OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATION:

The Siyath Foundation

Kamala PeirisB.A. University of London; Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, university of Ceylon; master of Science, Cornell university. POSTS: Advisory Director of Siyath Foundation; Member, National Education Commission, Sri Lanka; Member, National Committee on Women, Sri Lanka; Member, National Authority on Teacher Education Council, Sri Lanka; Member, National Committee of Children's Secretariat, Sri Lanka, Member, National Curriculum Coordinating Committee; Nationa Institute of Education, Sri Lanka; Member of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Education (SLAAED), Member of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science

CONSULTANT TO: UNICEF, UNESCO, NORAD, HIVOS, SIDA, SLCDF,

Kala Peiris De CostaB. Sc. (University of Colombo); MBA, PIM University of Sri Jayawardenepura; Attorney at Law, Sri Lanka Law College; Certificate Course in Human Rights, Social justice and Developmental Law, ISS- Netherlands. ( 1996)

POSTS: Executive Director, Siyath Foundation, Project Coordinator - Womens Economic and Legal Rights Project; Marketing Manager -Womens Economic Development Project member, Board of Directors, Center for Women's Rights, Sri Lanka

The Siyath Foundation, our partner organization, began as a research project under the Dutch ministry of Development Cooperation. It was part of an effort that began in the wake of the first World Conference on Women, in Mexico 1975, to document the hardships faced by women in developing countries. In 1983, Kamala Peiris, a director of education in Sri Lanka, undertook a detailed study of the coir industry in Southern Sri Lanka. The study sought to understand the exploitation of women existing at the village level but was also an analysis of state and NGO efforts to strengthen working women's status in rural communities and improve their quality of life through collective action. It drew upon the experience of over 100 organizations working with women in the area. The final chapter proposed a hypothetical experimental project that, through a participatory approach, sought to create cooperatives amongst the impoverished women working in Sri Lanka's coir industry.

Upon submission of the report, the Dutch ministry of Development Cooperation suggested that funds be made available for the implementation of the hypothetical model. Not without some reluctance, Kamala Peiris agreed. A principle concern of the model was the manner in which the phrase 'people's participation' was being utilized in development circles. Observing that this was often a catch phrase employed to attract donor's attention, and that in United Nations or World Bank publications there is a remarkable laxity in its use, this hypothetical model sought to employ 'people's participation' in a meaningful way. This involved the rejection of a top-down hierarchical structure to the organization. If 'people's participation' were to be a central feature of the organization, it required that participants would not be 'taught' the advantages of collective strength. Rather, 'facilitators', local women screened for suitability and taught the goals of the model, were to integrate themselves into the coir communities and encourage dialogue on the benefits of collective strength. The hope was to facilitate the coir women coming to the conclusions themselves, on their own terms and of their own accord.

In some communities this process occurred faster than in others, but in all cases it was slow and gradual. Dependant on traders and landowners for raw material, and forced to sell back finished products to the same traders and landowners, the women had previously been trapped a cycle of debt. Paying extortionate interest rates to the traders, whom they depended upon for food and vital household supplies, the women of the coir industry had long endured a working situation that was akin to slavery. Once the collectives began forming, however, the advantages of working together became manifest.

Through collective strength, they discovered, it was possible both to bargain for favourable terms, and to use the group as a source of collective funds, escaping the necessity of borrowing from traders. However, beyond economic gains, perhaps the most significant improvement to the lives of the women of the coir industry was found in the change the collectives had upon the status of working women within these communities. Acting as a group, and making all decisions collectively, the women of the collectives found a new power and importance within these small communities, and participants in the program realized gains in self-esteem, confidence and the ability to advance women's issues at the village level.

Siyath has grown considerably since its inception, but the principal of collective decision making remains central to the operation of the cooperatives, which now span the entire southern coast of Sri Lanka. The immense personal gains have further created an environment in which education and promotion of women's rights has been able to grow. The Siyath Foundation, now directed by Kala Peiris De Costa, an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka, now takes an active role in women's rights education and advocacy at the national level for policy changes that would assist in raising the standard of living for both women and workers in the informal sector. Active Board members of the Center for Women's Research in Sri Lanka, Kala and Kamala have moved beyond hosting educational seminars and informal discussions on women's rights, and Siyath is now operating a series of legal clinics in order to facilitate women's access to legal advice - something previously unheard of in these communities. Further initiatives have arisen from participants' own ideas, as expressed at group meetings. One such example is the establishment of children's activity centers, in which the children of the coir women can gather for supplemental education programs and extra-curricular activities.

The December 26 tsunami has had a devastating impact on these communities. Coir work has traditionally been the work of fisherman's wives and daughters, living in Sri Lanka's coastal villages. The toll in lives, property and disruption to the industry has been immense. However, in the wake of the tsunami, the success and strength of the community-centered development model has also become apparent. It has become a mechanism for bringing these fragmented communities back together, and also for employing participatory and community-centred approaches to the enterprise of rebuilding what has been destroyed. Their reconstruction efforts have become one of the finest examples of community participation in Sri Lanka today. However, because the Siyath Foundation operates at the village level, it does not attract, and has not benefited proportionately, from the immense resources directed towards tsunami relief. The LIFT Project hopes to support their continuing effort to rebuilt both villages and organization facilities. We would further like to draw international attention to the Siyath Foundation's model for community participation and development, and the value of this model as a mechanism for engaging the community in disaster recovery.

Sadly, in the words of the executive director of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, one of the most influential advocacy groups in Sri Lanka, community participation and consultation in Sri Lanka overall has been "grossly inadequate". Amidst the context of growing concerns about the long-term consequences this lack of consultation will have on affected communities we would like to acknowledge the unparalleled dedication of the Siyath Foundation. We would like to recognize and reward its affirmation of the rights of women, its innovation in participatory development, and its importance as an exemplary model for long-term disaster recovery - a model that emphasizes the right of the affected to participate in their own recovery.

Page 4 - Siyath

CHANGES TO BE MADE IN BOLDThe Siyath Foundation, The LIFT Project's first overseas partner and subject of The Crooked Road documentary, began as a research project under the Dutch ministry of Development Cooperation. The Foundation was formed as part of an ongoing effort to document the hardships faced by women that began in the wake of the first World Conference on Women in Mexico in 1975. The conference sought to document the hardships faced by women in developing countries.

The Siyath Foundation began as a research project under the Dutch ministry of Development Cooperation and part of an effort that began in the wake of the first World Conference on Women, in Mexico 1975 to document the hardships faced by women in developing countries. In 1983, Kamala Peiris, a director of education in Sri Lanka, undertook a detailed study of the coir industry in Southern Sri Lanka. The study tried to understand the exploitation of women existing at the village level but was also an analysis state and NGO efforts to strengthen workingwomen's status in rural communities and improve their quality of life through collective action. It drew upon the experience of over 100 organizations working with women in the area. The final chapter proposed a hypothetical experimental project that, through a participatory approach, sought to create cooperatives amongst the impoverished women working in Sri Lanka's coir industry

Upon submission of the report, the Dutch ministry of Development Cooperation suggested that funds be made available for the implementation of the hypothetical model. Not without some reluctance, Kamala Peiris agreed. A principle concern of the model was the manner in which the phrase 'people's participation' was being utilized in development circles. Observing that this was often a catch phrase employed to attract donor's attention, and that in United Nations or World Bank publications there is a remarkable laxity in its use, this hypothetical model sought to employ 'people's participation' in a meaningful way. This involved the rejection of a top-down hierarchical structure to the organization. If 'people's participation' were to be a central feature of the organization, it required that participants would not be 'taught' the advantages of collective strength. Rather, 'facilitators', local women screened for suitability and taught the goals of the model, were to integrate themselves into the coir communities and encourage dialogue on the benefits of collective strength. The hope was to facilitate the coir women coming to the conclusions themselves, on their own terms and of their own accord.

In some communities this process occurred faster than in others, but in all cases it was slow and gradual. Dependent on traders and landowners for both their raw materials and market access, the women had previously been taken advantage of - paying high prices for materials while selling at low prices. This had resulted in a cycle of debt, carrying extortionate interest rates, that was owed to the traders upon which the women depended for food and vital household supplies. The women of then coir industry had long endured a working situation that was akin to slavery. Once the collectives began forming, however, the advantages of working together became manifest.

Through collective strength, they discovered, it was possible both to bargain for favourable terms, and to use the group as a source of collective funds, escaping the necessity of borrowing from traders. However, beyond economic gains, perhaps the most significant improvement to the lives of the women of the coir industry was found in the change the collectives had upon the status of workingwomen within these communities. Acting as a group, and making all decisions collectively, the women of the collectives found a new power and importance within these small communities, and participants in the program realized gains in self-esteem, confidence and the ability to advance women's issues at the village level.

Siyath has grown considerably since its inception, but the principal of collective decision-making remains central to the operation of the cooperatives, which now span the entire southern coast of Sri Lanka. The immense personal gains have further created an environment in which education and promotion of women's rights has been able to grow. The Siyath Foundation, now directed by Kala Peiris De Costa, an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka, now takes an active role in women's rights education and advocacy at the national level for policy changes that would assist in raising the standard of living for both women and workers in the informal sector. Active Board members of the Centre for Women's Research in Sri Lanka, Kala and Kamala have moved beyond hosting educational seminars and informal discussions on women's rights, and Siyath is now operating a series of legal clinics in order to facilitate women's access to legal advice - something previously unheard of in these communities. Further initiatives have arisen from participants' own ideas, as expressed at group meetings. One such example is the establishment of children's activity centres, in which the children of the coir women can gather for supplemental education programs and extra-curricular activities.

The December 26 tsunami has had a devastating impact on these communities. Coir work has traditionally been the work of fisherman's wives and daughters, living in Sri Lanka's coastal villages. The toll in lives, property and disruption to the industry has been immense.However, in the wake of the tsunami, the success and strength of the community-centred development model has also become apparent. It has become a mechanism for bringing these fragmented communities back together, and also for employing participatory and community-centred approaches to the enterprise of rebuilding what has been destroyed. The reconstruction effort has become one of the finest examples of community participation in Sri Lanka today. However, because the Siyath Foundation operates at the village level, it does not attract, and has not benefited proportionately, from the immense resources directed towards tsunami relief. The LIFT Project hopes to support their continuing effort to rebuilt both villages and organization facilities. We would further like to draw international attention to the Siyath Foundation's model for community participation and development, and the value of this model as a mechanism for engaging the community in disaster recovery.

Sadly, in the words of the executive director of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, community participation and consultation in Sri Lanka overall has been "grossly inadequate. Amidst the context of growing concerns about the long-term consequences this lack of consultation will have on affected communities we would like to acknowledge the unparalleled dedication of the Siyath Foundation. We would like to recognize and reward its affirmation of the rights of women, its innovation in participatory development, and its importance as an