Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Mohamed Moosin, originally from Kandy district, sells cotton candy in the street in Kokuvil, Jaffna district, Sri Lanka. Moosin says he has been in the business for 17 years.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Alahuraj Thayalan saws a coconut tree trunk into planks in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Thayalan sells the wood for roofing material.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Ranjithraj Nishakaran advertises the magazine Siriththiran with a promotion team in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The magazine, which was relaunched in January 2021, was founded in 1963 and circulated for 32 years before its offices were burned down during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Esariyan Jeromiyas grinds iron to make a window frame in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Jeromiyas, a salaried employee at the workshop, commutes 30 kilometers (19 miles) each day.

Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka

Kunarasa Dilaxan combines cement and sand to make stones for building material in Cheddikulam, Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Young workers like Dilaxon used to travel to other districts for work, but they now stay close to home as coronavirus cases rise.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Family members of the founders of the Periya Thambiran temple make dumplings, or modak, as an offering to commemorate the day the temple was built in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Many people usually attend the celebration, but this year, only family members were present due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Murugan Jeevaratnam hammers wood to make kitchen shelves in Inuvil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Jeevaratnam, 73, has been working as a carpenter for 45 years and says now that he’s older, he earns his salary by doing easier work.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Manuvel Mahenthiran prepares a field to sow paddy in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Farmland is allocated once a year to members of farmers’ organizations registered with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Kanakalingam Govardhanan clears the grass around Karaikal Sivan Temple in Inuvil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. As a service, Govardhanan, a bus driver, has cleaned the temple's perimeter every day since the government imposed a travel restriction during the coronavirus pandemic.

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Kamardheen Sithysameena and Kaleel Ramshiya sow black grain seeds in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. Black grain is a profitable option for farmers because Sri Lanka restricts imports of the crop.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Arumugam Tharumaraja makes small earthenware lamps in Thirunelvely, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Tharumaraja says exporting his pottery has been limited due to COVID-19, so he has started making lamps for a lights festival in November.

Kathiravelu Loganathan throws a fishing net near the Ponnalai Bridge in Karainagar, Sri Lanka. Fishermen like Loganathan will catch fish in the evenings to sell on the beach and bring home to their families.

Malikaithidal, Mannar district, Sri Lanka

Thirunavukarasu Lalithakala uses a fan to clean rice, which allows the grains to fall to the ground, in Malikaithidal, Mannar district, Sri Lanka. This process, called winnowing, allows flakes and dust to be discarded in the wind.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Sathiyananthan Amirthambigai, right, pours ghee and grains into a fire during a yajna, a Hindu ritual, as priests look on at the Sekarasasekara Pillaiyar Temple in Inu, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The yajna is performed in the name of Ganapati Omam for the welfare of the village and to protect its people from the effects of the coronavirus.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Muthiah Kuganeswaran weaves a box made of palm leaves in the Kokkuvil area of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Kuganeswaran, who has been in business for more than 40 years, says there is a labor shortage for making palm boxes, which are used for agricultural and domestic purposes.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Ramalingam Manoharan welds a curved iron roof for a well in Manipay, a town in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Manoharan has worked with iron for the past four years, and he earns between 1,500 and 2,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($8 to $10) per day.

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Vigneswaran Vidushan collects beets from a gardener in Inuvil, a village in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He’ll transport the beets to an outer district market for 80 Sri Lankan rupees (40 cents) per bag.

Mannar, Sri Lanka

Seltan Maristala, 10, sells vegetables to her brother Seltan Mariyaruban, 12, at MN/Adampan R.C.T.M.S., a school in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. The school hosts a market once a year to strengthen the students’ math, prediction, and discussion skills. They encourage parents and the community to participate.

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Sundaram Baladevan plows the soil at a tobacco planation in Inuvil, a village in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Egrets, a type of heron, wait to eat the earthworms and insects he uncovers.

Inuvil, Sri Lanka

Ursup Mohmad Savul Hameadh sells toys outside temples in Inuvil, Jaffna district, Sri Lanka. “There is no place in Sri Lanka where I have not set foot on,” he says. “I go wherever temple festivals take place.”

Adampan, Sri Lanka

Samathu Mohamathu Muharsin spreads fertilizer and pesticides on his paddy crop in Adampan, Mannar district, Sri Lanka.

Sornapuri, Sri Lanka

Farmers Anthonipillai Asaippillai, left, and Sebamalai Dilsan clean an irrigation canal in Sornapuri, a village in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district. The volunteers remove grasses and shrubs when they begin to block the canal, which transports water from Kattukarai, the area’s largest reservoir.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Kanthiah Pusparaja makes a flower garland to sell for personal and religious occasions in the city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Pusparaja has been selling garlands since he was 7 years old.

Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka

Ravichanthiran Nalayini makes household items with palm leaves at her home in Cheddikulam, a town in Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya district. Her palm leaf products include boxes, string-hopper trays, winnows, mats and sacrificial trays.