GA planting the first mangrove sapling with community members looking on

Finally, we commence are mangrove planting. We arrive in Kalpitiya around 10 a.m. after a long drive down starting early morning from the Knuckles. From freeze to fry in five hours. In the dry winds and searing heat of the lagoon, Human Fernando has things in hand with his plants ready for transplanting. Manoj and the Arinma team are also present as is the GA of the area. He ceremoniously plants the first sapling and we start the operation in earnest. By the time the tide comes in, almost all of the community grown saplings are in the water. The five hours are quite productive and we are about to wrap up and get back to the rest house when we decide to visit the government mangrove nursery because they had invited us to the place. We go in there but it is a sad sand sight with tired plants looking exactly like underfed cattle during a drought. They were entreating us to take the plants off their hands because the program had been shut down with the change in government. Good Samaritans that we are, we agreed and arranged for a transport truck to pick the plants up the next day before we finally go back for a well earned rest after long long day.

The fisherfolk transport healthy looking plants they nurtured themselves to the jetty read to be taken out into the lagoon.