“On the deserted Rekawa beach, we watched by torchlight as an endangered 200-kg Green Turtle laid its eggs. We had trudged through miles of soft sand to observe this miracle of nature. With bated breath, we counted 106 ping-pong ball-sized eggs that would hatch in seven weeks. The nest protectors of Turtle Conservation Project had done it again!”
- Eyewitness account
The stated objective of Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) is to devise and facilitate the implementation of sustainable marine turtle conservation strategies. When Co-ordinator Thushan Kapurusinghe arrived in Rekawa in 1993, the locals were poaching turtles and their eggs. Urbanisation and development of tourist resorts along the coast had already depleted nesting grounds of the turtles and pushed these prehistoric reptiles to the brink of extinction.
Since 1996, Kapurusinghe has been working with local communities, nudging them towards alternate livelihoods, converting turtle poachers to turtle protectors! He explains, “Especially in the third world, coastal people depend on the sea and its resources for their survival. We don’t believe that punishment is the solution; if you put a poacher in jail, his son will take over… We are trying to provide alternate sources of livelihood that will reduce environmental pressure.”
For eight years, the TCP toiled and brought about a transformation that had not seemed possible in the beginning. “You can’t protect turtles by treating them as a separate species,” says Kapurusinghe. So, he set about protecting the entire ecosystem – replanting mangroves and other beach vegetation, and restoring sand dunes in Kosgoda.
Things were progressing well until that fateful day in December 2004, when everything went wrong. Three nest protectors lost their lives in the tsunami, their houses washed off, beach huts were swept away and project activities were badly affected.
On a broader scale, many people of Kosgoda and Rekawa lost lives, livelihoods and property. These were poor but diligent people who belonged to a community that was engaged in self-supporting activities to make ends meet. Fishing was the predominant profession, but many were adept at making items like batik, lace or coir. They lost much of their machinery and materials in the tsunami.
With SSGF funding support, TCP was able to restore turtle protection activities. From a societal standpoint, TCP also undertook to develop livelihood and infrastructure, both in Kosgoda and Rekawa, to put these communities back on their feet again.
Their project proposed to develop urgently needed basic facilities like water supply, toilets, and roads to improve the living conditions of the people. Through TCP, SSGF supported the construction of ten public toilets, the completion of roofs of five half-built houses, the repair of a road and the construction of shelters at two bus stops. Running water supply was assured through the construction of tube wells. A makeshift library at the TCP office is patronized by the children of Rekawa; its shelves were lined with books in Sinhala and English. A community centre is now under construction where the children’s library is to be housed permanently.
Many popular vocations in the villages - like coir production, lagoon fishing, masonry, brick making and confectionaries – were supported by the TCP. Livelihood development activities included ornamental fish breeding, batik designing, and tailoring. With an eye on the future, employability of the village youth was improved by conducting classes in English and computing.
The stated objective of Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) is to devise and facilitate the implementation of sustainable marine turtle conservation strategies. When Co-ordinator Thushan Kapurusinghe arrived in Rekawa in 1993, the locals were poaching turtles and their eggs. Urbanisation and development of tourist resorts along the coast had already depleted nesting grounds of the turtles and pushed these prehistoric reptiles to the brink of extinction.
Since 1996, Kapurusinghe has been working with local communities, nudging them towards alternate livelihoods, converting turtle poachers to turtle protectors! He explains, “Especially in the third world, coastal people depend on the sea and its resources for their survival. We don’t believe that punishment is the solution; if you put a poacher in jail, his son will take over… We are trying to provide alternate sources of livelihood that will reduce environmental pressure.”
For eight years, the TCP toiled and brought about a transformation that had not seemed possible in the beginning. “You can’t protect turtles by treating them as a separate species,” says Kapurusinghe. So, he set about protecting the entire ecosystem – replanting mangroves and other beach vegetation, and restoring sand dunes in Kosgoda.
Things were progressing well until that fateful day in December 2004, when everything went wrong. Three nest protectors lost their lives in the tsunami, their houses washed off, beach huts were swept away and project activities were badly affected.
On a broader scale, many people of Kosgoda and Rekawa lost lives, livelihoods and property. These were poor but diligent people who belonged to a community that was engaged in self-supporting activities to make ends meet. Fishing was the predominant profession, but many were adept at making items like batik, lace or coir. They lost much of their machinery and materials in the tsunami.
With SSGF funding support, TCP was able to restore turtle protection activities. From a societal standpoint, TCP also undertook to develop livelihood and infrastructure, both in Kosgoda and Rekawa, to put these communities back on their feet again.
Their project proposed to develop urgently needed basic facilities like water supply, toilets, and roads to improve the living conditions of the people. Through TCP, SSGF supported the construction of ten public toilets, the completion of roofs of five half-built houses, the repair of a road and the construction of shelters at two bus stops. Running water supply was assured through the construction of tube wells. A makeshift library at the TCP office is patronized by the children of Rekawa; its shelves were lined with books in Sinhala and English. A community centre is now under construction where the children’s library is to be housed permanently.
Many popular vocations in the villages - like coir production, lagoon fishing, masonry, brick making and confectionaries – were supported by the TCP. Livelihood development activities included ornamental fish breeding, batik designing, and tailoring. With an eye on the future, employability of the village youth was improved by conducting classes in English and computing.
The literal translation of the word ‘rekawa’, from which the village derives its name, means protection. It refers to the protective enclosure that was erected when King Dutugemunu (167-137 BC) wanted to catch elephants. For the people of Rekawa village, however, it could well mean the protection provided by the TCP.
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