Rainforest Rescue International (RRI) are proud to partner with the Honourable Minister Mr UGD Ariyathilaka, Minister of Food Co-operative, Provincial Roads, Electricity, Alternative Energy and Trade, Southern Provincial Council, to help 7,000 families in the Galle District get the New Year off to a green start.
RRI have donated one plant to each household to be planted at the auspicious time for the first transaction of the year – Ganudenu. People believe by completing their first work at the appointed time, their labour will undoubtedly yield fruits. What better way to celebrate this custom, and Sri Lankan’s traditional connection to agriculture, by nurturing a native Sri Lankan plant and seeing flourish through the year and into the future.
The donated plants, worth 10.5 lakhs, include traditional fruits such as Mango, Jambu and Diul and native, endemic Sri Lankan timber trees such as Na, the Sri Lankan national tree, and the versatile Mi, whose bark can be made into a tonic, oil can be used for cooking, flowers can be eaten and whose hard wood can be used for heavy construction such as boat building. Each plant has been chosen for its special properties, whether medicinal, nutritional or income generating. And importantly they all help to create biodiverse habitats for Sri Lanka’s endemic and endangered animals – helping to conserve and protect our natural heritage as well as support family livelihoods in the future.
Mr Charith Senanayake, Managing Director of RRI, says “We are delighted to be able to support the Honourable Minister Mr UGD Ariyathilaka in this programme. These traditional plants are an important part of Sri Lanka’s agricultural and biodiversity legacy, and by starting the New Year with a commitment to nurturing 6,000 new saplings, we are celebrating our traditions while nurturing the future.” The four cooperatives involved in the programme are the Badco Co-op Family, the Gangabada Pattuwa Tea Co-op, the Akmeemana Multipurpose Co-operative and the Galle Co-op Family.
Each family will plant their gift at the auspicious time for Ganudenu, getting Aluth Avurudu off to a green start. As the plants grow, flower and fruit, they carry with them the hope of it being a bountiful and generous year.
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