirements for the preparation of ayurvedic medicines, supplies from natural sources became so inadequate and erratic, and so the enterprising farmers put it under cultivation.

In the home garden near Digennewa, a dryzone area in the Southwest region, three fourth of an acre are under ‘Gotukola’ cultivation. The land had been divided into 24 sq.m. Plots and rootstocks had been planted. The total land produced about 2 500 packs of ‘Gotukola’ leaf cuttings, each with about 60 leafy shoots. The crop is harvested in three months intervals. It fetches an income of 15 000 to 20 000 rupees annually, excluding the cost of nutrient inputs in the form of urea and pesticides. A motorised pump did irrigation. The entire family works especially the women and grown-up children and no outside labour is employed. Pharmaceutical companies purchased the crop. The rest of the home garden has coconut, papaya, banana, and mango, lime, lemon, and

jack trees mainly for use of the farm family. About 300 farm families are engaged in ‘Gotukola’ cultivation in the area.

The popularity of ‘Gotukola’ as a green vegetable and its therapeutical properties as a health food had induced entrepreneurs of urban areas to market instant ‘Gotukola Kanda’ (gruel) preparations, sold in the form of attractive aluminium foil sachets in the leading supermarkets in Sri Lanka.

In this profitable chain of development the first step was the discovery of ‘Gotukola’ as a healthy green vegetable, and the second its transfer into the home gardens and its domestication. In both crucial steps, the ingenuity and deep insight of the farm women has to be applauded. However, during its subsequent shift commercial cultivation as a supermarket, the gender roles changed. Men took over the operative part of marketing, as it is the men's exclusive domain in Sri Lanka.

As ‘Gotukola's’ quantum jump from commonplace roadside market to super market was the success of post-harvest processing technology and modern marketing, the farm families who cultivated the crop did not benefit much. An intervening step of involving women and empowering through with training, access to post-harvest technologies, finance and urban market education would have been required increase their share in the higher earnings. After all ‘Gotukola’ has always been a women's crop and they constitute a socially and the economically disadvantaged class. The Gotukola example serves well to illustrate the developmental pathways which lead to an increasing dis-empowerment of rural women.

8.2 Products from Kitul (Caryota urens)

"Kitul (Caryota urens) is a multipurpose tree species found in natural forests and home gardens in the wet and intermediate zones, at altitudes between 200–1 500 metres. This species provides a variety of popular products, of which the sap is the most important. Kitul sap is the base for local beer (today), treacle and jaggery. Treacle and jaggery are sugary substances, which are used in preparing a variety of traditional sweets. Hence they have a good market throughout the country. Kitul sap is obtained by tapping the inflorescence. The sap is heated to produce treacle and jaggery. In producing toddy, the sap is fermented with natural yeast. Other non-wood kitul products include the sago-like pith, which forms a valuable food, and kitul fibre, which is obtained from the leaves.

Kitul tapping has a long history in Sri Lanka. There is even a special caste (hakuru), which make its living from kitul tapping and jaggery making, and also generate a large proportion of the rural economy. Both men and women participate in kitul tapping and processing. Men tap the inflorescence and collect the sap, while women boil the treacle and produce the jaggery.

There are two main kitul-tapping areas in the state forests. The largest is in the Southern and southwestern part of the country (Ratnapura, Galle and Matara districts). Smaller clusters are found in the central highlands (Kegalle and Kandy districts). As kitul is a wet zone species, no kitul-related activities are found in the dry zone. The kitul palm reaches maturity and bears flowers after about five or six years. Tapping is seasonal as the sap is produced mainly in the rainy season. The peak production times are from August to March. The income generated by villagers from this activity is sufficient for their normal livelihood. Although some engage in this work as a part-time occupation, many others regarded this as a full-time job. Around 20–30 percent of the villagers in the wet zone engages in this economic activity. In most of the wet zone forests, kitul products generate over 70 percent of NWFP income for village communities. The average value

of kitul products from lowland rain forests (in the wet zone) is around SR 10 000 (US$ 200) per hectare per year.

Though production is localised, there is a high demand for kitul products all over the country in both rural and urban markets. The marketing structure of kitul has not been studied well. Products are marketed either through middlemen or directly by producers. “One of the basic problems in marketing jaggery and treacle is the lack of quality control measures. Kitul toddy marketing has been seriously affected by current legal restrictions. As a result, toddy is either consumed by the tapers or sold secretly in villages. Kitul products are not exported at present” (Bandaratillake, H.M. 1994).

Besides maintaining their home gardens, the villagers living in the nearby reserve forest areas such as Sinharaja International Biosphere Reserve, used to tap the kitul trees in the forests. Presently, villagers are not allowed to go to Sinharaja for kitul tapping.

According to Mr B. Somapala, who owned a small 1.5-acre tea plantation as a part of his homegarden near Sinharaja, “people no longer depend upon Sinharaja forest resources for their livelihood”. He was of the view that products of kitul tapping were out of fashion for the new generation. So kitul trees were dying out of neglect. Ms. Nilmini expressed similar view, lives in Colombo. In her homegarden, she had a couple of kitul trees, which could not be tapped for a number of years, due to lack of a professional tapper. The family kept the trees for a few years for sentimental reasons, then reluctantly, decided to replace these with other profitable fruit trees. The young generation of tappers felt that they could not survive on these seasonal tapping jobs, therefore, and sought other lucrative professions. With the passing away of the older generation of tappers, a highly skilled profession will also pass into history.

However, there are villages whose inhabitants survive on kitul tapping and rearing cattle. One such village near Matugama, Southeast of Colombo, specialises in tapping, for there is a virtual forest of kitul trees. In this village with 50 houses and about 250 inhabitants, the men do the tapping and women boil at home the sugary juice and produce treacle and cakes of jaggery. This being their meagre season-bound source of income, they live in mud-huts, with no roads, tap water and electricity available. They know no other skill. Therefore, to supplement their income, the men and women seek jobs as farm labourers in nearby paddy fields, which is again seasonal employment. The water drawn for household use is obtained from a nearby stream and a dug well. With changing times such a scenario offers no incentive for the younger generation of the tappers.

The kitul jaggery cakes are rich in nutrients with high mineral content. Its intake is healthier than that of white sugar. The food and taste value of treacle or ‘kitul honey’ to a Sinhala is same as of the ‘maple syrup’ to an American in north-eastern United States. A desert of curd with a layer of treacle is a sheer delight. The impending decline in the population of this graceful tree, will signal a significant loss of genetic diversity and also a loss of a valuable culinary product and an age-old cultural tradition.

8.3 Rattan products

In Sri Lanka, rattan comes primarily from the natural forests. Of the 10 native rattan species widely used in the rattan industry. The uses of rattan range from construction

material for housing (wattle and daub houses) to raw material for furniture, kitchen utensils and rope. Rattan is one of the most important raw materials for cottage industries. At present, the rattan industry operates on a commercial basis in 13 out of 25 administrative districts in Sri Lanka, but production has declined recently due to shortages of raw material. About 2 100 – 2 200 persons are estimated to earn their primary family income from the rattan craft industry. This figure however, includes only those persons who earn over one third of their income through the craft. Full-time and part-time women are nearly equal in number, as are males and females. Some workers are engaged only in cottage industry production, while others work in all stages of production, from collecting raw materials to processing and selling rattan products. A third category of workers includes gatherers who only collect raw material, either for their own subsistence consumption or for sale to other crafts workers (Bandaratillake, 1994).

A study carried out by the Forest Department (Epitawatta, 1994) indicates that in almost every village near the wet-zone forests, between 20 and 60 percent of villages, the residents collect rattan, either for commercial purposes, or for their own subsistence consumption. This situation is different in the dry zone where the collection of rattan is confined only to certain areas. In some dry zone areas (e.g., Dimbulagala), more than half of all villagers earns substantial income from rattan collection and cottage industry production.

The small town Radwaduwa on the Colombo-Kandy Road has about twenty roadside shops, which act as outlets of cane furniture and other household products. It is a family business of manufacturing and selling. They obtain the raw material against a permit from the forests of Pollonnaruwa in the Central Northeast and Ampara in Southwest. Since, the local supplies are inadequate, rattan is also imported from Malaysia through the State Trading Corporation (STC).

Men do cane harvesting and peeling into shape. The furniture-making task is divided among men and women workers. The men prepare the frame and women do comparatively more intricate and refined tasks of cane weaving. While the men go to the place of work, the women workers prefer to get the material at their home, which enables them to attend to also household tasks. The making of frame is comparatively faster work, producing 3–4 frames per day, while the women doing the cane weaving are able to make only one per day. The wages for men and women workers are also different. Men are paid Rs.150.00 per frame, and women receive a higher amount of Rs. 200.00 per woven item, as the job requires a certain amount of artistry besides skill. Given the ease and greater number of frames produced, men earn more than women do, and hence a gender differentiated wage structure.

The women change the design of the cane furniture, in terms of shape and the art pattern periodically. The author talked to a shop owner, Mr Rohita Jayaweera, and his wife Mrs Pushpa Dharmadassa. Both had school education upto ‘A’ level, the wife had studied commerce as a subject and found it useful in conducting business. The family earns about Rs.4 000 to Rs.5 000 per month. This is supplemented by some income from the home garden, as they own 0.5 acre of rubber plantation. They consider the future of the cane furniture industry bleak, due to increasing shortage of raw materials and other supplies. The Government is discouraging the business of cane furniture making due to the continued over-exploitation of the rattan as forest resource. Expanded propagation of rattan cane is one way out of this dilemma.

8.4 Bamboo and palm products

Five species of bamboo are commonly used in Sri Lanka. Three are native, and two are introduced species. Both native and cultivated species provide raw material for the bamboo industry. Traditional production of basketware, bamboo flutes, ornamental items etc. Is based on native species, while the two introduced large-diameter species are used primarily as wood substitutes in the construction industry. The three native species (bata species) grow primarily in natural forests in the wet and intermediate zones. The number of workers engaged in bamboo craft production is smaller that engaged in rattan production.

Bamboo is utilised for household items and agricultural use as in winnows containers, called ‘kuruniya’ or ‘laha’ of woven strips for measuring paddy. Wayside shops sell bamboo handicrafts, variously dyed. Women are the main craft persons.

The trunk of a young kitul palm is utilised for making the pestle for pounding paddy. The fronds of coconut are used to make brushes with long handles for scrubbing the floor. The coconut husk is also used for similar purposes. The hard shell of the coconut is cut into two and used to set the concentrated jaggery syrup into half-spherical cakes. Women mostly prepare these items. These rural products of forest-based material, that help gain extra income for the farm family. These items find a ready market in the small wayside shops run by women (De Zoysa and Vivekanandan, 1991).

Unlike rattan, the bamboo industry does not totally depend upon natural sources, but the percentage of bamboo harvested from natural forests is unknown. The number of villagers involved in bamboo collection lower than that collect rattan. In wet-zone areas, 10 to 50 percent of villagers are involved in this activity. Since the natural distribution of bamboo species is confined only to the wet and intermediate zones, people living in the dry zone are generally not dependent on this industry" (Bandaratillake, H.M. 1994).

8.5 Case study forestry resources and the landless poor

Case 4 Bio-resource use for subsistence production scrapping atex and

collecting procupine quills

Along Ella-Wellawaya road, three young women named Gianwathi, Nandawathi and Karunawathi and one aged man found a vocation in making small rubber balls by scrapping latex from an abandoned rubber plantation and collecting porcupine quills. They would try to sell these unsophisticated items to tourists who visit the area thus make a small earnings. They represent the landless, skilless poor. They were married women with six to seven family members, including their aged parents. Being skilless, the women and the men could earn a living only as seasonal agricultural labourers and work as irregular employees in some local industry such as ‘beedi’ making. One of them earned about Rs. 100/- making 1 000 ‘beedies’. Their husbands found employment on average for 20 days per month at the rate of Rs. 100/- per day. The monthly family income varied between Rs. 2 000 to Rs. 2 500/-. It could be less but not more. The Government, under the Samurdihi economic aid programme for poor below the poverty line provided Rs 500/- in form of food stamps and Rs 500/- for the

education of children of school-going age. Notwithstanding the harsh economic conditions and no assets, these families were keen to educate their children.

The old person named Perumal was also landless and due to old age his physical infirmities had gained over him. But to add to his family's bid for survival, he also went scrapping latex to make a souvenir, which had few buyers. His two grown-up sons, who were just literate and with no special skills, worked as casual labourers and earned Rs.100 per day for 20–25 days a month. Perumal's family lived at subsistence level and survived under severe economic limitations. However, in spite of their limitations, they saw an earning opportunity from a resource available at no cost - hoping that the novelty of a porcupine quill could attract buyers - tourists! Their special skill existed in the form of knowledge of the flora and fauna in the nearby forests, especially of plants of economic importance. A large number of medicinal plants were being harvested from the forest area for local and commercial purposes.

Perhaps here existed a good opportunity to utilise the knowledge base of the poor for cultivating medicinal and other plants of economic value, to serving the dual purpose of providing sustainable self-employment, elevate them above the poverty line, and achieve sustainable management of the wild genetic resources.

The approach calls for the development of a policy framework by the Government, and under it provisions to be made for access to a plot of land, adequate financial support during the gestation period, and marketing linkages. Apparently skill less, these women possessed a wealth of knowledge of forest flora and fauna available. They utilised their knowledge in collecting plants for food, medicine, fuelwood etc. For their day to day needs. The support programme should, therefore target the women in the category of landless, poor quality land holders and other socially deprived group of women such widows, female heads and poor single women. Such a programme would help in providing meaningful employment to women, reduce the amount spent on welfare schemes and also provide sustainable utilisation of natural forest resources.

IX. TRIBAL COMMUNITY AND FOREST RESOURCES Sri Lanka is the home for the tribal community of Veddhas, who have survived the changes but live under constant threat to their way of living. Their lives were linked to nature and were dependent on forest resources for their livelihood. Their origin and impact of changes on their community and lives are examined here.

9.1 Tribal community origin and changes

The tribal communities of Yakka, Naga and Raksha had inhabited Sri Lanka long before the arrival of settlers from India. Initially, they had developed social and cultural relations and shared their knowledge and technologies to assist the new arrivals to settle down in the North-Central dry-zone. There is a belief that the descendants of these relationships were called Veddhas. Others who wanted to pursue their traditional way of life moved on to live in the central mountainous region of Sabaragamuwa Province, for which Sinhala Kings gave them hereditary rights. Later, during the British rule, the tribal lands were acquired under the Crown Land Encroachment Ordinance (1840), for they could not prove ownership of the land. The colonial rulers also thought that the practice of Chena cultivation was damaging to the forests (Baldwin, 1991).

The next home of the surviving tribal groups was the densely forested area of Uva Province in the southeastern dry zone. But they were forced out of this area too to accommodate the large Gal Oya irrigation scheme in 1948. Their best hunting grounds were submerged by the large Senanayaka Samudra reservoir near Ampara and the area was converted into the Gal Oya National Park. The Veddhas were next shifted to the Madura Oya reserve forest area, but later on asked to evacuate under the Flora and Fauna Protection Act for this area was declared as National Park in the early 1980s. Subsequently, under a rehabilitation scheme, Veddhas were provided land and housing at Henanigala falling under system C of the Mahaweli Development Scheme. Each family was provided with 2.5 acres of paddy and 0.5 acre of highland, in the hope to convert them from food gatherers to food growers. However, one of the tribal chieftain resisted evacuation and was allowed to live in Dambana and his clan was allotted 1500 acres of forested area to continue to live in their traditional way (Jayasena et al, 1994).

The Veddha tribal population has dwindled sharply from 5 342 (1911 census) to around 2 000 (1986 census) persons (Jayuasena et al, 1994). Therefore, Veddha tribals do not find a mention as a separate ethnic group, for it is assumed that they have been more or less assimilated in to the mainstream of Sri Lankan society. Large numbers of Veddhas have inter-married with Tamil and Sinhala people and have adopted Hinduism or Buddhism. However, a small surviving group at Dambana and elsewhere, has continued to follow their traditional, social and cultural way of life. They are called the rock veddhas, in contrast to village veddhas because the former prefers to live near a cave where they take shelter during the rainy season.

9.2 The traditional way of life

The ‘rock veddhas’ live in small villages and build temporary thatched huts, using logs removed from the chena fields and thatch of common grasses and coconut leaves, and

erecting mud walls. In early traditional habitations, huts with a single entry would face a central area for allowing to a watch by older people, when others have gone to chena fields. The food and nutritional requirements were met by chena cultivation, supplemented by wild fruits, green vegetables, and tubers, yams and honey collected from the forest. Veddhas were expert hunters. Thus excelled in putting up traps, snares and in using bow and arrows to hunt wild animals and birds. Men mainly did hunting and collecting honey. The carcasses of the animals were brought home for the women to skin, cut and clean them. A part of the meat was dried and preserved for later use. Whenever a large animal like deer, sambhur or a wild boar was killed, it was shared with other families. Women would spend their time in cooking, fetching water and visiting the forest to collect the family's food requirements and fuel wood.

The preparations for chena cultivation were timed prior to the onset of the northeastern monsoon in late October–November. During the dry season, a patch of about an acre of forest was slashed and later burnt. Tall trees were left standing for setting up a watch hut. Stumps of other trees after chopping off the branches were also left intact. After a time the cut and dried vegetation was set to fire.

Both men and women participated in preparing the land for chena. The determination of the crops to be sown and the allocation of the area for each were the responsibilities of women. The stored seeds were cleaned, dried and passed on to men to sow. However, coarse grains, especially ‘kurakkan’ and ‘maneri’ remained under the personal supervision of the women right from sowing, harvesting, threshing and storing for family's needs. The coarse grain crops were drought resistant and, even under adverse condition grain could be harvested, would take less time to mature and provide family's food and nutritional requirements.

Other crops sown included maize, green gram, sesame, beans, pumpkin, chillies, brinjal (batu, elabathi and thibatu), manioc and plantains. The number of crop species sown was, however, limited in comparison to the chena crops of Sinhala community.

Both men and women performed the tasks of fencing, weeding, and protecting the crops from birds and wild animals, which would invade in the night. However, protecting crops from wild elephants was a task for men only. To scare wild animals at the night, farmers sent and made noise loudly shouting and beating of drums, but traditionally the killing of animals was avoided.

Men and women carried the harvested crop home. The threshing, and cleaning of grain were done at home by the women and the men also helped. However, sorting the grains and seeds for consumption and storage was a woman's job. The harvested crop would be shared among different families, especially among widows, infirm and others whose crop had been destroyed by wild animals. A part of the vegetable crop would be dried and preserved for later use by the women.

The Chena yields were never adequate. Fruits, seeds and vegetables and meat obtained from the forests, routinely supplemented them. It was a strong case of subsistence economy where there was always uncertainty about the next meal, especially after a poor monsoon season. There were no monetary exchanges involved, except for bartering honey, and bees wax with Sinhala traders for occasional needs. The

normal diet was usually bland except for the use of salt and chillies (Jayasena et al,1991).

9.3 Women's status in tribal community

Women were treated as equal, but they did not own property. After the marriage, a woman would move into her husband's house, or they might build another dwelling for themselves. Some clans had matriarchal chiefs, which gave women added respect and dignity. The women played a key role in the community, hence were given due attention and protection, such as not letting them go alone deep into the forests.

In a later change, the dwellings were placed at a distance from each other and each one developed a home garden. The courtyards were spacious and kept clean, with a few flowering shrubs. The Veddhas had adopted the custom of keeping cows and buffaloes for milk and also kept poultry for eggs. Cutting grass, bringing fodder for cattle and breeding was men's job. Women would milk and look after the animals. Women would also wash the clothes of the family by using leaves of Kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna). Each family would own a grind stone. Pestle and mortar to pound the coarse grains, keti knives and an axe were essential items in the household. The wooden pestle was invariably made of ebony. In a village, all families were socially equal. People shared resources, skills and co-operated with each other. No act of cruelty was done to the women, and the relationship was peaceful. The Veddha men and women with their long association with forests had developed a system of knowledge, which was passed verbally from one generation to another.

9.4 Veddha community in new settlements

The Centre for Women's Research, Sri Lanka conducted a study (Jayasena et al, 1994) to assess the impact of translocation of traditional forest dwellings to agricultural settlements. Over one hundred families were evacuated during 1983 from the Dambana reserve forest area and were provided with 2.5 acres of paddy land and 0.5 acres of highland for chena cultivation, at Henanigala near Mahiyangana, which fall under System-C of the Mahaweli Ganga Development Scheme. The studies recorded socio-economic, cultural and gender relationship changes among the Veddha settlers.

The older generation found it difficult to make easy adjustments, due to physical discomfort and also for psychological reasons. They took to agriculture reluctantly and initially did not do well. There was a shortage of food and drinking water. Women had to walk long distances to fetch water for use at home. Children were sent to school, but there they suffered neglect and often humiliation for their language, clothes and food habits in company of other well-off Sinhala children. Having moved away from their forestry resources, the shortage of food could not be supplemented, for fear of getting caught by forest guards if they ventured into forests for hunting or collecting wild edible plants.

9.5 Socio-cultural changes among tribal

The dress and languages spoken gradually changed to Sinhala traditions, especially among the younger generation. People, particularly women, visited Buddhist Viharas for prayer, offered food and help in cleaning the place. A certain reluctance had come over

the younger generation to speak their Veddha language. They would even like to lose their Veddha identity, for reasons of economic and social marginalization. They would like to migrate to distant urban centers in order to avoid being recognised as Veddha and thus deliberately lose their true identity (Jayasena et al, 1994).

In general, for the large majority the living conditions had deteriorated and often they would not get enough food. Concern about earning money had become more important than the traditional sharing and caring among neighbours and relatives.

A few families had become comparatively affluent and it brought in social inequality, alcoholism, delinquency and wife beating. In spite of all other drawbacks, the young generation would not like to live in the traditional Dambana village for living there would be like being in prison.

9.6 Biodiversity management: implications of the changes brought into the tribal way of life

The efforts to convert the indigenous people from food gathering and hunting to food growing and animal rearing and also to change them from the nomadic existence to permanent settlements have deep implications with regard to bio-diversity management issues. From the prehistoric to the recent times, tribal people more or less lived as a part of the natural ecosystem, playing the role of a minor predator and creating habitat disturbance here and there. Both activities had kept the natural system vibrant with genetic changes, allowing new variants to evolve and fill a biological vacuum. Though, many a times the changes ushered in were undesirable from the point of view of safeguarding biological diversity. But nature has always experienced off and on periods of geophysical instability. Forest fires from natural causes and violent storms uprooting trees have played an important ecological role in the regeneration and rejuvenation of plant communities.

9.6.i Building on traditional knowledge system

The tribal people had acquired knowledge of the varied elements of flora, fauna and wildlife by direct experience, inspired by curiosity as well as the needs. The pool of knowledge was built on the basis of a cause and effect relationship, to teach the utility values for food, medicine and others of vital importance for survival against the elemental forces of nature. The knowledge gained by one generation was passed on the next. Its learning was essential for survival - no member could afford natural resource illiteracy. The nomenclature and classifications of plants and animal, was given as per utility-edible, non-edible, medicinal, for rituals, as abode of Gods or Demons and understanding of the growth rhythms, animal behaviour, calling of birds and other animals was essential for survival.

The tribal way of life sought, co-operative existence and sharing of meagre resources. The members of the community shared responsibility, with equal rights. In the community, though the gender roles were defined, the women enjoyed equal status, independence, respect and dignity. They could even be the heads of the family in a matriarchal system. Relationship between man and woman in the family was an act of partnership and mutual respect. The tribal communities, therefore were peace loving and would not enter into conflict with other clans and communities. Inter-clan conflicts and

strife were unknown among Sri Lankan tribal communities. The absence of cruelty towards women, and equality in rights and responsibilities were also a very distinctive features in relation to indigenous people in other parts of world where women invariably held inferior position and were treated as a property.

To tribal women goes the credit for being early domesticators of wild plants and improving the genetic qualities, ushering in a new and continuous range of medicinal plants. The utility value of them in Veddha nomenclature has not yet been completely recorded. By virtue of their knowledge of natural edible plant resources, the tribal people in general ate nutritious and balanced food except at times of prolonged droughts.

The recent study conducted by the Sri Lankan Centre for Women's Research, (Jayasena et al, 1994) on the translocated Veddha Community, has emphatically shown the adverse impact in terms of steady erosion of the vast pool of knowledge, especially among the younger generation due to engagement with new life styles. There is growing alienation from the traditional pool of knowledge, for having been deprived of the right to enter the protected reserve forests, nature reserves, national parks, sanctuaries, etc. The opportunity of learning by direct experience and encounters has been lost.

At the social level, the earlier spirit of co-operative existence, of mutual help has given way to that of one for oneself. Other social ills as consuming liquor, domestic violence, etc. have also emerged. We might therefore have a reason to grieve over the not very well considered decisions to separate the Veddhas from the forests. The protected areas have now been exposed to clandestine felling of trees, illegal encroachments and large-scale poaching by non-veddhas.

9.7 Tribal women's initiatives

However, under the adverse conditions the tribal people found, in new agriculture-based settlements, the women have started playing a more realistic and dominant role in accepting the new situation and making use of the available opportunities. In spite of being new to methods of paddy cultivation, they are sharing all the roles with men. Women have taken over cattle rearing and breeding as well, earlier a man's domain. Women look for new avenues to increase families' income. They have opened small shops selling household items and do the necessary marketing. Earlier, considered taboo, they work as casual agricultural labourers, and also organise women labourers on exchange basis or do contractual jobs, pick up new social customs, dress and new religion; and have become successful, in developing a niche in the socio-economic structure of the Sinhala society. Women have understood the importance of education for their children and are keen on educating them. The women thus became the agents of change and had shown entrepreneurship in organising group activities (Jayasena etal, 1994).

9.8 A lost opportunity

In general Sri Lanka has almost lost the opportunity of utilising the talents, skills and intimate knowledge of indigenous people in the conservation of natural forestry resources. Instead of allowing them their in situ existence, the path of exsitumanagement of their life-style has been followed. Thereby the opportunity of their constructive involvement in bio-diversity conservation was lost. Younger generation

Veddhas are keen to join the mainstream of consumerism, and almost detest their traditional customs and language. Consequently, they are struggling to find an equation with changed cultural mores and life-style. They are burdened with lack of meaningful employment, inadequate basic amenities, shortages of food, malnutrition and growing discontentment and have lost self-esteem and dignity. Such negative impacts were not foreseen in the eagerness to plan a new way of life for Veddha tribal who belonged to a totally different socio-cultural milieu and value system.

9.9 A case on intervention to improve tribal community

In the current context of tribal community, the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) has initiated a programme based upon people's participatory approach under a project called Socially Controlled Management of Natural Resources (SCOR), at Huruluwewa, near Anuradhapura. A tribal village, Mahameegaswewa located in the sub watershed of Yakka tribal have been made partners in the development process for mutual benefit and has more or less maintained its tradition customs, and way of life.

Case 5 A programme on Socially Controlled Management of Natural Resources

(SCOR)International Irrigation Management Institute The Yakka tribal village of

Mahamegaswewa

The Yakka tribal village of Mahamegaswewa

The village is located close to Habarana, Southeast of Anuradhapura in the North-Central region. It is a low-country, dry-zone area with undulating highland-lowland land. In this area in International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) is executing a watershed management project, involving active people's participation, following the theme of ‘Socially Controlled Management of Resources’ (SCOR). The village was provided support under the SCOR Village Awakening Programme. The inhabitants were provided with one acre of lowland for paddy cultivation and 1.5 acre of highland for planting teak, through the Forest Department. They were permitted to harvest the trees on maturity. As a payment in lieu of the labour they had put in, they were given food stamps to buy any item of their choice from the village co-operative run by SCOR. Many inhabitants decided to purchase tiles to replace the traditional thatch roofing, indicating the keenness to improve their quality of life.

One of the inhabitants, Mr W M Edirisingha, grows one acre of paddy on lowland, and owns one acre of teak, with SCOR support. In addition about an acre of chena cultivation is done during the Maha season. The family uses the new BG series of high-yielding varieties of paddy seed, with the prescribed technology package. The husband and wife work together looking after different tasks. The husband procures the seed paddy from the Government store, prepares the land by hiring a hand-tractor and looks after the application of chemical fertilisers, weedicides and pesticides, seed broadcasting, irrigation, etc; the wife soaks and germinates the seeds for sowing, tramples the mud in the paddy field. The supervision of the crop and watering is the wife's responsibility. She also organises women labourers from nearby villages on an exchange basis for harvesting The threshing is done by male labourers and

winnowing by a hired mechanised fan. The meals for labourers and the family working in the field are prepared and carried to the field by the wife. After harvest the paddy is dried and cleaned by the wife. A part is selected for seed for the next season's crop and another part is kept for the family's needs. The husband sells the surplus in the market.

The family also does chena cultivation on highland in the extensive forested area mainly in impenetrable secondary vegetation of thorny shrubs and scattered medium and large trees, which have high species density. The husband in co-operation does the slashing and burning of forest and hoeing with other male members of the village community. The wife decides about the crops and the quantity of each to be sown. The seeds are put in a bag and given to the husband for sowing. ‘Kurukkan’ (Eleucine coracana: Finger millet) remains under the direct control of the wife, right from the sowing, to harvesting, threshing and storing for the family's use. This short duration, drought resistant crop becomes the main anchor of food and nutritional security against a possible monsoon failure. The other crops are maize, green-gram, black-gram, beans, mustard, gingerly, chillies, vataka (pumpkin), brinjals (Solanum melongena; batu) and elabatu and thibatu with large and small round green fruits. Perhaps these edible varieties were derived from Solanum xanthocarpum); amaranths, string beans and other vegetables.

The family has grown a few fruit trees namely, coconut, mandarin, lime, mango, papaya, banana and a few satinwood trees in the home garden. Mr Edrisingha also practices traditional medicine, he has grown a number of medicinal plants in the home garden, to especially to treat poisonous snakebites (Cobra, Viper), such as Vel rukhthana (a liana), Kalu habarana. He and his wife have good knowledge of the various plants found in the nearby forests and their utility. The family's main income comes from agriculture, and it has fared well with the support available by them. Their two girls study in the school.

Another inhabitant of the village Mr K. Kaluhanda and his wife live in a traditional house, whose frame is made up of wooden poles tied by a vine (latex-yielding kiriwel grass - long, round homogeneously thick vine, which is soaked in mud, before use as a twine). The thatch is made from coconut leaves; and the walls are made of mud mixed with paddy straw. The husband, has studied up to the 6th grade and wife up to the 3rd grade. He is also one of the beneficiaries of the SCOR Programme for the village.

Another inhabitant, Mr M. Premratna, is a Sinhala married to a Yakka woman. They also have a traditional home and live mainly on Chena cultivation. In addition, the family keeps goats under a scheme promoted by the SCOR project. The homestead has a few fruit trees such as mango, papaya and banana and medicinal plants need, Adhatoda vasica. Plants like Eramasu (Hemidesmus), Polpala (Aerua lanata) and Gotukola are used to prepare a herbal tea and are also considered to be useful as a tonic.

The kinds of chena crops generally raised are kept for home consumption. There is no surplus to sell in the market. Therefore, people don't have enough money to spend. There is no electricity in the village, so people keep petromax, battery-run transistor radio sets and use mosquito nets. It is proposed to install solar panels for street lighting in the village People occasionally go for hunting

sambhur, deer, and wild boar and catch tank fish. The meat is shared with other families.

Each family has the necessary household items, like wooden pestles (made of ebony), mortar, grind stones for making flour, aluminium utensils, chopper, curved knives, winnows, broom, etc. The wooden frame of the door is made up of satin wood brought from the nearby forest. The family uses mosquito nets, petromax, tables and chairs etc. At home, indicating some improvement in the standard of living.

An intervention by the SCOR Project has helped the tribal families to be active participants in a project concerned with the sustainable use of water resources while maintaining their social customs, traditions. They have conveniently adopted the non-traditional wet-rice cultivation, other activities like goat rearing, animal husbandry and others. In the process, they have improved their quality of life and have valued educating their children. Women have also easily taken over the new roles.

X. CONCLUSIONS Sri Lankan gender relations in the management of biodiversity and agro-biodiversity were studied in the context of historical, socio-cultural, agro-ecological and commercial realities. Some of the salient features are summarised below:

In Sri Lanka about 75 percent of the population live in the rural areas and are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and forest-based resources. The average land holdings are small, varying from 0.8 to one hectare or a little more. Depending upon the pattern and quantity of average annual rainfall, the country is broadly divided into a wet and a dry zone, the latter constituting about 75 percent of the land area. The physiography adds another dimension, to topography factors such as mountain, hills, low undulating land and coastal plain areas. On the basis of climate, relief and soils, the country is divided into 24 agro-ecological zones. The agricultural practices are more or less in conformity with the agro-ecological zoning.The main agricultural systems in the country are lowland rice paddy culture; chena cropping of coarse grains, oil and vegetables in highlands; plantation crops of tea and rubber in the wet zone, coconut in coastal plains; and home gardens, with a variety of plants for food, spices, medicine and general timber requirements of a farm family. The agricultural practices correspond to the two major phases of Southwest and Northeast monsoon seasons, and are supplemented by indigenous village tank irrigation systems. The agricultural systems have gone through a sustained phase of agro-biodiversity enhancement by genetic diversification and periodic introductions, over the past centuries. This phase of diversification had produced numerous varieties and locally grown cultivars, with varied adaptations spread over the agricultural landscape. The biodiversity manifestations, in the form of different floristic regions and vegetation types, offer a wide range of natural plant and animal resources. The tribal and non-tribal human population, over the past centuries, developed intimate knowledge of the utility value of forest based resources, particularly of non-wood forest products. This knowledge base, which kept expanding with the passage of time, was transferred verbally from one generation to another. The agrarian society evolved social systems of partnership and community action to safeguard common interests. The gender roles in the family were based upon the specialised knowledge and biological attributes. The gender roles were defined for conducting many agricultural operations, from seed sowing to harvesting. Women played a key role in diversifying the food and nutritional base by using their knowledge of forest-based resources. The homestead offered a locus for the introduction of plants required to meet the day-to-day needs; and women's home gardens are best described as “genetic gardens.”Women made significant contributions to the genetic improvement of crop plants and other economically important plants by a continuous selection process,

which has a genetic basis. They were also responsible for domesticating a few plants, that have medicinal and food value, are now found in every home garden. With the transition of Sri Lankan agriculture from one based on home needs to one catering to markets, gender roles have tended to change. Women have increasingly been reduced to unskilled work. This is particularly true in the plantation crop sector.

XI. RECOMMENDATIONS This report will help to understand the evolution of gender roles in the conservation, use and management of biodiversity, with particular reference to plants of economic importance, in Sri Lanka. For centuries, men and women played complementary but equally important roles in the conservation and enhancement of plant genetic resources. Women particularly played a key role in selecting plants for seed at the time of harvest and in post-harvest technology. Their role in establishing genetic home gardens and in in-situ on-farm conservation has been critical in generating the variability occurring at the intra-specific level in major crop plants such as rice and vegetables. Women also played a key role in identifying plants of medicinal value and in cultivating them. They were leaders in harnessing non-wood forest products for strengthening household nutrition, health and livelihood security.

During the last century, gender roles started to change. The emergence of the plantation crop sector, particularly of tea and rubber, has been an important factor in altering gender roles. The growing commercialisation of agriculture is leading to the marginalisation of women in the intellectual aspects of biodiversity management. This will be unfortunate in the long run, since it is their keen sense of observation and patience in identifying superior genetic material has resulted in the systematic exploration of Sri Lanka's rich genetic diversity on the one hand and rich knowledge of plant genetic resources, on the other. Hence, there is an urgent need to highlight gender considerations in biodiversity management (ie., Conservation, sustainable and equitable use) in Sri Lanka.

A first step in this direction will be the initiation of a movement for preparing gender-sensitive community biodiversity registers.

The preparation of such registers will also help to sensitise the local community of the important role played by traditional practices such as raising home gardens, in the conservation and improvement of agrobiodiversity.

As commercialisation of agriculture progresses, gender roles are altered, often to the disadvantage of women. It is important that a Gender Impact Analysis is carried out at the best the project design stage, in all forestry and natural product-based commercial ventures.

Sri Lanka is a veritable mine of valuable genes. The challenge is now to tie in conversion the genetic wealth with the formation of economic wealth. Feminisation of poverty will continue unabated, if the role of women in skilled jobs is ignored. Women can take a leading role in the preparation and maintenance of community biodiversity registers. The Home Genetic Garden movement should be revitalised. New avenues for providing women with economically rewarding and intellectually satisfying job opportunities, based on Sri Lanka's biodiversity wealth, should be identified.

It is important to support in-situ on farm conservation practices of certain popular varieties by promoting their sale on a commercial basis - just as organic food is being promoted in western countries. They could be sold in attractive packages in the super markets in large cities. In Sri Lanka, the coloured rice fetches a higher price, due to its superior nutrient value.

Remote areas in the North and Southeast region are likely spots for locating traditional varieties with novel gene combinations. Efforts are also required to promote in-situ on-farm conservation. It may not be always wise to barter an entire gene pool of traditional crops for the sake of high yield. A balanced approach is needed to meet the high crop production targets by using the new high-yielding cultivars and also selectively maintain the germplasm of traditional varieties by in-situ on-farm conservation.

The kitul tree has provided sustenance to rural poor, and to countless roadside vendors and village shops. Here again is an apt case for intervention by the various State Government agencies and private entrepreneurs to generate appropriate post-harvest technologies, attractive packaging and marketing links to urban areas to popularise the use of kitul jaggery, treacle and other products. This approach will go a longway to bring about in-situ on-farm conservation, rather than the no-use existence in reserve forests or imprisonment in a botanical garden. Since women have played a skilful role in the post-harvest processing products, they should be involved in the capacity of as women entrepreneurs for upgrading of technologies and openings new urban markets. The Women's Bureau for Sri Lanka and NGOs could take initiative in this direction.

The Forest Department could identify the specific habitats for the commercial propagation of rattan and involve poorer sections of farm families who live in the vicinity of conservation areas. A package of propagation technology, adequate financial support during the gestation period, and marketing linkages would help meet the challenge of over-exploitation and mitigate opposition to harvests of cane from its natural sources.

No further time should be lost in initiating a concerted and well-planned move to ensure that both men and women play their historic as well as new roles in preserving for posterity the unique genetic heritage of Sri Lanka.

ANNEXES

Annex 1. Forest herbal materials utilised by the Ayurvedic corporation of Sri Lanka

No. Local Name Botanical Name Annual Requirement (Kg)

1. Aralu Terminalia chebula 10 000 2. Adhathoda Adhatoda vasica 3003. Etdemata (root) Gemlina arborea 1 500 4. Aswenna Alysicarpus vaginalis 1 500 5. Iriveriya (dry) Plectranthus sps 5006. Inguru piyali Knoxiaa zeylanica 4007. Ela batu (root) Solanum xanthocarpum 1 500 8. Endaru (root) Ricinus communis 5009. Endaru (seed) Ricinus communis 200

10. Palol Sterospermum suaveolens 1 500

11. Polpala Aerva lanata 1 500 12. Beli (raw fruit) Aegle marmelos 1 500 13. Bulu Terminalia belerica 10 000 14. Beli (root) Aegle marmelos 1 500 15. Binkohomba Munronia pumila 80016. Bebila (root) Sida racemosa 5 000 17. Midi (root) Premna ceratifolia 1 500 18. Thotila (root) Orolylum indicum 1 500 19. Nas Narang (root) Citrus japonica 10020. Na (flowers) Messua ferrea 60021. Na (stamens) Messua ferrea 50022. Nalum (petioles) Nelumbo nucifera 10023. Gas Karalheba Achyranthes aspera 12024. Heen aratta (yam) Ophiorrhiza mungos 3 500 25. Matu karandu (root) Barleria prionitis 15026. Kiratha Swertia zeylanica 1 000 27. Kohoba (bark) Azadirchta indica 2 000 28. Kollan (leaves) Pogostemon heyneanus 50029. Kumbuk (bark) Terminalia arjuna 50030. Kohomba (seed) Azadirachta indica 100Source: Bharathie, K.P. Sri., 1994

Annex 2. Plants used as natural dyes Sr.No. Botanical Name Local

Name Plant Part Used Colour

1. Curcuma longa Kaha Rhizome Yellow

2. Rhizophora sps. Kadol Bark of Aerial Root Pinky Beige

3. Caesalpinia sappan Patangi Heartwood PurpleMaroon

4. Cocos nucifera Pol Husk of Fruit Brown5. Cymbopogon citratus Sera Leaves Light Green 6. Ocimum sanctum Madurlata Leaves Lime Green 7. Dipterocarpus zeylanicus Hora Saw dust Beige8. Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Sepalika Flower Yellow9. Bixa orellana Kaha Seed Coat Pale Orange 10. Schleichera trigugaloleosa Kone Gum Brown

Source: Vitarana and Withanage (1993)

Annex 3. Some common animal species hunted for food in Sri Lanka English Name Local Name Latin Name MammalsFlying fox (giant fruit bat) Ma wawula Pteropus giganteusToque monkey Rilawa Macaca sinicaPurple faced leaf monkey Wandura Presbytes sinex

Scaly anteater/pangolin Kaballewa, Eya Manis crassicaudataPorcupine Ittawa Hystrix indicaBandicoot Urumiya Bandicota indicaGiant squirrel Dandu lena Ratufa macrouraFlying squirrel Hambawa Petaurista patauristaMongoose Mugatiya Herpestes smithiSpotted deer Tit muwa Axis axisSambhur Gona Cervus uniscolorMunt jak/barking deer Olumuwa Muntiacus muntjakWild pig Wal ura Sus scrofaMouse deer Meeminna Tragulus meminnaCivet cat Urulewa Viverricula indica

Palm civet Uguduwa Paradoxurushermaphroditus

Birds

Spotted dove Alukobeiya Streptopelia chinensisGreen imperial pigeon Mahaneela goya Ducula aeneaGreen pigeon Batagoya Treron pampadourCeylon jungle fowl Wali kukula Gallus laffayettiiCeylon spurfowl Haban kukula Galloperdix bicalartaReptilesLand monitor lizard Thalagoya Varanus bengalensisSource: Bandaratillake, 1994

Annex 4. Crops accessions at the plant genetic resource centre Crops species Number of accessions RiceOryza sativa (traditional & cultivars) 3 194 Wild relatives 17Coarse GrainsEleusine coracana 195Panicum miliaceum 28Setaria italica 71Paspalum scrobiculatum 5Zea mays 223Sorghum bicolor 52Grain LegumesVigna unguiculata 165Vigna radiata 64Vigna mungo 28Vigna umbellata 18Macrotyloma uniflorum 30Psophocarpus tetragonolobus 395Canavalia ensiformis 15Phaseolus lunatus 31Lablab niger 19Pisum sativum 13Glycine max 204Mucuna pruriens 4Pachyrrhizus spp. 1VegetablesMomordica charantia 72Momordica dioica 4Trichosanthes cucumerina 28Luffa acutangula 58

Luffa aegyptica 18Cucurbita spp. 120Benincasa hispida 22Cucumis spp. 129

Annex 5. Germplasm collection status by crop plants at the plant genetic resource centre

Number of Crop Group Species Accessions Percentage Collection

Rice 2 3 809 34.0Other cereals 9 785 7.0Grain legumes 14 1 907 17.0Vegetables 52 2 927 26.1Spices and condiments 9 500 4.5

Fruits 16 363 3.2Root and tubers 7 309 2.8Oil seeds 3 180 1.6Medicinal plants 12 21 0.2Wild relatives of crop 26 308 2.7speciesOther - 96 0.9Total 180 11 205 100Source: Ministry of Forestry and Environment, 1998. (Biodiversity Conservation in Sri Lanka - A Framework for Action)

Annex 6. Methodology note

The study was funded by FAO regional office for Asia and the Pacific and was undertaken by the author commissioned by M.S. Swaminathan Research foundation, Chennai, India. The document is put together from the information collected through an intensive fieldwork in Sri Lanka during 1998. The author collected secondary information from the various institution. The field research covered the wet zone, Dry Zone and Intermediate zone. The author visited villages in all these Agro-ecological zones and interviewed 41 farm families. Both men and women were included in the informal interviews.

Secondary sources of information and interviews with various experts and specialists contributed to information on biodiversity and agro ecological characteristics and crop system and biodiversity conservation and social aspects of Sri Lanka.

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