Tropical Agroecology 191 FARMING LIKE THE FOREST Traditional Home Garden Systems in Sri Lanka Karin Hochegger Tropical Agroecology 191 ILEIA P.O. Box 64 ILEIA 3830 AB LEUSDEN S85(, 3'jlS? The Netherlands Tel. 033 - 494 30 86 l5/lll33 *1*1$ I Hoc. jr* Karin Hochegger FARMING LIKE THE FOREST Traditional Home Garden Systems in Sri Lanka Drawings by Shanta Jayaweera liYir N/U Margraf Verlag zi2ôb\ç> Österreichische ~~ Entwicklungszusammenarbeit The publication of this book was kindly supported by the Austrian Development Cooperation, Wien. Their valuable contribution is acknowledged with thanks. Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Hochegger, Karin: Farming like the forest : traditional home garden systems in Sri Lanka / Karin Hochegger. Drawings by Shanta Jayaweera.- Weikersheim : Margraf, 1998 (Tropical agroecology ; 9) ISBN 3-8236-1293-X Layout: Karin Hochegger Drawings: Shanta Jayaweera Andreas Zinggl (Fig. 3.30, Fig. 3.31, Fig. 3.32) Cover photo: View of a typical forest garden (gewatta), Kandy District: harvested rice fields in the foreground into a home garden with ceremonial decoration of coconut palm leaves (Karin Hochegger) Printing and binding: f.u.t. müllerbader GmbH Filderstadt, Germany © Margraf Verlag, 1998 Margraf Verlag RO. Box 1205 97985 Weikersheim Germany Tropical Agroecology I9I ISBN 3-8236-1293-X CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Acknowledgement Preface PART 1 1. The Idea of Nature within the Context of a Tropical Island 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Sacred Groves - The First Sanctuaries 1.2.1. Mihintale 1.2.2. Adams Peak, Sri Pada, The Sacred Moutain of Sri Lanka 1.3. The Position ofForests throughout the History of Sri Lanka 1.3.1. Udawattekelä, an Example of a Forbidden Forest. 1.4. Living with the Forest - The Gewatta System 1.5. Rituals, Myths and Beliefs Connected with Nature 1.5.1. Devas 1.5.2 .Demons 1.5.3. Planet Gods 1.5.4. Worship of Trees 1.5.5. Flower Offerings 1.6. Conclusion PART 2 2.1. Precolonial Agriculture 2.1.1. Introduction 2.1.2. Important Components of Precolonial Agriculture 2.2. The Shift to the Wet Zone 2.2.1. General Features of Precolonial Agriculture 2.3. Colonial Period and Western Influence 2.3.1. Introduction 2.3.2. The First Contact with the West, the Portuguese Period 2.3.3. The Dutch Period 2.3.4. The Arrival of the British 2.3.5. Development of Plantation Agriculture 2.4. Postcolonial Development 2.4.1. Introduction 2.4.2. Characteristics of Postcolonial Agriculture PART 3 3.1. Study Area 3.1.1. Introduction 3.1.2. Natural Vegetation 3.1.3. Land Use 3.2. Selection Criteria for the Study Area 3.3. Methodology 3.3.1. Floristic Survey 3.3.2. Farmers Survey 3.3.3. Structural Features of the Gewatta System 3.4. The Indigenous Village Homegarden "Gewatta" 55 3.4.1. Introduction 55 3.4.2. Description of the Gewatta System 57 3.5. The Floristic Composition of the Gewatta System 60 3.5.1. Introduction 60 3.5.2. Taxonomie Composition of the Gewatta System 61 3.5.3. Trees 63 3.5.4. Shrubs 80 3.5.5. Climbers 85 3.5.6. Undergrowth 88 3.5.7. Species Diversity of the Gewatta System 94 3.6. Ethnobotany of the Gewatta System 97 3.6.1 Introduction 97 3.6.2. Wood-Uses 97 3.6.3. Food-Uses 101 3.6.4. Cash Crops 104 3.6.5. Plant Materials for Different Uses 107 3.6.6. Plants Used for Religious and Cultural Purposes 109 3.6.7 Plants Used for the Structural Formation of the Garden 110 3.6.8. Yields and Management of the Gewatta System 112 3.7. Structural Features of the Gewatta System 115 3.7.1. Introduction 115 3.7.2. An Investigation of the Structure of one Specific Gewatta 115 3.7.3. General Structural Features of the Gewatta System 116 3.7.4. Girth Class Distribution 122 3.7.5. A Comparison of the Gewatta System and Udawattekelä Forest 124 3.7.6. Density and Basal Area 127 3.7.7. Dominant Tree Species 128 3.8. Comparison of the Different Areas Investigated 130 3.8.1. Group 1. Traditional Kandyan Forestgarden 131 3.8.2. Group 2. Small Holder Gewatta of Remote Areas 135 3.8.3. Group 3. Intensified Gewatta 138 3.9. Outline 141 3.9.1 Are the Farmers Satisfied with the Gewatta System? 144 3.10. A Forest-Like Habitat for Animals 146 3.11. Farming Like the Forest - The Nutrient Cycle of the Gewatta System 150 3.11.1. Introduction 150 3.11.2. Location and Characterization of the Chosen Sites 151 3.11.3. General Results Describing the Ecological Features of the Nutrient Cycle 153 3.11.4. Conclusion 163 3.12. The Gewatta - A Remnant of the Past or a Hopeful Model for the Future ? 164 Appendix Different Uses of Homegarden Plants 169 List of Bird Species found in the Gewatta Sytem 193 Literature 197 List of Figures: PART 1: Plumeria flowers Figure 1.1. White flowers of jasmine PART 2: Map of Sri Lanka F igure 2.1. The elephant (Elephas maxiumus) Figure 2.2. Traditional landscape pattern PART 3: The Gewatta System Figure 3.1. Rainfall and monsun pattern in Sri Lanka after Domrös (DOMRös 1969). Figure 3.2. After DE SILVA 1981, Sri Lanka in the late twenthieth century Figure 3.3. The gewatta form a green forest-like belt above the paddy fields Figure 3.4. Jak tree and jakfruit Figure 3 .5. Coconut palm and its fruits Figure 3.6. Mango tree and its fruits Figure 3.7. Betel nut palm and betel nut Figure 3.8. Kitul palm and traditional tapping instruments Figure 3.9. Flower buds of the clove tree Figure 3.10. Breadfruit Figure 3.11. Breadfruit tree Figure 3 .12. Fruits and flower of the banana Figure 3.13. Coffee fruits Figure 3.14. Leaf and fruit of pepper Figure 3.15. Betel leaf Figure 3 .16. Cardiospermum halicacarbum Figure 3.17. Yam (Colocasia esculenta) Figure 3.18. Centella asiatica Figure 3.19. Typical undergrowth of the gewatta system Figure 3.20. Myristicafragans, fruit in longitudinal section Figure 3.22. Distribution of canopy species Figure 3.23. Stratification of tree species and individuals in different areas Figure 3.24. Profile diagram, Arambegama Figure 3.25. Profile diagram, Pilimatalawe Figure 3 .26. Ground plan of a traditional gewatta of 5000 m2 Figure 3.27. Girth class distribution of different areas Figure 3.28. Structural features of Udawattekelä forest Figure 3.29. Comparison of the structural features of the different sites investigated Figure 3.30. Economic cycle of a traditional gewatta Figure 3.31. Economic cycle under pressure of the market-economy Figure 3 .32. Economic cycle of a gewatta with additional income Figure 3.33. Southern Magpie Robin Figure 3.34. A simplified model of the nutrient cycle of the gewatta system Figure 3.35. Distribution of N and C for the different sites investigated Figure 3.36. Distribution of fineroot biomass Figure 3.37. Soil fauna has an important role in the nutrient cycle Figure 3 .38. Litter input in terms of quantity and nutrient content List of Tables: Table 3.1. Firewood consumpiton of three farms near Kandy Table 3.2. Important timber and fuel species Table 3.3. Important food species and some of their multipurpose uses Table 3.5. Plants for structural uses Table 3.6. Yields of three different gewatta systems in one year Table 3.7. Input of labour end energy per year Table 3.8. Distribution of species and individuals in different hightclasses Table 3.9. Plots and basal area of the different study sites Table 3.10. IVI Index Table 3.11. Geographic features and species diversity of the gewatta system in the different study sites Table 3.11. Distribution of bird and plant species in selected homegardens Table 3.12. Nutrient content of different soil profiles, in g/m2 of 50 cm mineral soil (MS), humus layer (Ao) and total (sum) Table 3.13. Mean value of pH (H20) and pH (Cacl2) of the sites Table 3.14. The mean value of fine litter input in g DM I m2 / year Table 3.15. Total fine litterfall in t / ha Table 3.16. Effect of land use on soil erosion Table 3.17. Products mainly used for sale in the different areas investigated FOREWORD The world driven to be 'developed' is racing to 'produce more through the process of identifying a few species that will help to achieve the required 'increments'. This exercise has resulted in the past and is perpetuated in the present, with an even greater impetus by creating extensive plantation land areas with single species. This is the mainstay of the human needs, be it food, timber or industry. The resulting effort has caused untold hardships to mother-earth, which its most destructive inhabitant - man - seems to accept as inevitable and a price to pay for development. Among these were a few mavericks who realized that the path taken would inevitably result in a conflict of interest. They sounded the warnings, which were laughed upon by many, they watched the sane practices slowly fade away. During the last 30 years we have seen how this conflict has unfolded itself gradually and has today become a concern- if not the major concern. Searching among the traditional time tested practices has been one way of seeking remedies for the resolution of the conflict. It is here that the importance of the "gewatta" comes into play.