Tropicoir launches new factory in the North
View(s):Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake, Ministry Secretary J.A. Ranjith, Chairman of Coconut Development Authority Mr. Udaya Ranasinghe and other officials recently declared open Premier Tech Lanka Pvt. Ltd in Palai, 6 km north of Kilinochchi.
Tree planting ceremony.
It is a company under the umbrella of Tropicoir Lanka Pvt Ltd providing employment to nearly 300 direct and indirect employees in the area, the company said in a media release.
The opening was followed by a coconut tree planting campaign which involves planting 100,000 coconut plants around Sri Lanka by 2021, of which the company has already completed the planting of over 25,000 plants. They were given to the company’s organising team members, suppliers, schools, two Army camps and one Air Force Base, etc. In addition, Tropicoir owns plant nurseries to cater to this requirement, equipped with over 15,000 plants at any given time.
The long-term aim of the project is ensuring sustainability of the coconut industry which while helping to clean the air, absorbs carbon, creates shade and provides food and shelter. That’s just the short list of the many benefits of coconut trees. Tropicoir believes that by increasing the coconut plantation area in the island, it can effectively compensate for the loss of forest cover and help restore ecological balance.
“This project is quite unique. Our team members on the ground are working with local communities to help them move beyond their usual farming, getting the participation of the people living in the area is a major aspect of the project. Overall, this project engages with several different communities. For the most recent planting, a total of seven communities were involved, each comprising between 100 and 500 families.
In some cases, communities who were previously in conflict over political and economic issues are coming together under a common goal – restoring their shared local environment,” the release said.
Communities are also receiving tree management training, and many can share their knowledge of the long-term impacts of sustainable agricultural practices with their communities and promote sustainable ways to manage the trees to cultivate both economic and environmental sustainability.
Dinesh Fernando – Managing Director, Tropicoir Lanka Pvt Ltd, said: “The success of Tropicoir is attributed to our commitment in brand quality and fervent pursuit of quality products for customers. Being a leading coconut-based products manufacturing and exporting company in Sri Lanka catering to the international market, we are also committed to be a responsible corporate to the society by inculcating the value of our inherited 1000 years of cultural legacy of Sri Lanka, and to uphold the continuing pursuit of the culture, values and lifestyle of our people.”