May 22, 2023

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: April 2023 Results

In this blog post we introduce the February 2023 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. Read the full report in PDF here and our February 2023 report here.

  • Access to food keeps on improving and diarists’ financial stress levels reduced compared to February
  • One-third of the diarists report that their incomes keep on decreasing
  • Similar to the past several months, the rising prices of food items is still a top concern

Have you had difficulties finding food in shops near you in the past week?

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Healthcare)

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?

Inflow and outflow of households (Dec '21-Dec '22)

Food expenses ratio (Dec '21-Dec '22)

March 28, 2023

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: February 2023 Results

In this blog post we introduce the February 2023 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. Read the full report in PDF here and our December 2022 report here.

  • Foods return in shops, but diarists’ financial stress levels are returning to similar levels of August ‘22
  • Diarists’ income keep on decreasing with more than half reporting that their income has decreased from January
  • Rising prices of food items is still a top concern

Have you had difficulties finding food in shops near you in the past week?

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Healthcare)

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?

Inflow and outflow of households (Dec '21-Nov'22)

Food expenses ratio (Dec '21-Nov '22)

February 6, 2023

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: December 2022 Results

In this blog post we introduce the December 2022 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. Read the full report in PDF here and our October 2022 report here.

  • Same as last month, though less diarists have difficulties accessing food, the rising prices of food is still a top concern
  • Diarists’ income keep on decreasing with more than half reporting that their income has decreased from November
  • In general, diarists’ financial stress levels are getting better compared to October

Have you had difficulties finding food in shops near you in the past week?

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Healthcare)

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?

Inflow and outflow of households (Dec '21-Sep '22)

Food expenses ratio (Dec '21-Sep '22)

December 2, 2022

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: October 2022 Results

In this blog post we introduce the October 2022 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. This time, we included brief report on a voucher distribution program we did this September. Read the full report in PDF here and our August 2022 report here.

  • Majority of the diarists are still stressed
  • Less and less diarists have difficulties in accessing food, but the rising prices of food items is still a major concern
  • Diarists’ income keep on decreasing, as almost half report their income has decreased from September

Have you had difficulties finding food in shops near you in the past week?

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Healthcare)

How did your  income / your partner’s income change in the past month?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?


  • We distributed food vouchers to all diarists as a token of our appreciation for their participation in the project, with the help of the Sejaya and Sparkwinn teams
  • Each voucher was worth 5000 LKR
  • Recipients were able to use the vouchers at Cargills stores, a supermarket chain in Sri Lanka

After receiving the voucher, when did you use it?*

*data was collected 2 weeks after distribution

What did you use it for?

October 13, 2022

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: August 2022 Results

In this blog post we introduce the August 2022 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. This time, we included an interview we did with one of the diarists. Read the full report in PDF here and our July 2022 report here.

Overall, there was an improvement in stress levels and access to food and healthcare, but people are still experiencing continuous decrease in income. 

  • Majority of the diarists are still stressed, but stress levels are now more scattered
  • 56.7% have difficulties in accessing food - an improvement from July’s 69.4%
  • Food spending ratio continues to increase
  • Diarists’ income keep on decreasing, as more than half report their income has decreased from July
  • However, less people had to source funds (18.9%) compared to July (31.6%)

Have you had difficulties in accessing food during the last week?

Is there change in income you / your partner earned in the last 2 weeks compared to a month ago?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Food spending ratio in households (Dec '21-Jun '22)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Health)

Is there change in income you / your partner earned in last 2 week compared to a month ago?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?

Inflow and outflow of households (Dec ‘21-May ‘22)


Interview with a Diarist

We interviewed a woman in her 30s who lives in Walakumbura, Narammala. She lives with her husband and three children (12yo, 3yo, 2mo). Her source of income is her husband who works as a driver.

During her pregnancy, she had lots of difficulties due to her husband not having work. There were times where her family only ate rice and sambol, and had to eat one meal to cover both lunch and dinner. She used to receive food stamps, but the program has been halted. 

Compared to the previous 2 months, her financial situation has slightly improved because her husband is now able to find work and receive a better salary. She was not able to buy clothes for her two elder children in the past 6 months. But now, she is able to do so.

There are still minor issues due to inflation and the fuel crisis. She says, "My husband gives me Rs 25,000 for household expenses for the month. I somehow stretch that money for two months but with the baby, I cannot stretch it that far. It’s very difficult...I am wondering how we will be able to bear all these expenses". She stopped buying snacks for the children, and had to reduce spending on milk. Before the crisis, she always had fish and meat stocked, but now she has only been able to buy meat once this month. 

September 9, 2022

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: July 2022 Results

In this blog post we introduce the July 2022 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. Read the full report in PDF here and our June 2022 report here.

Overall, there was an improvement in access to food and healthcare, but people are still experiencing continuous income decrease and are tapping into different sources of funds to cope with this situation.

  • Majority of the diarists feel high levels of stress
  • 69.4% have difficulties in accessing food - an improvement from June’s 86%
  • 69.4% claim that their income decreased and more people (31.6%) had to source funds compared to June (27%)
  • Food spending ratio in households continues to increase

Have you had difficulties in accessing food during the last week?

Is there change in income you / your partner earned in the last 2 weeks compared to a month ago?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source funds in the last 2 weeks?

On a scale of 1-10 where 1 = Not stressed at all and 10 = Very stressed, how stressed are you in the past two weeks financially?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Food)

Food spending ratio in households (Dec '21-May '22)

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks? (Health)

Is there change in income you / your partner earned in last 2 week compared to month ago?

Can you tell us whether you experienced any instance where you had to source fund from a financial institution or from a friend / neighbor in last 2 weeks?

What at this right moment, is the worst aspect of the crisis for you and your family?

Inflow and outflow of households (Dec ‘21-May ‘22)

  • The spike in April is due to the New Year, which inevitably demands an increase in income
  • The financial inflow also increased in April to meet the spendings
  • Inflation has led to an overall trend of increased expenditure
  • To support each other's finances, financial outflow (lendings and repayments) also increased

August 19, 2022

Gojo’s Sri Lanka Financial Diaries Tracking Survey: June 2022 Results

In this blog post we introduce the June 2022 tracking survey results of Gojo's Sri Lanka Financial Diaries project. Read the full report in PDF here.

In 2021 October, Gojo started a Financial Diary project in Sri Lanka. We collect daily inflows and outflows of 100 households in Sri Lanka which gives us a lot of rich insights about the financial situation of the households, including their income sources, major spending, financial transactions such as loans and savings etc.

Given the recent political and economic instability of the country, we have decided to take monthly surveys with the diarists to understand how the crisis is impacting each of the households. Here's what we found:

  • 80% of the diarists feel high level of stress, while 77% feel mentally unsafe
  • 99% had to cut down on food spendings
  • 29% are purchasing less medicine due to financial reasons
  • 83% claim their income has decreased compared to last month
  • 27% borrowed money, mainly from neighbours to meet daily needs

How much stress did you feel financially in the last 2 weeks?

The reasons of stress include a rapid increase in commodity price, loss of job, and lack of money to meet basic needs.

Did you feel mentally or physically unsafe in the last 2 weeks?

Reasons include children crying because of hunger, inability to procure necessary medicines, and mental breakdowns due to struggle.

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks (Food)?

Did you face any of the below situations in the last 2 weeks (Healthcare)?

Is there change in income you/your partner earned in the last 2 weeks compares to a month ago?

Reasons include the lack of resources to conduct jobs, daily wage work being unavailable, and inability to find jobs.

Did you borrow money from someone in the last 2 weeks?

Those who answered "Yes" mainly borrowed money from their neighbours to buy essentials, meanwhile those who answered "No" either already have other loans to pay or can't find anyone who is willing to lend.

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