May 2007 Edition
Severine Fumoux
Damniyamgama (Kalutara dist), Sri Lanka
IN 2004, in the aftermath of the tsunami, Sarvodaya, a well-known NGO in
the island, started reconstruction rushing to the rescue of survivors. It carefully
managed its flow of funds and focused on reinforcing partnerships with
the government and external agencies. The NGO was keen to carry out a longterm
development plan.
For nearly 50 years, Sarvodaya has worked for community development
including economic and social self-reliance. Their programmes are based on
their values: hard work, peace and non-violence. This Buddhist-Gandhian philosophy
has granted them international recognition.The Lagoswatta village in Kalutara, on the south-west coast of Sri Lanka, is
one such model of participatory development. Damniyamgama is an eco-friendly
village born out of Sarvodaya’s grassroots expertise.
According to the NGO’s philosophy, houses should be built after the personalities
and awareness of their residents is developed. Sarvodaya links house
building to rebuilding connections with nature and living in harmony with the
environment.
Construction work started on April 4, 2005 on five acres of hilly terrain granted
by the government amidst rubber tree plantationsfive km away from the
sea. This unique model adhered to international guidelines for eco-houses
defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) after thetsunami occurred. An Austrian village twinned with Damniyamgamaand provided
the funding for house construction.
The 55 houses are state-of-the-art architectural marvelsdesigned by
renowned Sri Lankan architect Chandana Edirisooriya. Each house has basic
amenities and excellentventilation. Apart from using local eco-friendly materials,
the village relies heavily on green technology. Water comesfrom wells or
rain-harvesting tanks. A subterranean system takes care of waste water.
Recycling and composting arepromoted. Each roof has small solar panels that
provide enough electricity for small appliances.
The government has built a road to access the village and is now running a
bus on this route. It has put up poles to provide additional electricity. There are signs in multiple languages to indicate directions to the village temple, nursery
school, playground, library, telecentre (IT room) and the main community centre,
which has been funded by the American Jewish Joined Distribution
Committee (AJSDC).
The village might sound like an eco-resort by the Red Sea, but it is the result of a long process to create sustainable livelihoods.First, Sarvodaya educated the 245 future residents of the village (selected from three government-run tsunami relief camps) about forming a new community. The youth was later trained to maintain the technological utilities, and eventually run the IT telecentre. Then, a Sarvodaya society – the main empowerment tool of the NGO - was formed and a president and secretary appointed. The eco-village has so far fostered a cooperative lifestyle. But challenges remain. “The biggest problem is unemployment, especially for women”, admits the president of the village society. Most of the residents were fish traders before the tsunami. For a while, Sarvodaya paid the villagersdaily wages to build their future houses. Later, former fish merchants were given bicycles or mopeds to resume trading fish from nearby villages. Some villages continue to work in the construction business. Sarvodaya had conducted a skills assessment in order to provide adequate training to the unemployed, including women. Sarvodaya’s ultimate goal is to empower this village so that residents can become self-sufficient and pay for their ownservices. Villagers continue to experiment with revenue generation ideas like renting out their community centre for trainingprogrammes to other groups or running grocery stores. They are in the process of acquiring village land from thegovernment. Eventually, common ownership of the village should generate efficient decision-making.
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