The increase in tea small holdings in the area, illicit logging, gemming, and poaching, soil erosion and pollution is seen to cause a severe threat to the task of forest conservation. With the setting up of this small project site, Mahausakande is expected to take up the custodial functions for the Bambaragala Mookalana, on a voluntary basis.

The village community in the neighborhood is dependent on gemming, farming, involving subsistence (i.e. paddy cultivation) and commercial agriculture (i.e. tea and rubber). Gemming for precious stones has been a traditional past time and more of a gamble rather than an income generating activity. Most of them earn an income through sale of tea leaf and tapping rubber latex on estates belonging to absentee landlords.

Rainforests provide a range of resources and ecosystem services that support local communities, such as food, fuel, medicine, and building materials.

To conserve both communities and rainforests, we take a holistic and integrated approach that recognizes the interdependence of these ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

Below are few examples of how we have and still are engaged with the community over the years.