Sri Lanka

Library and audiovisual facilities at the Kiralakele Mangrove Resource Center (2004)

In response to threats to Sri Lanka's mangroves, the Small Fishers Federation of Lanka (SFFL) and Seacology have established the Kiralakele Mangrove Resource Center and Biological Garden in southern Sri Lanka. Seacology has assisted SFFL in establishing a library with a minimum of 5,000 books, research papers and reports, a computer facility with internet access, an aquarium to demonstrate the fauna associated with mangrove habitat, and an audiovisual center with a television, and overhead and multimedia projectors.

Tsunami Update January 2005
The mangrove center fared comparatively well. The building suffered some cracks in the walls and damage to the roof. It was one of the few buildings still standing in that part of Sri Lanka. The computers, copiers, library material and furniture were all destroyed due to flooding. Thanks to the generosity of the Nu Skin Enterprises Force for Good Foundation, all damage to the facility will be repaired.

Construction and furnishing of a store to sell mangrove products at the Kiralakele Mangrove Center (July 2002)
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.