Eco tourism and cultural survival of money 

Eco-tourism

There were many people who were responsible for the creation of Ulpotha as it is today. In any movie there are many credits. Viren wanted to be the sole financier of the project and wanted the pace of development designed in order that it became affordable to him. Hence the long hiatus. He also wanted to own the property since he had no land of his own in Lanka. As for us we were not interested in ownership - we were mere custodians implementing a vision. Viren's task was to find the money. Ours was the dream. He became our partner on a design, build, operate and share the profit basis. Viren hardly visited Ulpotha in the first few years as he was too busy trying to keep Asia Capital, the new business Dirk, Rusi Captain, Thilan Wijesighe, and Asanga Seneviratne he had created, on track. However he gave us 'carte blanche' on implementing our vision - a vision we had carefully crafted over several years of discussion. Christo or Topi was dead but we had a team committed to these ideals.

The Team

Simpson commuted daily on a bicycle to Upotha a distance of three miles. He soon came to be called 'Simpson Bandara' mainly because he wore an 'ammudey'or loincloth to the wewa when he went for his daily bath. Simpson Bandara was the only visitor to Ulpotha who went completely native. 

Nirosha was in her late teens. She was from the village of Bamunakottuwa in Wayamba. Her mother was in the Middle East and Tennekoon was her surrogate father. Nirosha would later claim that Ulpotha was her creation. She became our star pupil, and is today in effect together with Tennekoon's son -in -law Ratnayake who joined us much later, the two people who make Ulpotha tick. Both Nirosha and Ratnayake are the first proven managers in the fast growing field of Eco-tourism. Asker Moosajee who visited Ulpotha told me later, "They are your real stars". Bordering the estate we had acquired lived Lionel Senanayake, a classmate of Tennekoon's and a close relation of Wanninayake. The whole place was riddled with incest and all sorts of relationships, which I could never unravel; however everybody was related. Naturally we were strangers from another village although we were all of the 'govi' kula or cultivation caste. This united us in spirit and culture. The Senanayakes were the locals who stayed back in the village when the others abandoned it. Senanayake's home became the first abode for Tennekoon and Nirosha who later decided to remain on the site. 

Our first undertaking was to restore the shrine to the God of Kataragama at the entrance to the property. I obtained a gift of four stone pillars from Udappu and this transformed the little mud structure into an impressive shrine. 

Our first hut designed and built at Ulpotha under the supervision of Tennekoon was a disaster. He had no sense of aesthetics and the little wattle and daub hut he built was more like a child's playhouse, however it served the purpose and he and Nirosha moved into Ulpotha within a month. With Tennekoon theorizing on what should be done and laying elaborate plans for the future and Viren attending to the business of Asia Capital with little or no time for Ulpotha, I was left to my own devices. I enjoyed this since I could seek the best skills based on experience. 

Asoka Ratwatte helped me in sourcing some of our experts. He obtained for us the assistance of one of Geoffrey Bawa's star pupils Channa Daswatte, who agreed to design the Walauwa not as a professional undertaking, but more as a gesture of goodwill to help us implement our dream. The layout of the house and the creation of the courtyard with the well in the centre, was entirely the genius of Channa. He also designed the pavilion or ambalama nearby and the charming outside kitchen. 

The second Ratwatte contribution was selecting the builders. They all came from around Lankatilleka in Kandy where Asoka lived. Gamini who became the head contractor came from a family that had for generations built and maintained the various traditional buildings in the region. The other Kandyan import was a stone craftsperson that was responsible for all the stone work.

Mud Architecture

Our first guest was a Canadian girl called Tricia who came to visit Brad. She stayed with us for three weeks and became a part of the community. She went back and wrote of her experience, which Brad used as an introduction to his web page. Nirosha's mother returned from the Middle East and took over the kitchen. Punchi a monkey became our mascot and everybody's darling. Everybody loved this creature we had rescued from the dogs when just a few days old. Slowly a team was forming and the legend growing. Tennekoon engaged many members of his family including his nephew Kapuru Banda (K.B) and son-in-law who were from a village thirty miles away into the project. Son-in-law Ratnayake was a doer not a talker and he became my supervisor, K.B. became our design consultant, and together with Nirosha they were in charge of all the work. Appuhamy, from the Samudra Cottage, who was getting on in years, was everybody's consultant, since his home was the model. Ulpotha was a work site from 1994 to 1997 with Kandyan craftspersons, village cultivators and resident guests adding to the population. Originally Ulpotha had only two families in residence, the Wanninayakes and Senanayakes. When we got there only the Senanayakes were there. Now there were over thirty people from Kandy to Nikaweratiya to Marseilles! 

Native Medicine

In 1983 with the architect the late Upali Karunaratne and his wife Susan, I embarked on a program to design and create the first Rest Cure Center in Sri Lanka in Koslanda. Professor Tuelly de Silva had introduced me to the Ayurvedic physician Dr.Gamini Wijeysinghe and we had undertaken a study to determine how Ayurvedic treatments could be introduced to tourists. We never implemented our report, but our dear friend Norman Impett who was ailing at the time, used the report to convince his friend, Sudana Rodrigo at the Barberyn Reef Hotel, to try out this experiment. Norman was given a free room and board and the implementation of our report commenced under Norman's guidance.The project was a great success and Barberyn became the first hotel to introduce this concept to Lanka. Today ayurveda has become one of the major contributors to the tourist dollar. As it was, our concept was yet to be understood, although Viren went along with our dream. In fact he constantly referred to it as '"Manik's dream" and later claimed that he had never read the project report. The other influences were Brigitte Singh and the colours of Jaipur in Rajasthan. I had gone to Jaipur as a guest of my dear American friend Rose who was married to Brigitte's brother Marc, and returned with an exhibition, which was mounted at the Barefoot Gallery called 'Mats and Moghuls'. We had a splendid collection of local reed mats and the exquisite fabrics of Brigitte, which I wanted Colombo to see. Brigitte was re-establishing standards in block printing in India and had created a niche for her work in several western capitals. As for the mats we purchased the very best from one woman in a border village. 

I also decided to incorporate these mats and fabric into Ulpotha. Brigitte had also introduced me to two natural colours used in painting homes in Jaipur. One was 'Geru' the colour that gives Jaipur its name as the 'pink city' and the other was the flower of the 'flame of the forest'. These colours would dominate the main house. Rajhu our artist friend from Kandy, helped us mix the colours and tried out the various combinations and shades and made his recommendations. We were determined that no chemical additives would be permitted.

The Salesman

I went with Giles to Jaipur on a shopping expedition in October 1997 having talked Ashley into designing the huts for the guests. Ashley gave us a superlative design of open Asanas as in Ritigala. We were now dashing to deliver since the first batch of guests was due in late December. This period was a nightmare. Money was short and we had to manage with what we had. It was raining, and building in mud in the rain was impractical. Too many opinions were being solicited and urban designs were entering the complex. Visitors were also causing concern since half of Colombo descended each weekend into what was actually a worksite - adding to the stress. Everybody now became a designer and every corny idea was being incorporated. Contractors left and new ones were hired. The atmosphere was rapidly being transformed. Our mascot the monkey Punchi was found dead, strangled by its own lead.

Moving on

'Cultural Survival' moved away from the giant film set we created, but some of the actors remain. A belated attempt was made to duplicate the Samudra Cottage from Ashley's original drawings, but without his supervision it was nowhere near the original. 

The 'God King' had the biggest set in the world in 1974! It was those we recruited and trained on this film that subsequently helped Chandran Rutnam make Sri Lanka a hub for Hollywood filmmakers working in the region. 

The local cinema, Lester had once described as the 'idiot child of south Indian cinema'. It was therefore imperative that standards improved. Co-production based on equity was my answer. It was also only possible if we obtained tax relief and incentives. We obtained both. When 'The God King' failed at the box-office I refused to accept defeat and went on to make 'Rampage' in 1978 with Richard Boyle, that to date is the only locally made English film that has been awarded four Presidential Awards. 

However our ignorance of film financing and marketing sealed our fate. Chandran's approach was different. When we met in Hollywood in 1980 he was planning 'Tarzan'. He wanted Lanka as a backdrop. He knew we had the locations and the skills. Hollywood had the plots and the producers, so he succeeded where we had failed. Similarly today it is those we recruited and trained who run Ulpotha, the first Eco-tourist facility in Sri Lanka. Ulpotha is their production. All we did was facilitate the link between the village and the city. 'Cultural Survival' had the original idea and the design; Viren found the money and Giles sold it. 

However, the dream changed with the entrance of commerce. To know the tradition - living the tradition became just another marketing phrase. Hype had entered the picture. Eco-tourism has come to stay but establishing standards and ideals is still a dream. Unless we learn from the past, and, from other people's experiences in other lands, we will repeat our mistakes. We must be competitive in a global economy as we enter a new millenium. 

With the growing interest in bio-diversity and the preservation of traditional lifestyles becoming a part of the global agenda it is essential that we present what is indigenous and unique in our own culture. 

As I mentioned earlier Bhutan is the best example. It was the late Sir James Goldsmith who pointed this out to me. He said, "They keep people out, and charge you the earth to get in. Once inside it is a time warp, and you did not mind the cost". With Eco-tourism and Cultural tourism as the new slogans, coupled with the declaration of more and more World Heritage Sites, we envisage the industrialization of every little nook and cranny that up to now has been protected through neglect.

Quality not quantity should be our barometer, and price only the consideration. 

Concluded.

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