The first crop had an approximate yield of 25,000 pineapples which were sold in the village market. Any remaining stock was utilised for a religious festival in town. Speaking about his meeting with the Settlor, Samantha said “I cannot express the happiness I feel after meeting the Settlor Merrill J. Fernando, who has helped us in immeasurable ways”.

The orange and pineapple project was introduced to the Pahalalanda community by the Foundation in 2011. The project aims to reclaim the area’s fame for cultivating oranges of a very high quality which will be a mainstream crop and help the community become self sufficient. The pineapples were introduced as a supplementary crop as the oranges will take 2 – 3 years before they bear fruit.

In order to help establish this project the Foundation also provided a water pump and tanks to give a steady supply of water for the crops. Prior to this, the community did not have water for their crops and were compelled to depend on the seasonal monsoonal rains which were insufficient and led to great suffering as a result. Now not only do they have enough water for their crops but they are able to supply water for domestic use to the 55 members of the Gemi Aruna community organisation for a nominal fee. They also plan on supplying water to the other members of the village through the implementation of a sustainable water control board within the CBO.

The next phase of this project will be the harvesting of the oranges and the setting up of a system to supply them for commercial consumption amongst the Ampara region and beyond.

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