Adopt a village market

The Policy Development Office (PDO) of the Prime Minister's office is hosting a website about rural polas (village fairs). The pola or santhai is a weekly village market that plays an important role in rural life in Sri Lanka.

It is a meeting place for the community and also serves as the backbone of rural economies.

A sizeable amount of retail trade takes place at village fairs such as sales by primary producers and purchases of non-local products brought in by distributors. It is hoped that modernising and building capacity in village markets will boost rural economies throughout the island.

This website can be accessed via villagefair.pmoffice.gov.lk and provides a mechanism to link those who want to help develop Sri Lanka directly with village markets in need of essential infrastructure, especially in rural communities.

This initiative is about making it easy for donors to fund micro-projects in Sri Lanka, projects that will make a big impact on the lives of many.

The needs of individual village markets are also listed on the website. Village markets that receive funds are obligated to follow up on the progress of each micro-project. Photographs of the completed micro-projects will also be uploaded and details of the Matale and Colombo polas can also be viewed. For feedback and innovative concepts write to:

[email protected].