Category: Field Stories

By Blair Rynearson With our bodies still aching from construction of the plant nursery – a result of hauling wood, sand and topsoil down hills and through rivers – it was time to visit our neighborhood home gardens. In order to facilitate communication we contacted a local woman, Chamillee, who had served as a translator … Continue reading Learning from the villagers about tree gardens

By Logan Sander Shopping for lumber is a little different when the nearest hardware store is two hours away and the final 20 minutes of the trip requires that we haul in our purchases by hand. Despite this, we still have many needs for processed lumber, from repairing the stairs that ascend the hill towards … Continue reading “Shopping” for lumber

By Logan Sander After a few weeks of getting oriented and familiarized with our Sri Lankan village life, we began work on our home garden plant nursery. For us, the nursery will be one of our primary work sites, a place where we can grow, multiply and nurture along the plants that will come to … Continue reading The beginnings of a homegarden: construction of the nursery

By Laura Luttrell About two weeks ago Logan and Blair’s former professor, Dr. Mark Ashton, came for a visit. With him, he brought four prominent Sri Lankan professors of ecology and several students, as well as several local villagers who have been involved in their conservation projects and research over the years (Fig. 3a). Our … Continue reading Distinguished visitors, and the beginnings of a nursery!

By Laura Luttrell We were treated to a spectacularly easy and comfortable arrival both into the country and to our home site! Professor Singhakumara, the Director of the NGO and a professor at the University of Sri Jayewardenapura picked us up at the airport at an unreasonable 1:00 am and transported us to a comfortable … Continue reading Our First Week in Tropical Paradise