The Loss of Identity: Development and Agriculture
The ecological impact of increasing energy input into a system has been well documented. In any ecosystem an increase in the flow of energy tends to organize and simplify that ecosystem, with…
Development
Can Sri Lanka propose a New Growth Paradigm?
The discussion on ‘ Economic Development’ as a national goal, must demonstrate a perspective strongly rooted in modern science. However, the goals of today suggest that our appreciation of the scientific method…
Climate Change, Food Security & Virtual Water an Asymmetric Threat to Sri Lanka
Image courtesy Mercy Corps Today, in an integrated and inter-dependent world, Sri Lanka does not have the leverage to reverse climate change but mitigate and adapt. Climate change is caused mostly by…
Accountability and Universal Values in Development
Photo courtesy World Bank Something is of universal value if it has the same value or worth for all, or almost all, people. This claim could mean two importantly different things. First,…
Longing and belonging series: Diaspora shorts
Editors note: . Over the coming week we’ll progressively upload Kannan’s short videos, so check back often. Finally, if you have a good broadband connection, we highly recommend that in the trailer…
Killing us slowly
When we ask the question, who uses pesticides? Followed by the question who promotes pesticides? It is relatively simple to see who gains and who looses by the promotion and use of…
Review of ‘Right of Way: A journey of resettlement’
I was delighted when asked to review . At the time of review, the publication was not in the public domain, and given what I had seen of Sharni’s previous work, I…
Can Rationalists Awaken the Sleep-walking Lankan Nation?
Assorted charlatans and religious zealots across the island of Sri Lanka must have heaved a collective sigh of relief when they heard that Dharmapala Senaratne was no more. He had made it…
Agricultural Madness
(Photo credit: Claude Dupuis, IDRC-CRDI) The current ‘development’ madness that affects agriculture also prevails over agricultural research and does not bode well for this nation. It begins with the fact that, young agricultural…
Quo Vadis, the Conga Line?
When Sri Lanka vied for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was a telling photograph taken at one of the bashes the regime threw in the Caribbean, the culminating event of a labour…
Packets of White Powder
Photo courtesy Arsenic and toxins found in baby rice food – what you need to know Suddenly, scores of packets of white powder began appearing in the homes of many farmers we were…
In conversation with Prof. Anil K Gupta: Grassroots innovation and development
Prof. Gupta teaches at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and was in Sri Lanka recently to deliver the first Ray Wijewardene Memorial lecture. Prof. Gupta is one of the world’s leading…
Extravagance veiled as National Pride: Brief analysis of Corrupt Public Expenditure in Sri Lanka
Lessons from China or Tunisia? Just few months ago, in response to a public outcry for more accountability and transparency in the use of public funds, the State Council, which is the…
Reconciliation – What is the Big Deal?
It looks like the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) took their job far more seriously than expected. Some stake holders in the Government who insisted that it is fully worth spending…
Colombo night races: Racy development in post-war Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan photographer Devaka Seneviratne has some of the best photos on the web on the recently concluded night races held in Colombo for the first time. While by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake is…