SRI LANKA/ REUTERS/Carlos Barria Sri Lankan fishermen wait to catch fish as they sit atop stilts in Ahangama, 180km (112 miles) south of Colombo, October 8, 2009. Stilt fishing is a traditional means of earning a livelihood in the area and each stilt is a prized possession handed down from generation to generation. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (SRI LANKA ANIMALS)

If you are ever traveling through the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka you might see a strange sight: fishermen sitting on stilts.

Fishing in the region used to be done from rocks jutting out of the sea, but as more and more fishermen took to the waters, there just wasn’t enough room for everyone. According to lore, stilt fishing was invented by some savvy fishermen in the Galle region of Sri Lanka just after World War II as a way to enable more people to fish.

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[Via: World Hum]