T.L.M. Makeen - Sri Lanka
Ripe With Opportunity: How Pomegranates Are Reshaping Livelihoods in Kalpitiya
T.L.M. Makeen has spent his career finding practical, land-based ways to lift up Sri Lanka's rural communities–from the Her Family Farm Initiative to his latest venture: a pomegranate farming project in Kalpitiya, in the country's northwest province, designed to put women-headed households at the center of a genuine economic transformation.
The initiative aims to improve income and livelihoods for 60 low-income families through sustainable pomegranate cultivation–while connecting them directly to the local markets that can sustain that growth for years to come. It's a project that reflects ARI and Kibo Alliance's shared "Foodlife" vision: sustainable agriculture as a foundation for a fuller life.
Planting the Groundwork
Makeen began by identifying the families who needed this opportunity most, prioritizing women-headed households in Kalpitiya through a careful, needs-based community assessment. He then coordinated with Sri Lanka's Department of Agriculture to source 600 high-quality pomegranate plants — ten for every family.
Each household received its plants along with initial instructions and support materials to get growing right away. From there, Makeen trained the women involved in Bokashi organic fertilizer preparation, proper harvest techniques, and other organic farming methods he'd learned at the Asian Rural Institute. Throughout the project, he's kept detailed records of income changes and lessons learned, building a model other communities could one day replicate.
A Market Ready and Waiting
The numbers tell a compelling story. The project is on track to hit its goal of at least a 25% increase in household income– an estimated $150 to $225 in additional annual income per family, a meaningful boost for households living on the margins.
That timing couldn't be better. Market analysis shows pomegranate prices climbing dramatically, from roughly $0.30 per kilogram in 2010 to over $5.00 per kilogram today. These families aren't just growing fruit–they're stepping directly into a market with real, growing demand. The income is already going toward the essentials: nutrition, education, and healthcare, as women transform their family's economic footing through their own land, training, and market savvy.
More Than a Harvest
The benefits of Makeen's initiative reach well past the bottom line. The project is helping preserve a 200-year-old agricultural tradition in Kalpitiya, while building real expertise in organic farming and entrepreneurship among the women involved.
Perhaps most significantly, it's shifting perceptions–earning greater recognition for women-headed households as capable, successful agricultural producers, and inspiring other women in the region to pursue farming as a genuine business, not just a means of survival. Since this project has brought together people from all three major communities—Christians, Hindus, and Muslims—it has the potential to contribute to greater social harmony, ethnic unity, and integration among the communities.
From a handful of saplings to a thriving local market, Kalpitiya's pomegranate farms are becoming a model for what's possible when tradition, training, and opportunity grow together.