Back in March, we brought you the story of a unique initiative designed to prevent issues relating to the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in and around Wasgamuwa National Park. The staff and volunteers at The Great Elephant Project have carried on working hard, and as of March 31st, another momentous day took place!
For the second time this year, the team were able to harvest oranges to distribute to yet another buyer. With 260 kilograms of oranges being delivered to the Fruits and Vegetables Collection Centre of Cargills Ceylon Ltd in Tambuttegama, the harvested fruits will be resold through their Food City supermarket chain. 
The cultivation of orange trees is imperative: it has been proven that their very existence helps to alleviate human-elephant conflict, and the efforts of the project team are not going unnoticed. The more they harvest (and the quicker buyers recognise the importance of this work), the more feasible it becomes for local communities, farmers and elephants to co-exist in a conflict-free environment.
Volunteers Jasmin and Alice have had the incredible opportunity to work with the farmers directly on the project, speaking about their experiences below:
Alice – “I had a very fun and interesting day picking ele-friendly oranges with the team. I enjoyed visiting the local farms and meeting great people. It was amazing to see how the hard work and commitment from all the farmers and the staff involved with the project is paying off!”
Jasmin – “I was so excited to be one of the first volunteers to help harvest oranges with this initiative. It was great to meet the farmers who are benefitting from the project and see how successful the project is so far. I hope the results encourage more farmers to get involved.”
With targets still in place, the team aims to plant 50,000 orange trees to create a solid deterrent to discourage elephants from raiding village homes and communities. This will help to provide a steady supply of oranges to buyers throughout the year, which in turn will guarantee a sustainable income for the farmers but with the ultimate (and unique) goal of decreasing human-elephant conflict in the area.
So if you are inspired and would like to support this genius enterprise, why not consider volunteering on The Great Elephant Project today? You could experience the incredible orange network firsthand – head to our project page now, and don’t forget that you could save 15% when you travel between the 16th of April and the 27th of August 2018!
