SRI LANKA - July 2002
Construction and furnishing of a store to sell mangrove products at the Kiralakele mangrove center
(Sri Lanka 2000 project page, Sri Lanka 2004 project page)
Click photo to enlarge
The Seacology-supported Kiralakele Mangrove Center, constructed in 2000, is fast becoming a major ecotourism destination and hosts several thousand schoolchildren per year. In addition, the local community has planted 50,000 mangrove seedlings. Due in part to his dedication to this project, Seacology awarded the 2001 Seacology Prize to Small Fishers Federation of Lanka (SFFL) director Anuradha Wickramasinghe. Seacology has assisted SFFL with the construction of a sales center to sell fruit, juice and honey collected from the mangrove forest, as well as locally-made handicrafts. This store will provide a livelihood to young women from the local community who have dropped out of school.*
UPDATE July 2004 - The Kiralakele Mangrove Center was dedicated in April 2001 and the construction of the store was completed in 2002. An October 2003 Seacology expedition visited the Kiralakele Mangrove Center and store. The Center continues to be a very popular tourist destination and is being utilized heavily by local schoolchildren and eco-tourists. On average 80 bottles of Kirala juice sell at the store every day, creating additional income to maintain the Center. Visitors are asking for more information on coastal resource conservation and coastal habitats. In 2004, after the last general election, the former Minister of Fisheries who gave the land to set up Kiralakele Mangrove Center became Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister. He visited the Center this past May and agreed to give his fullest cooperation to extend the activities of Kiralakele to all the schools and other areas of the country.
More updates on the Sri Lanka 2004 project page.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by: 
