Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3520-8111

Date Available

5-7-2026

Year of Publication

2024

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Geography

Advisor

Dr. Nari Senanayake

Abstract

Conserving water for irrigation of crops has become a concern in the dry zone of Sri Lanka due to changes in climate patterns. In response, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has developed climate-resilient water management projects designed to build climate-resilience and water management practices among farmers. One such program called ‘Wew Gam Pubuduwa’ disseminates climate smart home gardening techniques, where women farmers receive sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, seeds and fertilizers, as well as training on water management methods. This study draws on a feminist political ecology framework to analyze the experiences of women home gardeners who participate in the ‘Wew Gam Puduwa’ project in the area of Palugaswewa located in Habarana, Sri Lanka. By integrating qualitative interviews and mental mapping methods, I examine how these development projects reconfigure forms of social and ecological difference and resource and water access. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how the concepts of climate resilience and water conservation are made fuzzy, as a result of the project bringing together multiple conflicting goals and objectives. Further, I explain how development interventions have reinforced the commercialization agriculture and farmers’ integration into global commodity chains, while creating uneven water and resource access outcomes among farmers.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2024.94

Funding Information

1. Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, 2023

2. Food and Agriculture Specialty Group, American Association of Geographers, 2023

Available for download on Thursday, May 07, 2026

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