A Bit Of Culture

It has been a hectic couple of weeks with the second batch of trainees getting to grips with consultancy and a few of the businesses requesting follow up work. The increase in the number of consultancies being undertaken has resulted in more fees being generated which is good news for the future sustainability of the programme. Opportunities are being explored to expand the project into the east of the island at Trincomalee, which has a Tamil speaking population, A few of the trainees are multi lingual in Tamil, Singhala and English so that’s a bonus.

On the July Poya day a procession of singers, dancers, bands and elephants was watched by the president and senior monks. We had a prime vantage point near the photographer’s podium and opposite the terrace at the Buddhist cultural centre, where the president sat, surrounded by various military personnel. The army still has a fairly visible presence on the streets and at various road check points. On a couple of occasions our drivers have been stopped for security checks but the presence of foreigners in the car seems to get them waved through.

Poya day procession

The relationship between rulers, military and religion has strong historical roots as witnessed when we visited the ancient sites of former civilisations at Anuradhapura and Polannaruwa. The area, known as, the Cultural Triangle also includes Dambulla and Sigiriya.The temples and fortresses at these sites were capitals of sophisticated civilisations and are now UNESCO world heritage sites. Anuradhapura still has huge dagobas, royal palaces, and refectories for the monks and swimming pools including one where the elephants used to bathe. At Polonnaruwa more of the buildings are intact and it’s famous for the cave of the spirits of knowledge which has three massive Buddha images carved out of a granite cliff.

Dagoba

Gal Vihara

Sigiriya was more of a secular affair with royal palace complexes both at the base of a 200m rock and a complex at the top too. We followed the guide books advice and started our tour at 7am. It was already very hot as we scampered up the narrow stairs and marble steps inlaid into the rock but the view from the top was well worth it. Half way up the rock a wall has beautiful frescos of scantily clad damsels. Apparently the whole rock had over 500 beauties but over time the rock became home to monks who erased the drawings as they found them too distracting!

Court Beauties

Roof Top Palace

Tonight we had a good night out with the trainees at a local fish restaurant and over a few beers learnt more about Sri Lankan culture , including the importance of horoscopes when selecting marriage partners and the various different ways of serving rice and curry. Pol Sambol is one of the spiciest dishes which is a paste blended from onion, coconut, chilli, lime juice and dried fish. I have tried it a few times but it’s far too hot for me .The trainees however think it’s very funny to see me gasp for water with a runny nose and eyes. Cricket is a national passion so it’s always a good topic for conversation if all else fails.

I am planning a trip to Chennai (formerly Madras) to catch up with a friend so looking forward to seeing some South Indian culture, which historically has had such an influence on Sri Lankan culture.

Home from Home

Nuwara Eliya , otherwise known as Little England , could just as easily be called Wee Scotland. We arrived here (after a seven hour drive) to drizzle, mist covered hills and a much cooler temperature. The journey, like most travel here, was at a leisurely pace. The roads are similar to B roads and either very busy or full of road works or both. In this case we had the additional hazards of heavy rain, rockslides and night fall as we neared the destination.The route did however take us through a national Park so we were able to see Elephants roaming the plains but they were also wise to the roadside kiosks selling fruit. At almost every stall there was an Elephant standing within the park but opposite the stall waiting for local people to buy them water melons or bananas.

National Park

The area is famous for its tea plantations and the hillsides are dotted with women labouring with sacks on their backs picking the leaves. Many of the plantations are named after their founders like, Lipton, but we also came across a few with Scottish names including an Inverness. The area is also famous for its market gardens with vegetables growing in terraces in the steep hills. The colonial legacy is still apparent with beetroot and rhubarb enhancing the Sri Lankan diet.

Mackwoods Tea Plantation

As this was Jenny’s last weekend before heading home we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at the St Andrews Hotel. The hotel bar actually had a log fire on which was a bit odd as it felt like a warm Scottish evening and elsewhere the Scottish Open Golf was on the TV. Our Guest House even offered us extra blankets for the bed which I gladly accepted as my feet were cold!

Famous Five

At this time of the year the area is also very busy with tourists from the Middle East so the streets are full of women in their abayas with their stylish stilettos just visible under the hems of their black attire. The famous gem trade is another obvious attraction and the town also has a race course and beautiful botanical gardens.As usual there is plenty of wildlife to see and this weeks furry friend is the little monkey from the Hindu temple we visited enroute back to Matara.

Temple Monkey

Back in Matara the new intake of trainees are making good progress with the consultancies and a number of common themes are arising;issues with raising finance and the high cost of credit, family run enterprises with no succession planning, little use of technology and almost no HR procedures. The companies we have been working with include many of the local industries; coconut oil, clothing, jewellery, spices and others. After carrying out initial diagnostic reports for the companies we have now progressed to consultancies delivering; business plans, marketing and sales plans, customer research, HR plans and other work tailored to the needs of the firms. Next week we are hoping to increase the number of company visits to ensure the programme meets its targets so it’s likely to be a busy few weeks before I follow Jenny and head back to Edinburgh.

Trainees at Work

More Mutterings from Matara

Last Friday we welcomed a new intake of trainee consultants and are about to embark on a series of consultancies with more local companies. Our next client is a jewellery firm. Sri Lanka is known as the Sapphire Capital so I’m looking forward to learning more about the gem trade and the new international markets they are hoping to enter.
A number of the traditional industries in the south of the island are finding it more difficult to recruit skilled labour. Gem cutters, engravers and polishers are in short supply but this is also the case for other sectors like the tea plantations where there is a shortage of tea tasters to replace the older generation. On the other hand the fishing industry is still a relatively big employer, using the traditional style boats and techniques. When the boats return with their catch, the boats have to be lifted up the beach. Heavy poles are threaded through the boats and then, with their shoulders to the poles, the men inch the boats up the beach. It looks like back breaking work.

Coming into land

At the weekends we usually try and visit some of the local attractions. We have found a very helpful tuk tuk driver who is happy to act as our guide. The journeys are enlivened with his taped “Bony M” collection from the 1970’s (annoyingly I seem to know the words) and his boy racer tendencies when he encounters his pals in their three wheelers. Recently we visited a couple of temples, including the Mulkirigala Rock Temple, which consists of a series of temples carved out of a huge rock outcrop and is surrounded by palm forests. Climbing up over 500 steps at mid day was a bit of a challenge but each terrace had beautiful cave paintings and reclining Buddha’s. The other temple at Wewurukannala has life size statues showing punishments awaiting wrong doers in the afterlife. Being sawn in half, boiled in oil and impaled on stakes are just a few of the treats in store.

Every week we seem to come across more of the local wildlife. This little green snake looks very like a palm frond but is apparently harmless. Not my favourite creatures so I didn’t hang around to find out. Despite the deet insect repellent slathered over my limbs I am still getting bitten by mozzies.I constantly have red blotches on my legs but if I run out of nail varnish remover the deet is an effective substitute. The local pharmacist has supplied me with various lotions and creams (which are fortunately very cheap) but his theory is the mozzies just like white skin. It’s too hot to sunbathe so it looks like I’ll continue to be a target. Stray mangy looking dogs are another local hazard; they are friendly enough but wander across the roads causing the traffic to veer to avoid them. The cows also wander freely along the street but they seem to have more traffic sense!

I also seem to be getting more used to the heat. When I first arrived I could only get to sleep if the air conditioning was on at 18 degrees. I am now up to about 25 degrees and last night actually had to turn it off as I woke up at 5am with cold feet. Not resorted to my cardie yet but might need to pack it next weekend when we head off to Nuwara Eliya (Sri Lanka’s little England) in the southern hill country.

Supporting the Local Economy

The old fortress town of Galle is a well preserved colonial World Heritage site and a major attraction for tourists, although it’s fairly quiet at the moment in the off peak season. During my first visit to Galle I arranged to meet a former colleague, Margaret, who is in Sri Lanka for a holiday. We had a leisurely day, starting with a walking tour with an interesting guide who had been a helicopter pilot, war correspondent and is now a writer.  She also gave us a tour of her house which had originally been a merchant’s house. The roof top had been converted to make a room with 360 degree views of the sea, lighthouse, mosque and roof tops. My second visit was with the other consultants and this time we stayed overnight. The town has a good range of restaurants, bars and shops so we did our bit for the local economy.

Galle Forte

Close to Galle there is a tea plantation, famous for its virgin white tea. Originally the tea was from China and was harvested at dawn by virgins, using golden scissors. The tea is still untouched by hand (the pickers wear white gloves) and it has the highest anti oxidant content of any tea at 10.11%. We were shown around the plantation by Ivan, the head tea taster and treated to tea and cake at the owner’s bungalow. We then had an opportunity to visit the factory before tasting over 20 teas. Many of the teas are said to help reduce cholesterol, improve long term memory, ward off cancer and have various other health giving properties. However there is also a brand called the Suicide Club, (named after a gambling club) which has a brandy flavour. After our tee totalling afternoon we just had time for a beer at the beach before heading back home.

Virgin White Tea

Mirissa Beach

This week I have been working on the next stage consultancy with the lingerie firm. They have ambitious plans to develop their quality range of products and the trainees are preparing a Business Plan for them. It’s good to see the trainees put their theoretical training into practice. The business meetings are conducted in a mix of Sinhala and English which can lead to interesting conversations I had to try hard to stifle a giggle when the company proudly showed us their new quality range of gents boxer shorts – branded under the name Frisky !

Frisky is also a word that could be applied to the little squirrels that live in our garden. In addition to zipping along walls, climbing up trees and generally launching themselves into space they have managed to get into the house. This results in a chasing game (Rehena with broom in hand) in an attempt to shoo them out the door or window. When we are out we think they party by leaping from the balcony and swinging on the lights, smashing them in the process. Wild!

The local custom of having curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner is proving too much for my delicate foreigners stomach so we have been cooking more often at home. Yesterday we bought some tuna from local fishermen, and then desert was fruit salad made with mangos, pineapple, passion fruit and bananas. Somehow everything tastes better in the sunshine. No real evidence of the monsoon season here which is more than can be said for Edinburgh at the moment !

Canoe Fishing Boats

All Creatures Great and Small

As I reach the mid point in my assignment, two other consultants have arrived to join the programme – Rehena and Karol. At the moment we are split over two bases, Colombo and Matara, working on training material for the next wave of trainees and working with trainees in the field on the consultancies with companies.

The ongoing road works in Matara regularly result in power cuts in the office which means no air conditioning, no power for the computer and no internet so sometimes progress is slow.The other challenge with the electricty supply is the vast array of socket types.If you can’t find a suitable adaptor, sticking a toothpick in the socket and then inserting the plug works a treat!

In the south west of the island the weather is in its monsoon period, although when it rains it’s for short periods and clears up quickly. On the south east of the island the climate is very different as it gets very little rain for most of the year. The Ruhuna (Yala) National Park is in this area and is home to; elephants, leopards, crocodiles, monkeys, deer and more. We had a great safari day out at the park, careering around in a high jeep and dodging pot holes and few buffalos wandering across the tracks. The park is on the coast so we also saw sea eagles and a number of other brightly coloured birds that blend beautiful into their habitat. The area also has a series of salt pans so attracts large numbers of waders and shore birds including flamingos and pelicans.

Yala National Park

The other birds that proliferate in the local area are crows. Sometimes when they flock on the trees they look like extras from Hitchcock’s film “The Birds”! They are noisy , swoop down close to you head and are very adept at finding scrap food including at the local market and more up market at restaurants where they snatch leftover food.

An extra for dinner

Matara doesn’t have a great choice of restaurants but the fish at the local beach bars is great. In the lead up to the June Poya (full moon) day, which was a holiday, the local fishing boats went out in force a few days before to stock up. At night the bay twinkles with their lights and you can also see fishermen swimming in the shallower water with lights on their head, snaking their way just under the surface, waiting to harpoon their catch.Other fishermen stand on large rocks in the bay so there is always something interesting to watch.

Alternative to stilt fishing

The June Poya, which coincided with the lunar eclipse, is traditionally celebrated with street processions. In Matara it was a colourful event with; drummers, dancers, bands, stilt walkers and a sorry looking elephant, looking less than glamorous in its pink lurex outfit. The stilt walkers included a small boy on stilts who sat on a sling swing (draped from an adult on stilts) and was swung back and forward before launching himself off and being caught by another stilt walker. Looked like a potential act for the Edinburgh Fringe.

Pink Elephant

This weekend we are heading off to visit Galle, which at one point in history was the main trading port in Sri Lanka. It was conquered by the Dutch, Portuguese and then the British so it has an interesting mix of cultures. More later ….

Life in Matara

I’ve been in Matara for just over 2 weeks now and as the town is on the coast it’s noticeably cooler than Colombo .The house we are staying in is bright and spacious in a nice residential area, close to the centre. Our early morning alarm call is our neighbours TV, tuned into morning prayers, followed by the local school assembly with marching to the sound of clashing cymbals and much chanting. The local stray dogs join in the chorus so it’s a lively start to the day.

House in Matara

Matara is a fairly large provincial town, originally a Dutch colonial settlement with remains of an old fort, alongside a temple on a tiny island reached by a wobbly suspension bridge. There is a major construction project underway to widen the main road through the town. This is creating traffic havoc and everyone seems oblivious to health and safety considerations. Buildings  have been sliced in half to accommodate the new road and pedestrians do their best to avoid; deep holes, slabs of concrete being laid in front of the shops, piles of rocks and sand , JCB’s and the occasional ox drawn cart jostling with tuk tuks , lorries ,cars and scooters to get passed the works.

Road Works

I have been out visiting more companies with the trainees and am finding it really interesting. One of the business customs is to provide guests with very sweet milky tea (I prefer the black tea with ginger) and cake and bananas. It’s very nice but added to the staple rice and curry diet, it’s not too good for the waist line. This week we have been working with a manufacturer of ladies lingerie. The firm has grown rapidly, lead by a dynamic entrepreneur and with the opening of second factory is about to expand again. The visit to factory caused some amusement for the two young male trainees. In Sri Lanka, partners are supposed to save themselves for marriage, so the guys were slightly overwhelmed by the sight of so many bras and knickers (or panties as they call them).They were then invited to feel the quality of material , test the elastic and understand the process which avoids a size 32A cup being stitched to a 36D and finally were given an armful of marketing material to take away with them.(I’ll avoid adding the pictures of these).

1st and 2nd class

We have been venturing out and about by train and tuk tuk to see some of the surrounding area. The Dondra Lighthouse is the southernmost point in Sri Lanka and provides a bird’s eye view of some of the local beaches. Close to the Lighthouse we found a lace making co-operative, providing employment for women in adjacent rural villages. Another local industry is coconut products. Road side stalls sell King Coconut as a refreshing drink. It tastes a bit milky and apparently is similar in make up to saline – so much so that hospitals can use it as a saline drip. Locals also use it as a hangover cure!

Birds eye view

One of the nicest beaches we have found is at Marissa .It has not been fully exploited for tourism yet and the bay is used by surfers and fishermen with the catches being served in the few local beach bars. I managed to find a deserted hut with a hammock to while away my afternoon. Not missing the Sunday papers at all!

Lazy Sunday

The Highlands and Down South

Home for the last month has been Colombo but with the arrival of another consultant, Chris, we have now decamped to Matara in the south of the Island to start the consultancy work. Colombo has been a good introductory point to Sri Lanka and despite it being a sprawling city there are some beautiful temples and buildings. The influences from the early Christian Dutch settlers, Hindu, Buddhism and Muslim cultures and of course the Brits have created an interesting mix. A majestic old shop in the centre, Cargill’s, looks like it was Colombo’s answer to Edinburgh’s Jenner’s however it is now sadly run down. The picture of its fire alarm system probably says it all!

Ring that Bell

Before heading off to Matara we spent a weekend in the ancient highland capital, Kandy. Unfortunately for us the intercity train was fully booked (unknown to us it was an inter-district rugby championship weekend) so instead we tootled off on the air conditioned (a.c) bus. The traffic was very congested so it was a slow 4 hour journey covering the 115km /75miles. Unlike the non ac bus, you are guaranteed a seat, even if it’s a pull down one in the aisle. There are no bus timetables – they just go when they are full, which seems to be about every 5 minutes but at the bargain fare of 250 rupees, about £1.40.
The Temple of the Tooth, in the centre of Kandy overlooking a lake has been there since about 1650 and is a major site for pilgrims. It was the first stop on our trip but as Chris was attired in his casual shorts he didn’t think he wouldn’t be able to visit the Temple. Luckily for him an enterprising guide was able to kit him out in a very fetching sarong, impressively colour co-ordinated with his shirt!

Chris - Suits you

We also visited a temple on a peak overlooking Kandy which gave us a great view of the surrounding mountains. The young monks, ranging from about 10 years old, are all well educated and are very proud to explain the history of their local temple.

Young Monk

Following the weekend, the drive to Matara (at 4.30 in the morning to avoid the worst of the traffic) was about 3 hours long and took us passed some of the islands best beaches. Matara is a large provincial town and as our work is sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce we are based at their premises. During the week, alongside 3 local trainee consultants, I visited 3 companies, to carry out initial strategic reviews. The first firm was a spice company, where we also got a tour of their factory- very interesting but very hot and very smelly .The others were a construction firm and a specialist paint coating firm. Many of the issues they are facing are similar to companies in the UK however availability of finance and skills shortages in key professions appear to be major constraints.
We have also had time to explore Matara, and found the beach side suburb of Polhena, a couple of kilometres from the centre. The bay is protected by a small coral reef so provides a sheltered cove. The calmer shallower waters make it an ideal area for the stilt fishermen, who fish in the early morning and early evening when conditions are ideal. This form of fishing is unique to the area and makes a great spectator sport for the locals. As we sat with our cold beer at the beach bar watching the scene we couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening!

Gone Fishing