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.

Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Subban Thyagaraja paints cement pottery at his home workshop in Vavuniya, a city in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Industries like Thyagaraja’s are seeing a gradual increase in business since they were shut down due to the coronavirus.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Cleopas Sivakumari and her son, Cleopas Mayuran, 13, collect sea snails to include in their curry dinner in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. In the evenings, local women often collect sea snails to eat and sell.

Kalviyankadu, Sri Lanka

From left, Iyaththurai Sajeeban, 18; Jeral Nishanthan Ninujan, 18; and Selvaratnam Puvikaran, 27, decorate pots in Kalviyankadu, a village in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. The pots are for Thai Pongal, a Hindu harvest festival celebrated in January.

Adampan, Mannar, Sri Lanka

Nasurulla Mohmed Nafras repairs a phone at his shop in Adampan, a city in Sri Lanka’s Mannar district.

Cheddikulam, Sri Lanka

Chandran Sasikaran, left, and Tharmalingam Thileepan construct wire cages for the framework of a new shop in Cheddikulam, a small town in Sri Lanka’s Vavuniya province.

Vavuniya, Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Thilainathan Thavanesan, left, and Arumugam Rajeevan carve black granite into Hindu deities at a workshop in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka. Thavanesan, the shop’s owner, says he receives orders for sculptures from all over Sri Lanka. “Making the idols is an orthodox task, and the proper moral practice – such as eating vegetarian food – needs to be followed,” he says.

Kondavil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Gunaseelan Santhini, left, and Tharumaraja Suhanthini plant onion seedlings in a garden in Kondavil, a suburb north of the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna. For over seven years, they have planted onions to improve their family income. They earn 700 Sri Lankan rupees ($3.77) daily.

Udvil, Sri Lanka

Veerakathi Navaraththinam wraps cucumbers in palmyra leaves at his garden in Uduvil, a village near Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Farmers harvest cucumbers from March to August and place them in these leaves for sale.

Karaikal, Jaffna, Sri Lanka

From left, Navaneethan Yavinsan, 11, Anandarasa Anandavisahan, 11, Sinharasa Siyanth, 17, and Chandran Kisanth, 12, fly a homemade kite in Karaikal, a village in Jaffna district, Sri Lanka. They say that since evening classes were canceled due to the coronavirus, they spend their leisure time flying kites.