The villages are anxious to get back to fishing and earn their livelihood. How ever they do not have the resources to replace the damaged boats. None of the boats had been insured. Some Friends of Barberyn expressed the desire to help the fisher folk to return to gainful employment by replacing the damaged boats.

The Barberyn Management thus undertook discussions with the owners of the damaged boats, the Fisheries Department officials, the Provincial Council and boat builders. Barberyn staff and some of the guests who were interested in the boat project also went to the Kapparatota landing area with the fishermen to verify their needs.

There is currently a scarcity of boat building capacity in Sri Lanka due to the Tsunami crisis. The demand for new boats is such that it has become a sellers market. We are optimistic of firming up the construction / purchase of several one-day boats and engines and will post the progress on this web site.