Kayankerni is a relatively small rural community in eastern Sri Lanka. The area was heavily impacted by the Sri Lankan civil conflict and also by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami resulting in relatively lower economic development and household income. The total population in the Kayankerni Grama Niladhari (GN) Division is 1297 individuals belonging to 422 families. Many people still engage in a traditional way of life and depend on the sea or the land for their livelihood. Despite being a more traditional and conservative part of the country 90 of the total 422 families are headed by women. The local school BT/Kayankerny Saraswathy Vidyalayam provides education from primary to Advanced Level and currently has 378 students and 26 teachers. It was originally started in 1953 by Benjamin Fernando and was called the Roman Catholic Tamil School.
Fishing is the main livelihood activity for coastal communities in the area and many fishers are engaged in small-scale artisanal fisheries using traditional non motorised crafts and fibreglass boats with outboard engines. Fishing is mostly in coastal waters within 5km of the shore. Target species tend to vary depending on seasonal abundance and fishing grounds are also significantly dependent on weather conditions that impact access to fishing grounds. The main fishing gear types used in the area are drift gill nets, bottom nets, hand lines, bottom long lines, and traditional fish traps. Target species include a variety of reef fish such as groupers, emperors, and snappers, small pelagics such as sardines and herrings, and larger pelagic species such as trevally, barracuda, kingfish and Spanish mackerel, as well as invertebrates such as squid and cuttlefish. There are also fisheries for sea cucumbers, chanks (Turbinella pyrum), and marine ornamental fish, all of which are hand collected by divers.
Other livelihood activities include agriculture, mainly the cultivation of rice and the rearing of cattle for dairy production. However, agriculture is heavily impacted by the lack of water for year round crop cultivation. Small cottage industries are also prevalent and contribute to household income. Many people, especially women, are engaged in fish processing and trading, including the production of dried fish. Tourism is seen as a potential new source of economic opportunity for many people in the area.