Uplifting Livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples in Sri Lanka

Eranga Galappaththi, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, is a recipient of the ICAT major seed grant for the year 2024-2025. The award-winning project, titled "Uplifting Livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples in Sri Lanka," has two main objectives: i) To complete preliminary field data collection in Sri Lanka to gain a fundamental understanding of how Indigenous Peoples can benefit from using internet technology, ii) To co-develop a large-scale grant proposal with Sri Lankan Indigenous communities for future submission to an NSF program. Since his prior visits in the summer of 2023, Eranga has formed partnerships with nine Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka. Throughout his interactions, he noted the limited access to internet technology among Indigenous peoples. Yet, only a few community leaders with internet access, typically via smartphones, manage to significantly improve their livelihoods through activities such as farming, fishing, and collecting bee honey. Although most Indigenous households possess cell phones, these are rarely smartphones, which limits their potential for livelihood advancement. Currently, there are no systematic programs to assist these communities in harnessing available technological resources, a gap that many are unaware of how to bridge. To address this, the ICAT seed grant will support Eranga in conducting a month-long field study in the summer of 2024 aimed at gathering initial empirical data on technical know-how, infrastructure availability, and livelihoods among Indigenous communities by employing key informant interviews and focus group discussions. 

In conducting the study Eranga has established collaborations with Prof. Kim L. Niewolny from the Department of Agriculture, Leadership and Community Education. Prof. Niewolny offers guidance on community-based participatory research processes, project evaluation, and insights into food systems-community development related to technology. She will also bring resources from the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation to support these efforts. Two graduate students are also a part of this project. Sithuni Jayasekara, a graduate student in the Department of Geography, will participate in fieldwork alongside Eranga. Having visited Sri Lanka in the summer of 2023, she has already established community partnerships with Indigenous communities. Her prior experience in community-based participatory research, particularly with Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka, will be invaluable for successful data collection during the fieldwork. Chrishma Perera, a graduate student in the Department of Geography, will contribute to the project through data analysis and the development of community tech profiles. 

The project is aligned with ICAT's focus areas of engaging communities and designing a more sustainable world. It emphasizes substantial community engagement and collaborative research design to address community needs. Additionally, the project aims to significantly impact society by identifying opportunities to enhance the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples in Sri Lanka through technological interventions. Using a community-based participatory approach, the project seeks to engage more meaningfully with Indigenous Peoples and co-create a sustainable research design for a large-scale NSF proposal while also supporting Global Sustainable Development Goals 09, 11, and 17, furthering its broader relevance.