SILVER SPRING, Md.--A project targeting hundreds of low-income laborers in Sri Lanka's vast tea plantations has helped improve their living conditions and incomes by increasing access to food, clean water, adequate sanitation, and basic education, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) reported.

A total of 750 families benefited from the Livelihood Income Generation Health and Training (LIGHT) II project, which concluded on September 29. During the project's two-year duration, approximately 125 families took part in income generation activities such as cattle farming, goat rearing, mushroom cultivation, and home gardening.

"One of the most important elements in the income generating activities sector is that the beneficiaries contributed between 40 and 75 percent of the initial cost, proving their interest and responsibility to continue to carry out these activities, even after we as an agency have handed it over to the community," said Edgar Castillo, country director for ADRA Sri Lanka.

The LIGHT II project, launched following the success of its predecessor, the LIGHT project which began in 2007, helped build 128 latrines within the targeted communities, 26 cow and goat sheds, 192 organic gardens, eight waste digesters, six mushroom sheds, and four drinking water supply schemes, including the installation of six water tanks, and 91 water faucets, providing drinking water for 267 families.

"The water supply was a problem," said Tikiri Bandara Herath, manager of the Newton Division of the Poyston Estate. "Now with the construction of latrines, sanitary conditions will improve."

ADRA was the first international non-governmental organization (INGO) to successfully create Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in each of the targeted estates. In 2003, ADRA helped CBOs form a cooperative society, and in 2006, this society registered with the Sri Lanka Government Cooperative Department.

This has strengthened the project, allowing the government the ability to monitor the co-op's actions during the project's duration, while allowing the co-op to make many of the decision involving project implementation, such as beneficiary selection, construction supervision, collection of dues, operating water sanitation, and plans for waste disposal.

"The improved living conditions have helped to build a relationship of trust between ADRA and the tea plantation communities targeted," said Castillo. "It has also helped to provide sustainability for our ongoing and completed projects."

The project was funded by ADRA International, ADRA Switzerland, and ADRA Germany, and was implemented in tea estates in Campion, Poyston, Brunswick, Strathespy, and Alton, in the Nuwara Eliya District.

ADRA has been working for the people of Sri Lanka since 1989 in the areas of economic development, emergency management, basic health care, and food security.

To get the latest information, follow ADRA on Twitter and Facebook.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.

For more information, visit www.adra.org.