Wetlands are one of the most important and productive habitats on the planet as they provide a range of services to our ecosystem varying from water filtration, protection from storms, controlling of floods and recreation. The project undertaken by Eco Team was aimed at 10 urban wetlands approved by the SLLRDC was to identify these lands as National Wetland Conservation Areas, with the sole purpose of enhancing the quality of the eco-systems in the city itself.

In order to succeed in conserving these wetlands, it requires the collective effort of the surrounding residential communities. Therefore, through the application of the citizen science approach, we’re helping to educate the peripheral households and communities with the relevant knowledge to uplift the urban eco-system.

Our guests participating in this project will have the opportunity to meet locals following this lifestyle and have a glimpse of their daily lives while enjoying the wildlife of the surrounding urban wetlands. We’re proud to say that this project can also be converted into a more scientific or research based one as well as making this a great option for educational institutes to include this into their syllabus, because early education and prevention is always better than cure!

Dr. Priyan Perera - The Pangolin Expert

Dr. Priyan is a senior lecturer at the Department of Forestry & Environmental Sciences, University of Sri Jayawardenapura with several international publications on his work. He holds a PhD in Forestry and Masters’ Degree in Forestry and Environmental Management from the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA.

We caught up with Dr. Priyan on his research interests as well as some ongoing projects related to sustainable tourism, sustainable tourism planning in protected areas, biodiversity, environmental certification and forest certification – the former being very relative to our efforts at Eco Team for a sustainable future.

His most present research work focuses on recreational ecology, which is the scientific study of environmental impacts resulting from recreational activities in protected natural area and their biodiversity. Should our guests want to be involved in our ‘Pangolin Project’ he is the scientist they would meet to be part of this wonderful experience.

Among the oldest living traditions of Sri Lanka, the Kataragama Pada Yathra, or the foot pilgrimage of the devotees of Lord Kataramaga is one of the most well-known and observed traditions that has stood the test of time. The pilgrimage begins from Sri Sella Shanthi Temple of the northern premises and ends at the Kataragama shrine in the remote southeastern jungle as the pilgrimage is a tradition inherited from the island’s indigenous forest dwellers, known as the ‘Veddas’.

This pilgrimage which covers several hundred kilometers, and the pilgrims must leave behind everything except a bundle of essentials until the end of the pilgrimage to experience the homeless life of a beggar or homeless recluse, whilst simultaneously teaching the pilgrims about the paradoxes of life. This pilgrimage has played a major role in propagating the local traditions of Kataragama throughout the country and ever predates the arrival of the island’s four major religions.

Our guests travelling with us during this period will be able to witness and experience this beautiful spiritual event and attend a ceremony of blessings at the Kataragama Temple.

For a ‘Real Local Experience’ we take you to Dickwella; home of the traditional Bobbin Lace, locally known as ‘Beeralu Renda’ to meet the talented craftswomen who have been engaged in this industry for generations. The practice of beeralu lace weaving was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese, which has now grown to be a popular cottage industry as well as almost a locally originated industry because of the use of local motifs.

Local female artisans hand weave table cloths, table mats, bed sheet lining and other clothing items in complex designs such as trees, animals and flowers. To give our guests a true feel of the beautiful beeralu lace, the bed linen at our luxury bush walk camp “Ahaspokuna” also uses the items created by these women. For any guest who wishes to have a peek into this colonial era industry, we have designed an interesting experience to learn more about the process of lace making.

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Great Experience ..!! It's very hard to choose a favorite part.

We enjoyed all of it. The itinerary was very well planned with a lot of activities plus a little bit of downtime as well. All the hotels have been lovely and had a lot of character. The chauffeur guide was excellent, knowledgeable and accommodating especially with our regular requests to find somewhere to stop for short eats.

We would definitely recommend Sri Lanka as a destination for friends and family to visit.

Robyn Semple - Dower | UK
19th April 2018

Dr. Priyan Perera - The Pangolin Expert

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"Journeys" 33rd Edition May 2021

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