Completed

Title: Food Security and Climate Change among Indigenous Peoples in Sri Lanka (2023-2024)

In Sri Lanka, Indigenous Peoples comprise the most disadvantaged communities, experiencing major challenges given their reliance on natural food systems for their livelihood, nutrition, and food security in an increasingly changing climate. Yet, the absence of preliminary data limits scientists’ ability to initiate a systematic investigation and raise valid questions. To address this gap, the two project objectives are: 1). To complete preliminary field data collection in Sri Lanka to obtain a fundamental understanding of how Indigenous Peoples experience food insecurity, and under (what) multiple climate stressors, by developing “community profiles” specific to each Indigenous group; and 2). To co-develop a large-scale grant proposal, with Sri Lankan Indigenous communities, for future submission to an NSF program. To do this, in collaboration with the government of Sri Lanka, our interdisciplinary team will collect qualitative data from 10 Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka. Primary data collection methods will include questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The project is characterized by its goal of addressing genuine community needs and wants (e.g., real problems, precise objectives, fitting methods). It also empowers Indigenous Peoples by employing a more inclusive methodology toward “true” community-based participatory research.

People

Investigators

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Galappaththi E.K (PI)

Gamage T.A. (MCA)

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Students: Sithuni Mimasha, Indunil Dharmasiri, Chrishma Perera

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