A main source of livelihood of the villagers in the area is the production of jaggery, a crude local sugar. The sugar so made is sold in weekly markets and shops of the area. Juggery is a basic ingredients in many traditional Sri Lanaka sweets and there is a ready market for this product all over the island. The sap needed for the manufacture of jugger is obtained from tapping the infloresence of the kitul palm (Caryota urens).

Tapping of the Kitul palm (Caryota urens)

This is a common sight witnessed in sinharaja where villagers carry pots full of sap tapped from  the inflorescence of locally known "KITHUL TREE" Caryota urens - family Palmae. Fermentation of the sap produce an alcoholic beverage. The unfermented sap when concentrated by heating forms a thick syrup which is relished as treacle (PENI) by Sri Lankans. Treacle in turn produces JAGGERY (Hakuru) crystallized brown sugar. These two products fetch very attractive prices thus making a livelihood of the local people. sinharaja jaggery is well known all over Sri Lanka.

                           Although the palm is not deliberately planted by the villagers, seedlings which come up naturally in home gardens from seeds brought in by animals are tended and looked after. The villagers tap trees found in their gardens or those growing in the forest. Tapping of trees within the forest is controlled by the Forest Department and only a limited number of permits are issued to the villagers. Another source of income for the villagers is the manufacture of of baskets and other woven products made of wewal (rattan) and bambo (Calamus ovoideus), C. zeylanicus, C. digitatus, and Ochlandra stridula). This has long been a traditional village occupation.

                           The villagers also exploits other plants products. Leaves, fruits, seeds and mushrooms are sources of food for the villager as are the fish and animals. The fuel used by the villagers for cooking, making jaggery ect. is firewood gathered from the forest and the surrounding scrub. although many trees species are used for this purpose, there is a marked perference for the wood of Hedawaka (Chaetocarpus castanocarpus and C. coreaceus). The villager also collects and sells products from a number of other plants. Dried cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) for example is a spice sold at a very high price. Resinous exudates from Nawada (Shorea stipularis) and other Shorea species are sold as fumigating agents. Another resin, from the trunk of Kekuna (Canarium Zeylanicum) is used both as a gun and a water proofing agent. Numerous plants used in the native "ayurvedic" system of medicine are also collected and sold by the villager ; of particular significance is the stem of Weniwel (Coscinium fernestratum) used by most Sri Lanka as an antidote for tetanus. The slender stems of a number of trees such as those of the Keena (Calophyllum) species are used in the construction of ladders and as handles for agricultural and domestic utensils. Even lianes, such as Bandura (Nepenthes distillatoria), Pattikka (Artabotrys zeylanicus) and Mala labu (Cissus acumintus) are used form circular footholds on the kitul palms, to facilitate climbing. Timber for house construction is also obtained from trees in and around the Reserve.

	Weniwel (Coscinium fernestratum)
Wild cardamomum  (Elettaria cardamomum)
A rare orchid of medical value "Wanaraja" Anoectochilus setaceus

Insect trapper - (Nepenthes distillatoria)              The "Pitcher Plant" locally known as BANDURA, family Nepenthaceae is a creeper on shrubs and treelets. The leaf tip modified to form an elongated sac (a pitcher) filled with a liquid while traps insects to be digested by the plant. The thickened stem of the plant is used for tying, in the construction of wattle and daub houses and ladders by the natives. Usually grow along forest margins and disturbed sites.

	Brilliantly coloured fruits of an epiphte (Freycinatia walkeri)
	A primitive grass with sticky seeds (Leptaspis cochleata)

In order to supplement the produce of his home garden, the Sinharaja villager also engages in the age-old practice of chena (slash and burn) cultivation. From earliest times, this has been the method by while Sri Lankans have cleared the forest so that permanent human settlements could be established. In the Sinharaja, the vegetation is usually cut down in December, and the cleared vegetation fired in February-early March. By March, crops are sown, to be harvested in late August.

                            One non-agricultural but commercially motivated activity found in the Sinharaja region is that of gemming. This too seems to have been a traditional pastime for as far back as 1873 scientists who visited the Sinharaja complained of the numerous gem pits that scarred the land in and around the forest. In the past, gemming was a sporadic activity carried out by villagers. Today, however, though gemming is forbidden in the Reserve, it is carried out by organized gangs employed by gem-dealers.

                             Although recent studies indicate that the villagers do not depend on the Sinharaja as a primary source of income, the fact remains that to the villager the forest is an easily accessible storehouse of wealth awaiting exploitation. Most of the people living in the region are poor and often have large families. Their level of education too is low. In addition, employment opportunities e.g. in industrial enterprises are very limited in the region. Tourism is confined to visits by naturalists or bird-enthusiasts, and hence does not provide much employment for the villager. It is therefore not surprising that the village views the forest as something that belongs to him, a place which could give him some sort of livelihood. Thus, although activities such as chena cultivation and gemming are ecologically destructive practices, the claims the villager has to the forest are legitimate and cannot be ignored. Any conservation plan for the forest therefore would necessarily have to take into account the needs and wants of the people of the region.