An Inspiring story of women’s collective action in Agroecology  is taking shape in the North Central Province in Sri Lanka as the Kahathagasdigiliya-Konwewa Peasant Producers Collective marks its first agroecological harvest, just three months after breaking ground.

The Kahathagasdigiliya-Konwewa Peasant Producers Collective is an organization formed by 22 committed women and operating under the North Central Peoples Planning Forum. The collective developed a half-acre community farm in the Koonwewa Junction with a bold objective,  to demonstrate that productive farming is entirely possible without the use of chemical fertilizers, while simultaneously introducing agro-ecological  inputs as an alternative for Peasant farmers.

The Movement for Land and Agriculture Reforms (MONLAR) has been instrumental in facilitating the journey of Kahathagasdigiliya-Konwewa Peasant Producers Collective. According to Chaminda Paragodaarachchi, agroecology advisor for MONLAR, “These women have shown in just three months what many thought was impossible – that healthy, chemical-free soil can indeed feed families and economies.” This is a collective that has emerged under the dedicated leadership of W.M.M. Kumari and has become a disciplined and inspired group of producers committed to transforming agriculture in Sri Lanka.

Their first harvest, consisting of an abundantly thriving crop of beans, was sold directly through their own sales outlet, which exclusively sells home-grown agroecological food products to their community. Consistent with their solidarity economy approach, all their earnings were directed towards a collective fund, where each member’s share was entered as an investment contribution to their collective financial base.

Currently, their community farm is nurturing other crops such as bitter gourd, long beans, okra, and leafy vegetables, all of which are expected to mature in the next few weeks.

Future plans of the collective include their farm being established as a center for agroecological research, where their knowledge and experience would be shared with their community, illustrating to them that not only is chemical-free agriculture possible, but that the harvest is already in hand.