We may not value law but we value custom

Our people never had laws. Instead, we had sirith or customs. Those customs were built over thousands of years of experiment and experience. They balanced the relationship between kings, subjects, birds, beasts, trees, flowers. They arose of the need to create harmony between all things living. Now, we have laws. They are young in years and built for other types of people living in other types of societies. Most of what we call our law is their law. All of it is imported and none of it is important. Our people do not see their relevance to our society. Our people will consider laws as a last resort. Even then, even if all else fails, we may never go to the law for relief. This is because there is a meanness to them. A lie to them. A manipulation in them. A debilitation within them. So we break those laws and feel no regret or guilt because we see how false they are. But we will never break our sirith. To do so is worse than death because if we break them, even in the slightest measure, we tear to pieces, the very fabric of harmonious coexistence and none of us can live after having committed such a heinous crime.

Our Recent Projects

Livelihood and Biodiversity Recovery in the Knuckles

Rehabilitating mangrove habitats in Kalpitiya

Rehabilitating degraded agricultural lands

Mainstreaming agro-biodiversity conservation