Abstract:
The world heritage Sinharaja forest in Sri Lanka is situated in the South- West region of the island
between northern latitude 6°21’ and 6° 27’ and southern longitude 80° 21’ and 80° 34’. This study
focuses on analyzing the traditional methods of food security practiced in rural areas, with the
special focus on the North - West slope of Sinharaja, which spreads over 11187 hectares. The
research problem is ‘how the communities residing at peripheral areas of tropical rain forests have
used indigenous knowledge concerning food security over a long period?’ Six villages at the
periphery of North-West slope of Sinharaja namely Kudawa, Pitakele, Kongahakanda,
Petiyakanda, Ketalapattala and Kosgulana were selected for the study. At the end of 2009, about
975 people were living in these six villages.
Methods used for data collection were open interview and direct observation. This study has
recognized the traditional food security methods in the study area, types of food preserved, the
way the old methods are used for modem needs, and factors that have persuade villagers to secure
food. This study implies that with the change in land consumption styles, foods that are preserved
earlier by people such as cassava, jack, cucumber, kurakkan, thampala, el vee, amu etc., have
been neglected. With the use of scrub jungles for tea cultivation, treacle varieties such as kitul
treacle are faced with extinction. As rural community build modem houses instead of traditional
houses, background of food preserving is gradually declining. The villagers of the study area have
used various methods to secure food and these methods are influenced by various human and
material factors.
