By Hiranthi Fernando

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Back to tradition
By Hiranthi Fernando

Tucked away on 80 acres of naturally regenerated forest in rural Koslanda, a new concept in eco-tourism is in the making. The site for the Koslanda Living Heritage Reserve is located in a sylvan setting, with farming villages nearby and two streams meeting in a picturesque waterfall.

This is the country's first Sustainable Development Zone being created in the upper watershed of the Kuda Oya. The goal is to conserve indigenous lifestyles while promoting them as a source of economic development.

An Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by K.H.J. Wijeyadasa, Advisor on Sustainable Development appointed a Steering Committee for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the proposed Sustainable Development Zone (SDZ) at Koslanda. Representatives of several ministries and agencies as well as the Living Heritage Trust, a local NGO that promotes ecologically sustainable development throughout Sri Lanka form the committee. "We are revaluing traditional lifestyles of the villagers to regain the quality associated with the name Sri Lanka," says Manik Sandrasagra, Chairman of the Living Heritage Trust. The Trust plans to empower local villagers while protecting their traditional institutions, intellectual property and genetic resources like rare strains of native rice.

At the site in Koslanda, the first stage of the project is underway. A small band of villagers from the nearby village of Kalipanawela is constructing the first building on the site, the Vedagedera, under the directions of site manager Chandrasiri Perera.

The Living Heritage reserve at Koslanda will include a 'Gurugama' or elders' teaching community, where village elders and teachers will train young people in traditional lore. The Reserve will generate income by providing accommodation in comfortable villas to a maximum of 24 paying guests.

"This initiative combines traditional agriculture, environment and hospitality to attract a high value niche market of foreign visitors seeking an authentic experience of serendipity. Revenue from the guests would subsidize related programmes like the Gurugama," Mr. Sandrasagra explains.

A private sector BOI company, Heritage Reserves Pvt. Ltd., is building the first Living Heritage Reserve. The Gurugama is being set up with the participation of the Tourist Board, to teach village youth to recognize their culture and heritage. Twenty four young people will be selected for training each year. It is intended to be a sort of village based rural university teaching traditional culture and its practical applications in day to day living, so that the youth could enhance their potential for employment in this or other eco-tourism ventures.

A socio-economic study has been done listing the skills available in the area. The skills of the villagers would be used in the Reserve. Construction will be by village craftsmen, Mr. Sandrasagra said. Several village families have already been employed on the Reserve.

Sudu Banda, 62, is employed in the construction. He has lived in the village of Kalipanawela, in Koslanda, all his life. There are about 110 families in the village, Sudu Banda said, mostly farmers. When they have time away from their fields, they also take on work outside the village, to supplement their income. "We are happy about this project," Sudu Banda said, but expressed scepticism about the organic farming. "They are asking us to cultivate without using pesticides. For vegetables in particular, we have to use them," he said.

"Our idea is to cultivate varieties of paddy that have strong resistant seeds, without using pesticides," Chandrasiri Perera said. He explained that five grams of seed, each of six good varieties of rice were brought by Mr. Sandrasagra from India to be propagated at Koslanda.

Chandrasiri, who is the owner of the land is committed to the success of the project. A survey found that the farmers in the village earn an average of Rs. 40 per day and if this project is successful they can earn much more, he says.

P.A. Gunasekera, works on the construction site as carpenter and mason, while his wife Dayawathie, daughter Kusumawathie and son Wijesiri are all working at the Reserve. Kusumawathie, who has completed her GCE O/L, handles the accounts, while she and Dayawathie do the cooking. Wijesiri cares for the nursery plants. Several varieties of plants such as mahogany, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, durian, jak and kumbuk, have been planted in polythene bags to be put down on the Reserve. "I am happy about this project because there is an opportunity for the villagers to progress," said Gunasekera.

Mr. Sandrasagra explained that historically, rice was an inherent part of life in Sri Lanka. The Atuwa or rice storage house was the centre of a family's prosperity. Each region had its own special kind of rice.

As time passed, most of the non-genetically modified seeds of traditional varieties of rice were wiped out by high yielding miracle brands. Studies have shown that brown rice, widely consumed in Sri Lanka, is most nutritious. Today, the adverse effects of pesticides and an increased awareness of the health risks have created a greater interest in organic and traditionally cultivated produce, particularly in the world market.

"Our aim to set up a Living Heritage rice certification programme with students from Gurugama playing a vital role," Mr. Sandrasagra said. This programme intends to reintroduce the cultivation of traditional varieties of rice and resurrect traditional methods of agriculture. Living Heritage Trust has sourced several varieties of traditional rice, which have been preserved from genetic modification.

"By giving local farmers living adjacent to the Gurugama, the incentive to cultivate using traditional methods, we will preserve the fast vanishing varieties of rice that are inherent to Sri Lankan villages." At the Koslanda site, a large atuwa or rice store has been constructed in wood to store the excess organically cultivated paddy purchased from the farmers.

If this project succeeds, Mr. Wijeyadasa said, it could be replicated in many other fields.

Back to tradition By Hiranthi Fernando

Back to tradition
By Hiranthi Fernando