Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Nugedolawatta Village is home to 297 villagers surviving on daily wages, including pregnant women, small children, and disabled members. Currently, 15 residents and 1 school use open pits in the ground as toilets; unsealed, uncovered, without water or doors, sometimes hidden by clothes or leaves. These pits collapse in heavy rain, flood during storms, and contaminate the soil. Fecal matter often flows into homes, and nearby drinking wells; also unlined, become contaminated with E. coli and other pathogens. This exposes the community to severe hygiene-related diseases and daily indignity.
Open, unprotected pits also release methane and other harmful gases as waste decomposes.
Our initiative replaces these dangerous pits with sealed, concrete family toilets and provides safe water access. By containing human waste, the project prevents methane emissions, protects drinking water, and improves health and dignity. Families can safely use toilets at all times, flood risk is minimized, and children are no longer exposed to disease. These improvements also build a scalable model for other underserved communities, combining sanitation, climate mitigation, and social impact.

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The Nugedolawatta initiative directly empowers a highly underserved and climate-vulnerable community in Sri Lanka that has been displaced from rural livelihoods into a poorly supported resettlement area. These families once sustained themselves through agriculture, but now rely on unstable daily wage labor, increasing their economic and social vulnerability. Women and children are disproportionately affected—facing unsafe sanitation, lack of privacy, health risks, and limited access to basic services. Poor living conditions and isolation have also contributed to rising stress, inadequate maternal health support, and limited access to family planning services.

Our project restores dignity, safety, and health by providing secure sanitation and water access, directly improving the daily lives of women, children, and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities. It reduces exposure to disease, enhances safety, and supports better hygiene practices.

Within Kansarmen SL Foundation, women hold key leadership and operational roles, including board representation and project management. Additionally, our in-house construction team includes individuals from previously underserved communities, ensuring inclusive participation, local ownership, and long-term empowerment.