In the village of Skandapuram in Kilinochchi, mornings begin early.

Before sunrise, Vimalasekara Mary Emalin Jenita would already be tending to her cattle, managing household responsibilities, and trying to stretch a modest and uncertain income to meet the needs of her family. Life was built around persistence and hard work, yet financial security often felt out of reach.
 

For years, small-scale cattle rearing was her family’s primary source of income. While it provided occasional earnings, the income was irregular and vulnerable to changing conditions. Unexpected expenses, fluctuating prices, and limited opportunities for expansion made it difficult to plan ahead.

Like many rural women in the region, Ms. Jenita carried significant responsibilities within the household, but had limited access to financial knowledge, savings mechanisms, or formal planning tools that could help strengthen her livelihood.

“There were times when we managed day by day,” she recalls. “We worked hard, but there was little stability.”

A turning point came when Ms. Jenita participated in a climate finance literacy training under the UNDP Climate Finance Network (CFN) initiative, a flagship UNDP initiative funded by the UK Government through the FCDO CARA Programme, to strengthen resilience and financial skills among smallholder farming communities.

While she had already established a 20-perch home garden equipped with a sprinkler irrigation system, the training served as the true catalyst for her transformation. 

For the first time, she began maintaining records of income and expenses related to her farming activities. She learned the importance of regular savings, financial planning, and reinvestment.

“Earlier, we never wrote down what we earned or spent,” she explains. “Now I keep records and plan carefully before making decisions.”

The practice of saving, once difficult under unstable income conditions, has now become part of her routine. With greater financial awareness came greater confidence not only in managing her livelihood, but also in making decisions within the household.

Armed with new budgeting and financial planning skills, Ms. Jenita was empowered to look beyond basic subsistence, strategically managing her consistent vegetable harvests to turn her home garden into a thriving, income generating business.

As her contribution to household income steadily increased, family dynamics also began to shift. Her husband now actively supports her livelihood activities, recognizing the growing value of her work and investments. Ms. Jenita describes feeling more independent and more involved in financial and household decision-making than ever before.

The programme also introduced concepts she had not considered including such as agricultural and livestock insurance. Before participating in the training, she associated insurance mainly with life or general household coverage. Learning about livestock insurance and risk protection mechanisms opened a new perspective on safeguarding her livelihood investments.

She now hopes to insure her animals to protect against unexpected losses and sees insurance as an important part of long-term financial security.

The impact of these changes can be seen clearly within the household itself.

Milk and eggs produced through her livelihood activities contribute directly to family nutrition, while improved income has strengthened the household’s ability to manage daily expenses and future needs more confidently.

Encouraged by her progress, Ms. Jenita now plans to further expand her livestock and poultry activities while continuing to strengthen her savings and improve her business through better planning and investment.

Her journey reflects more than economic improvement.

It is the story of a rural woman gradually transforming uncertainty into opportunity building resilience not through a single intervention, but through knowledge, confidence, and the ability to make informed decisions about her future.

In communities like Skandapuram, where women often carry the weight of both household and livelihood responsibilities, stories like Ms. Jenita’s demonstrate how access to climate-smart agriculture, financial literacy, and targeted support can create lasting change.

Today, Vimalasekara Mary Emalin Jenita stands not only as a farmer, but as a confident rural entrepreneur shaping a more secure and resilient future for her family and community.

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About the UNDP Climate Finance Network
The UNDP Climate Finance Network (CFN) supports Asia-Pacific countries bridge the gap between climate goals and the investment needed to reach them. As a regional platform, CFN provides technical and policy support to integrate climate into public finance, mobilize private and innovative capital, and create the enabling environment required for lasting impact through regional knowledge exchange and peer learning. Learn more at https://go.undp.org/climate-finance-network