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5 Dec 2024
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Description
This was created as a result of my childhood dream to live by a beautiful waterstream.
It took me 10 long years to find the suitable location to fulfil my conditions. Part of
It was an abandoned rubber land I kept spending all my savings to build avoiding the jungle area, without cutting the forest. Transport was a major challenge in 2007. It was initially not intended for business. Later on I realised that inorder to maintain the place in a Rainforest I had to earn. So ended up building 3 chalets.
My family-I have two sons, both are married and live separately. My husband passed away sometime ago. I manage the place myself, which is not my permanent residence. I'm retired from permanent work. Have worked for GTZ, American Redcross as Adviser , American company as Training Manager, also in the public sector. I changed my field from engineering to HRD after 20 years.
My passion is to empower/ develop people to contribute to sustainable development.
The mission is to protect the rich biodiversity clean water in the village that is neglected. For that,
I'm regenerating the Rainforest in our 4 acre land .Only want to entertain guests, only who are Nature lovers who would not disturb the valuable native plants and birds, fresh water and the healing energy in the premises.
The very remote village we are located is rich in biodiversity ,surrounded by a beautiful river Kukuleganga,with many waterfalls, and two streams flowing through medicated plants bordering the land. I'm into eco tourism trying to market and develop the property.
Ours is a small place with maximum occupancy of 10. I can accommodate upto 2 volunteers at one time.
We try to give experiences to our guests to go back to basics.
We have trained a few villagers for cleaning maintenance work. For cooking and extra work we hire women from village as an when required.
Access- 80 k.m from Colombo.Buses available upto 2 k.m. away. For the rough village 2km Road, a tuk tuk, or a jeep can be hired.
We serve the village community through the following activities : CSR
Re- foresting, creating awareness among villagers and empowering women thro marketable skills.Train children to be future leaders for sustainable development.
Impart knowledge and skills for English, biodovetsity .Started a small library for the village kids.
We also conducted sewing, art classes, Health camps, Livelihood and Life skills training for the children of the village.
Our location is unique, with healing energy from two bordering water streams the native medicinal plants and trees and is ideal for Forest Bathing, relaxing, birdwatching meditation, village experience etc.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Sri Lanka always offers the travellers the same traditional attractions, the beaches, ruins, temples, tea plantations, botanical gardens etc. On the contrary
We are blessed to be located so close to some of the best attractions, World heritage sites,in SL, which are off the beaten track. There are many hidden waterfalls, trekking routes, historical places and other less known attractions close to us.
Can get involved in our community work.
You will have free lodging, Brunch,dinner tea in exchange for your skills, with an experience of Sri Lankan rural village life. In addition , for those interested in plants that heal, endemic trees, fish, birds biodiversity Rainforest is an ideal learning ground. There are many hikes to waterfalls and space is also near
Pahiyangala caves( Fahian cave) where pre historic man lived, over 50,000 years ago.
Can walk to a Buddhist meditation center close to our retreat and you can benefit from silent meditation as well. Also experience the healing energy and pure medicated water flowing in the land and surrounding.Bird watching and hikes to hydro projects Can, Village organic farm. Can learn about authentic food, and Sri Lankan food preparation, medicinal plants used in Aurveda, tea plucking, rubber and Kitul tapping and village customs. Preparation of Kitul treacle and jaggery and pure kitul toddy from the kitul sap, can be experienced.
Making your own herbal shampoo/ conditioner is another possibility.
Help
At present, I am looking for persons with maintenance skills and help in some other areas like Social marketing, Influnencer, Forest bathing instructors,permaculture, healing tools (yoga, meditation, Reiki) & possibly sustainable tourism and biodiversity related work. A person/s with creative Carpentry skills, Electrical wiring, Simple Water purification and plumbing will be very much desired these days. Travellers, Explorers hikers with interest in less travelled areas are also desirable. If allergic to leeches then the Rainforest will not be suitable during these rainy season.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Shala room (adjacent the common space/shala). Picture of the room allocated for volunteers is given.
In addition we have separate chalets for guests, who respect and care for nature. Maximum occupancy is 10.
This is also to help a few selected village families to experience mixing with foreign nationalities and to motivate kids to talk in English.( I'm working with the government to convert this village to Eco tourism and protect the rare fauna flora.)
So far all workways enjoyed staying a few days in my home, to gain a different experience.
If they wish, a different experience in a home with a big garden, about 38k.m. from Colombo
I can also accommodate a few days in my home in Bandaragama. It is a village not too rural . The main work in Bandaragama is gardening and IT related. The attractions in Kalutara can be reached easily from Bandaragama.( Richmond Castle, Bawa Gardens, a few ancient Temples etc.)
Access to Colombo and main Highway terminal is easy from Bandaragama.
What else ...
Buddhist Meditation center. Makeliella waterfall, 4 waterfalls on kukule river, Natural Hikes, Pahiyangala caves (Unesco world heritage), Singharaja Forest, The only wet zone swamp forest in Sri Lanka (Walawwatta swamp forest). Research and photography, painting on Rainforest, birds, plants and creatures .
Transport _ public transport, buses available on the main road. However the final 2 k.m. you can walk, or hire tuk tuk or might get a lift from a Tea lorry if lucky. Can help to hire Cars, cabs tuk tuk from your destination.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
Certain types of camper vans with higher ground clearance can be accommodated. A 4wheel drive option would also be much better option as the road is a village level road without Tar.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (6)
They converted a boring room of ours to a potential AirBnb through their hard creative efforts.They are true ' Learning oppotunists'
It was so good to share knowledge with them. They genuinely made effort to do the best thro Team work and positive approach. They… read more
We hardly ever met someone who was so welcoming and caring like Gaya was. The meals she provided were always fresh and delicious. She really knows her neighborhood and… read more
He panited rooms in a very professional and creative way. Max was very positive friendly and was always willing to help in any available work and was liked by our workers and guests. He has a very pleasent personality and appriciates small things. Was… read more
They were a wonderful couple who wanted to make maximum use of their skills to help us. Joe painted and the organized an annexe to make it a pleasant place to live. Joe helped to cut the grass and clean the garden. Olivia was so helpful in saving my bed linen. She… read more
We stayed for two nights at the retreat. We cannot begin to describe how lucky we felt just being able to be surrounded by so much beauty.
During this time we mainly took photos of the retreat, as well as possible activities to do around the retreat. Other than this we tried to help further,… read more
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They converted a boring room of ours to a potential AirBnb through their hard creative efforts.They are true ' Learning oppotunists'
It was so good to share knowledge with them. They genuinely made effort to do the best thro Team work and positive approach. They… read more
We hardly ever met someone who was so welcoming and caring like Gaya was. The meals she provided were always fresh and delicious. She really knows her neighborhood and… read more
He panited rooms in a very professional and creative way. Max was very positive friendly and was always willing to help in any available work and was liked by our workers and guests. He has a very pleasent personality and appriciates small things. Was… read more
They were a wonderful couple who wanted to make maximum use of their skills to help us. Joe painted and the organized an annexe to make it a pleasant place to live. Joe helped to cut the grass and clean the garden. Olivia was so helpful in saving my bed linen. She… read more
We stayed for two nights at the retreat. We cannot begin to describe how lucky we felt just being able to be surrounded by so much beauty.
During this time we mainly took photos of the retreat, as well as possible activities to do around the retreat. Other than this we tried to help further,… read more
Regarding the volunteering job - we did various little jobs around the Retreat. We… read more
Nous avons plonger gustativement dans la culture sri lankaise grâce aux plats (généreux et excellent) que nous avions à manger ! Nous sommes ravie d'avoir croisé son chemin et reviendrons avec plaisir lors d'un séjour au Sri Lanka :)
Nous recommandons à 100%
The… read more
