Day 1 - Arrival

It was past mid-day when I finally arrived after a 5 and a half hour journey to a small village called Pattiyawala in the Nebadawewa village cluster, Horowpothana.

I have always preferred the dry heat that is a iconic feature of the region I am in, however, the heat today felt different, it was more intense and hotter than I ever remembered. So when I asked the group of women I was introduced to, whom I will be living with for the next three months, they unanimously agreed that they have never felt this kind of heat in this region. It only then occurred to me, that there was a heatwave warning from the start of April onwards for Sri Lanka, which continued till late April.

It was refreshing to meet several women farmers on the first day in the field itself, I was most impressed by my host, a widowed woman who cultivates quite a bit of land by herself in this village.

The scenery depicted in this image is the backyard of my new home for the duration of my fieldwork and I am so grateful and content to have been accepted into this village and this home from the very start.