The Yard Skatepark Polhena

Raphael Amsler is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

THE YARD Skatepark is a non-profit community project. By the people for the people. We aim to build a skatepark for the local surf- and skate scene in Polhena, Sri Lanka.

But first, we need your help!

About the project

The surfing community in the south of Sri Lanka is growing very fast. Madiha and Polhena's Surf Club & Junior Surf Club already include around 50 members, making it one of Sri Lanka's largest surf communities. The members are committed to a sportive, healthy activity, and we want to support them.

To understand the urge of our project, you first need to know something about the situation on the south coast of Sri Lanka:

Unemployment is a big issue here, and due to boredom, many young people tend to drown their problems in alcohol.
Surfing is not accessible for most local kids because they lack swimming skills and can't afford to buy surf equipment.
The primary surf season around Polhena and Madiha only runs from November to April, and there are no waves to be surfed the rest of the year.
Right now, the only possibilities for skating are highly frequent roads or a supermarket parking lot. The next skatepark is too far away for the kids to get there on foot, and they don't have skateboards or surf skates.

With your help and the support of our sponsors, we can offer an accessible and safe skate spot that helps the next generation to improve their surfing and give them an alternative to spending their time in a fun and active community.

Where we are right now

For more than three years, we have been in contact with politicians and private landowners to find suitable and affordable land. We almost gave up until a few months back a Polhena resident offered us a part of his yard. We settled for a 10-year rental agreement.

We have already started planning the structure and calculated all the costs with a professional skatepark builder. Here is what we came up with:

Now it's time to kick off the fundraiser and finally start building. And this is where we need your help.

How can you help

Donate money
Donate equipment: If you can’t afford to support us financially, we’re also delighted to take the skate equipment you don’t need anymore. So if you have any old boards, trucks, bearings, wheels or protective gear, you can drop or ship it to one of our partners. For more information, please get in touch with us directly on Instagram or via E-Mail.
Donate your voice: Spread the word, follow us on social media and tell all your friends and family about the project.

Construction and material costs

We want to give you an idea about the current prices and how your donation helps to reach our goal:

One cbm of C35 concrete costs around EUR 150.-. We need almost 40 cbm or EUR 6000.- in total.
Almost EUR 2000.- we have to spend on small and big gravel stones.
Plywood and scantling will cost us around EUR 500.-
The labour costs for experienced workers for the full construction period is around EUR 1500.-, including Rice & Curry Lunch! ;-)
Other costs like working equipment, galvanised iron for the copings, rebars and mesh, etc., are not explicitly mentioned but included in the total costs of EUR 15´000.-

About us

We are a group of Sri Lankans and foreign residents living in Madiha and Polhena. And we are in love with surfing and skateboarding. To share this love, we made it our mission to create a community project for everybody, bring people together and create an impact for future generations.