While many people have stepped up on numerous occasions, advocating for a climate-friendly lifestyle is not easy to transition to. In terms of food, the lack of vegan options, having to eat food that doesn’t taste as good, and the significant expenses may deter people from a vegan lifestyle. This is not just a vacuum in the market, but a gaping hole in our communities that restricts choices for those who choose to put the environment first. 

SLYCAN Trust recently announced the appointment of Dulanga Witharanage as Country Director: Sri Lanka for the EthicalX: Climate & Innovation Hub, a pioneering initiative dedicated to fostering ethical, sustainable, and climate-friendly entrepreneurship. The appointment is effective as of 1 April 2024.

As a developing tropical island country with a significant percentage of the population engaged in agriculture, Sri Lanka is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as well as to compound and cascading risks. Approximately 26.5% of Sri Lanka’s workforce is employed in the agriculture sector, predominantly in rural and estate areas. Paddy crops play a central role in Sri Lanka’s food systems, and a total of more than 1,25 million hectares of paddy was cultivated in 2022 across all districts and both the major (Maha) and minor (Yala) season. (Department of Census and Statistics, 2023)