{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140846"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/140846","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Indigenous women's experiences and responses to climate change: insights from Sri Lanka","abstract":"This thesis aims to advance the understanding of how Indigenous women experience and respond to climate change impacts using Sri Lanka as a case study. Indigenous communities face unique challenges in the face of climate change impacts due to geographic location, historical, and other local factors which threaten their food and livelihood systems. Locally specific climate change adaptation measures are crucial to increase resilience and minimize vulnerability of Indigenous communities to climate change. Scholarly research has studied the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples around the world, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the challenges Indigenous women face when experiencing and responding to climate change impacts. This study aims to examine how Sri Lankan Indigenous women experience climate change impacts and how they respond. The three research questions this study seeks to address include: 1) What are the ways Vedda women experience climate change impacts? 2) What are the ways Vedda women respond to climate change impacts? 3) What are the limits and barriers to adapt to climate change for Vedda women? Building on existing research partnerships with four Indigenous Vedda communities in Sri Lanka, I used semi-structured interviews and journaling as data collection methods. Findings for how Vedda women experience climate change include, a reduction of home garden yields due to drought conditions, and various health impacts such as heat rashes due to prolonged droughts and changes in rainfall patterns. Vedda women's responses to climate impacts include shifting crop varieties, buying store-bought foods, and engaging in collective livelihood management strategies. Limits for Vedda women to adapt include government, financial, and social/cultural factors. This study will help close the gap to understand the specific challenges and vulnerabilities Indigenous women in Sri Lanka face to help build support networks and inform policy at the local and global level.","abstract_html":"This thesis aims to advance the understanding of how Indigenous women experience and respond to climate change impacts using Sri Lanka as a case study. Indigenous communities face unique challenges in the face of climate change impacts due to geographic location, historical, and other local factors which threaten their food and livelihood systems. Locally specific climate change adaptation measures are crucial to increase resilience and minimize vulnerability of Indigenous communities to climate change. Scholarly research has studied the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples around the world, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the challenges Indigenous women face when experiencing and responding to climate change impacts. This study aims to examine how Sri Lankan Indigenous women experience climate change impacts and how they respond. The three research questions this study seeks to address include: 1) What are the ways Vedda women experience climate change impacts? 2) What are the ways Vedda women respond to climate change impacts? 3) What are the limits and barriers to adapt to climate change for Vedda women? Building on existing research partnerships with four Indigenous Vedda communities in Sri Lanka, I used semi-structured interviews and journaling as data collection methods. Findings for how Vedda women experience climate change include, a reduction of home garden yields due to drought conditions, and various health impacts such as heat rashes due to prolonged droughts and changes in rainfall patterns. Vedda women's responses to climate impacts include shifting crop varieties, buying store-bought foods, and engaging in collective livelihood management strategies. Limits for Vedda women to adapt include government, financial, and social/cultural factors. This study will help close the gap to understand the specific challenges and vulnerabilities Indigenous women in Sri Lanka face to help build support networks and inform policy at the local and global level.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Garbutt, Hannah Elizabeth"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Geography","degree_department":"Geography","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Galappaththi, Eranga"],"committee_members":["Crawford, Thomas Wall","Bell, Shannon Elizabeth"],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-01-15","date_published":"2026-01-15","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:37Z","subjects":["climate change","gender","adaptation","intersectionality","limits"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:45580"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:45580","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140846","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Galappaththi, Eranga"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Crawford, Thomas Wall","Bell, Shannon Elizabeth"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Geography"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Garbutt, Hannah Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-01-16T09:01:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-01-16T09:01:16Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-01-15"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Geography"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["climate change","gender","adaptation","intersectionality","limits"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:45580"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140846"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis aims to advance the understanding of how Indigenous women experience and respond to climate change impacts using Sri Lanka as a case study. Indigenous communities face unique challenges in the face of climate change impacts due to geographic location, historical, and other local factors which threaten their food and livelihood systems. Locally specific climate change adaptation measures are crucial to increase resilience and minimize vulnerability of Indigenous communities to climate change. Scholarly research has studied the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples around the world, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the challenges Indigenous women face when experiencing and responding to climate change impacts. This study aims to examine how Sri Lankan Indigenous women experience climate change impacts and how they respond. The three research questions this study seeks to address include: 1) What are the ways Vedda women experience climate change impacts? 2) What are the ways Vedda women respond to climate change impacts? 3) What are the limits and barriers to adapt to climate change for Vedda women? Building on existing research partnerships with four Indigenous Vedda communities in Sri Lanka, I used semi-structured interviews and journaling as data collection methods. Findings for how Vedda women experience climate change include, a reduction of home garden yields due to drought conditions, and various health impacts such as heat rashes due to prolonged droughts and changes in rainfall patterns. Vedda women's responses to climate impacts include shifting crop varieties, buying store-bought foods, and engaging in collective livelihood management strategies. Limits for Vedda women to adapt include government, financial, and social/cultural factors. This study will help close the gap to understand the specific challenges and vulnerabilities Indigenous women in Sri Lanka face to help build support networks and inform policy at the local and global level."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["My research focuses on understanding how Indigenous women's lives are being impacted by changes in the climate. Indigenous communities around the world are facing the impacts of climate change which threaten their food and livelihood security. Women within these communities face specific challenges that are not well understood. Studies have been completed around the world focusing on Indigenous communities and climate adaptation in locations such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, yet Indigenous 'Vedda' peoples in Sri Lanka have been understudied, specifically, Vedda women. This study aims to provide a better understanding of how Indigenous women in Sri Lanka experience and respond to the impacts of climate change. I did this by exploring the following questions: 1) How does climate change impact the lives of Indigenous women? 2) How are Indigenous women responding to the changes? 3) What response limits are making responding to climate change difficult for Indigenous women? I worked with four local Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka to gain insight to their experiences through interviews and journaling field observations. This project found that \"Vedda\" women maintain home gardens to increase food security, and they are experiencing smaller harvests which are increasing existing food and water insecurity. I also identified specific response limits women face when trying to overcome the challenges the changing climate is imposing onto them. These limits were linked to gender norms within the communities, local government policy procedures, and financial constraints. The overall goal of this research is to help address the specific struggles Indigenous Vedda women face in Sri Lanka to create support systems and policies that meet local needs and inform policy that accurately represents and gives autonomy to Indigenous peoples."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Indigenous women's experiences and responses to climate change: insights from Sri Lanka"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Galappaththi, Eranga"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Crawford, Thomas Wall","Bell, Shannon Elizabeth"],"dc:contributor.department":["Geography"],"dc:creator":["Garbutt, Hannah Elizabeth"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-01-16T09:01:16Z"],"dc:date.available":["2026-01-16T09:01:16Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-01-15"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis aims to advance the understanding of how Indigenous women experience and respond to climate change impacts using Sri Lanka as a case study. Indigenous communities face unique challenges in the face of climate change impacts due to geographic location, historical, and other local factors which threaten their food and livelihood systems. Locally specific climate change adaptation measures are crucial to increase resilience and minimize vulnerability of Indigenous communities to climate change. Scholarly research has studied the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples around the world, yet there is a lack of knowledge about the challenges Indigenous women face when experiencing and responding to climate change impacts. This study aims to examine how Sri Lankan Indigenous women experience climate change impacts and how they respond. The three research questions this study seeks to address include: 1) What are the ways Vedda women experience climate change impacts? 2) What are the ways Vedda women respond to climate change impacts? 3) What are the limits and barriers to adapt to climate change for Vedda women? Building on existing research partnerships with four Indigenous Vedda communities in Sri Lanka, I used semi-structured interviews and journaling as data collection methods. Findings for how Vedda women experience climate change include, a reduction of home garden yields due to drought conditions, and various health impacts such as heat rashes due to prolonged droughts and changes in rainfall patterns. Vedda women's responses to climate impacts include shifting crop varieties, buying store-bought foods, and engaging in collective livelihood management strategies. Limits for Vedda women to adapt include government, financial, and social/cultural factors. This study will help close the gap to understand the specific challenges and vulnerabilities Indigenous women in Sri Lanka face to help build support networks and inform policy at the local and global level."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["My research focuses on understanding how Indigenous women's lives are being impacted by changes in the climate. Indigenous communities around the world are facing the impacts of climate change which threaten their food and livelihood security. Women within these communities face specific challenges that are not well understood. Studies have been completed around the world focusing on Indigenous communities and climate adaptation in locations such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, yet Indigenous 'Vedda' peoples in Sri Lanka have been understudied, specifically, Vedda women. This study aims to provide a better understanding of how Indigenous women in Sri Lanka experience and respond to the impacts of climate change. I did this by exploring the following questions: 1) How does climate change impact the lives of Indigenous women? 2) How are Indigenous women responding to the changes? 3) What response limits are making responding to climate change difficult for Indigenous women? I worked with four local Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka to gain insight to their experiences through interviews and journaling field observations. This project found that \"Vedda\" women maintain home gardens to increase food security, and they are experiencing smaller harvests which are increasing existing food and water insecurity. I also identified specific response limits women face when trying to overcome the challenges the changing climate is imposing onto them. These limits were linked to gender norms within the communities, local government policy procedures, and financial constraints. The overall goal of this research is to help address the specific struggles Indigenous Vedda women face in Sri Lanka to create support systems and policies that meet local needs and inform policy that accurately represents and gives autonomy to Indigenous peoples."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:45580"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/140846"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["climate change","gender","adaptation","intersectionality","limits"],"dc:title":["Indigenous women's experiences and responses to climate change: insights from Sri Lanka"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Geography"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:37Z"}