Matara is situated in the south of Sri Lanka.. It is another city which was devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Its population is about eight hundred thousand. The coastal belt extends to a length of nearly 55 kilometers. The people who live in it are less educated and because of this factor the unemployment rate is fairly high. Most families are engaged in fishing and the coir industry. 

Small Fishers Federation of Lanka began its activities in 1994 with the intention of helping the poor. Firstly the Federation had to inculcate the savings habit among the women whom they were dealing with the initial saving was only Rs 40 (less than a dollar) a month.