One with nature & community amidst a Kandyan Forest Garden
Nel, Nihal and Remon admire a young Bulu tree that Nel planted in Bululand.
A forest is a haven, especially after a five-hour crawl along the traffic-infested road from Colombo to Digana.As we passed one dusty town centre after another, it was easy to believe Sri Lanka had become an urban island. But towards the end of the journey, after a sharp turn at the village of Wepathana, we changed vehicles at a forested nook. Aboard an open-backed 4WD, we rumbled to Polwaththa Eco Lodges where hot dinner and lodgings awaited. Not long after, I walked a muddy path by torchlight to an isolated cabana in a forest.
Left alone, I drank in the surrounding tangle of trees, shrubs and vines shrouded by darkness. Thoughts of the urban jungle and the vicissitudes of the COVID-19 pandemic gave way to delight in the crisp air scented with damp earth, wood and mulch, solitude serenaded by a thousand crickets. Sleep came easily that night, in the wood cabana, cool without fan.
Polwaththa Eco Lodge is no-frills with 13 cabanas spread out across a five-hectare property. The basics included a double bed, coat rack, torches, drinking water (with free refills in the restaurant),and a spacious room and bathroom with warm solar-heated shower and soap. Each room opens to a patio, with deck chair. Any missing amenities pale into insignificance at the sight of the luxurious Kandyan Forest Garden at your doorstep.
When proprietor Nihal Ellegala, a Trinitian from Kandy, inherited the property from his father in 1993, it was populated with coconut trees interspersed with fruit, medicinal and other indigenous forest trees and food plants. “The land conformed to the principles of Kandyan forest garden, an environmentally-friendly polyculture system compared to environmentally-harmful mono-culture systems.We left it alone because we didn’t want to disturb the environment,” Nihal said.
Instead, Nihal and his wife, Nel Kapteyn from Holland, and their son Remon planted more trees and let nature have her way. Some years later, the family built a home on the land, and in 2009, launched Polwaththa Eco Lodges with a single cabana.
The giving forest
Lofty views from the most remote Bululand cabana
Forest gardens have been around for millennia worldwide, possibly from an ancient past when man gathered edible plants in the jungle. Over time, this simple arrangement evolved into several agricultural systems, of which the forest garden system allowed man to work with the natural rhythms of the earth, introducing useful and edible plants in a mix that mimicked forest vegetation from ground up. Ecologically, this is the least invasive form of agriculture and low maintenance because its rich biodiversity is largely self-supporting.
The Kandyan forest garden is a centuries-old system native to the Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. It has the characteristics of a tropical rain forest, and includes a combination of different tree types such as forest trees, fruit and spice trees, vegetables and yams – to qualify as a Kandyan forest garden, this mix should provide food for a home.
Polwaththa has a rich mix of medicinal trees, fruit trees like orange and papaya, star fruit, grapefruit and banana and spice trees like cloves, and creepers like passion fruit, pepper, robusta and arabica coffee, and yams like manioc.It is home to wildlife species such as porcupine, barking deer, monkey, giant and flying squirrel and the wild boar with a taste for bread that came right up to the kitchen door for a bite. Nihal says the forest supports 62 species of birds including 17 of the 30-odd species endemic to Sri Lanka.
Maintaining a forest garden isn’t easy, says Remon. Deer and wild boar destroyed hundreds of saplings that Nihal planted until the family came up with a solution – protect the saplings with chicken mesh enclosures that the animals would not be able to break through. Keeping to world standards of sustainable tourism, Polwaththa works closely with neighbouring villages Wepathana and Gomagoda. Ten young men and women, 80 percent of the Lodge staff, are from these villages and from Digana. Handicrafts from the village are sold at the Polwaththa boutique and all groceries are purchased from stores within a radius of five km. Villagers are employed in building projects and consulted on new projects.While I was there, Nihal and some village youths tested a bulk fruit-drying device they had invented themselves: although the first attempt went up in flames, it is successful and four new drying units are being prepared.
Wood cabanas: Staying in cool comfort, surrounded by lush green
Twenty percent of Polwaththa’s profits are channelled back to the villagers through the local temple and school and used for local initiatives; for example, a road was repaired and a dam built for the village, and a group of women were helped to generate an income by sewing items to sell to tourists.
The Lodge’s rustic buildings complement its forest environment. “Our aim is to provide, besides an enjoyable holiday with a natural rural environment, an experience that uplifts the spirit rather than material comfort,” says Nihal.
The birth of Bululand
In 2016, the Ellegalla family went a little further. Nihal in partnership with Dutch agroforestry expert Henk Kieft, purchased a two-hectare plot of denuded forest in the neighbourhood.
“Nel was upset about the logging going on there for firewood,” said Nihal, adding that he was drawn to the land’s stunning lake view. Within three months, 300 new saplings, from large indigenous forest trees to wild flowering trees, fruit trees and coffee had been planted. Today, there are 550 new trees. These reforestation efforts have had 70 percent success, and a lush secondary forest is forming. Nel has named the plot Bululand, after a large bulu tree she loves.
To generate income for its upkeep, Nihal added a large outdoor yoga and meditation hall and built two more cabanas that would serve as solitary forest retreats on Bululand. One affords a spectacular view of Victoria Lake.
Importantly, Bululand led to the birth of the Forest Healing Foundation (FHF) of which Henk Kieft is President and Nihal is Secretary.A non-profit organisation, FHF seeks to protect threatened high-biodiversity forests, reforest barren lands and advocate for the value of forests.With Bululand serving as their showpiece, they would like to take their message across Sri Lanka.
Up until the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Polwaththa Eco Lodges registered an average of 60 percent occupancy, patronised by LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) travellers and nature lovers interested in community or rural life. Positive reviews have brought them Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence for four straight years up until 2019. However, business took a dive after the Easter bombings, and COVID-19 struck just as it was beginning to pick up again.
Yet during lockdown, FHF created educational resources for schools to help children reconnect with nature. Emma Marsden from England, programme coordinator of FHF, said that educational platforms and institutionshad been contacted online and schools will soon be visited.
This year, Polwaththa Eco Lodge also launched a new line of organic products, Eko Land Produce, with their own spices, and fruit such as jak, wild cinnamon, and vegetables, and spices and fruit purchased from the villages.Robusta and arabica coffee plants are aplenty, and Polwaththa have their own house coffee,Eko Land Produce coffee, a flavourful fusion of robusta and arabica that will soon be sold online.
It’s a simple, mindful existence here, says Nihal, adding he would like more Sri Lankans and expatriates to visit to experience the wholesome,rural way of life that strikes a healthy balance between community and environment.
Useful links
https://www.polwaththa-ecolodges.com/
https://www.foresthealingsrilanka.org/