Projects

Sri Lanka’s post-COVID poly-crisis, which was marked by economic recession, governance failures, and long-standing inequalities, deepened poverty, hunger, and vulnerability, disproportionately affecting women, especially in Uva and Central Provinces. 

One in six Sri Lankans is multidimensionally poor, with rural and estate communities among the hardest hit. Women in the districts of Central and Uva Provinces are confronted with economic shocks, the double burden of paid and unpaid work, rising living costs, limited access to finance and resources, and exclusion from decision-making. Many remain trapped in subsistence livelihoods, informal work, or low-skilled micro-enterprises, constrained by structural, policy, and social barriers. Female smallholder producers and women-led CSOs operate in isolation, facing bureaucratic hurdles, weak institutional support, safety concerns, and unequal opportunities. Government agencies also struggle with limited capacity and service delivery. These interconnected challenges highlight the urgent need for systemic, inclusive interventions to empower women and youth, strengthen CSOs, improve access to resources and markets, and break cycles of poverty and marginalisation.

The RISE project, also known as 'Strengthening Women and Civil Society Engagement to Combat Poverty and Hunger in Sri Lanka, ' is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Germany, with CARE Deutschland e.V. as a key partner. In Sri Lanka, Chrysalis leads the implementation of this initiative, which aims to reduce poverty and food insecurity through women’s leadership and collective action. The project empowers women farmers with climate-smart agricultural training, supports them to form cooperatives for better market access, and strengthens links to vital social safety nets. Beyond livelihoods, RISE creates spaces for women and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to collaborate with local authorities in addressing hunger and broader socioeconomic challenges — building resilient, self-reliant rural communities that can withstand crises and thrive sustainably.

The project addresses these structural challenges by empowering women, strengthening CSOs, improving market access, and promoting systemic change for poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods.