Something more than fishing
For generations, fishermen have made a living on Negombo lagoon by using traditional methods in tune with the environment and their pace of life. But times are rapidly changing, and many are now facing growing financial hardship and an uncertain future.
Step in local artist and businesswoman Indira Tibblin, who is determined to provide opportunities for fishermen’s wives and daughters to learn new skills in order to boost their family incomes.
Indira Tibblin
Indira, a Sri Lankan married to Swedish property entrepreneur Rolf, has created an arts-and-crafts workshop at their home on the western bank of the lagoon. There, 25 women from the nearby village of Thalahena hand paint and embroider greetings cards, cushions, fabrics and other beautiful artefacts inspired by traditional Sri Lankan folk art and design.
These are exported to places as far afield as Europe, Australia and the US, as well as being sold locally and throughout Sri Lanka’s many tourist hotspots. The workshop is part of a boutique hotel complex that the Tibblins are building beside their own home to cater for increasing numbers of overseas visitors seeking a relaxing lagoon-side holiday.
They also recently opened a shop, Indigo, beside the Arpico department store and supermarket in Negombo town, where they also hope to open a children’s arts-and-crafts learning centre. Says Indira: “I’ve always known that many fishing families struggle to make a living, so when I decided to create a crafts workshop I knew immediately where to turn.
“It has been amazingly successful, not only for us but also for the girls and women who have developed real skills as creative artists and craftswomen that they are now being paid to put to good use.” She is also actively helping the village fishermen themselves to learn and develop skills as carpenters, stone-masons and blacksmiths, all of which are trades that are employed by the Tibblins themselves as well as other local builders and property developers.
What Indira is doing is very much in tune with efforts by Western Province tourism and fishing minister Nimal Lanza to exploit the lagoon as an extension of the tourist-focused Hamilton Canal regeneration project. The historic British-built 14km canal runs due south from Negombo to Colombo, and is part of a more extensive project involving the old Dutch canal, coastal redevelopment, aquacultural activities and ecological initiatives.
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