Tamarind Gardens - a homestay with a difference
It is hard to imagine that a village just a few kilometres away from Kandy would have trouble with water, especially one that is a stone’s throw away from the Victoria Dam. But the village surrounding the Tamarind Gardens farm and homestay is faced with drought a few times during the year.
In the very beginning, when the owners of Tamarind Gardens came to build their place in Digana, 20kms away from Kandy, and were buying water storage tanks for their own use, they saw that the villagers were struggling in poverty and collecting water in tar barrels which was not good for their health. Moved by this, they decided to find ways to donate water tanks for the villagers in the area.
That was nearly eight years ago, and now Tamarind Gardens Homestay, which was intended in the beginning as just a guesthouse and a dairy, has grown into a place where the village community helps to run it, and in return finds it as a way to support themselves as well.
From tending to 30 cows, five goats, a garden with many types of vegetables, butter and cheese making, recycled bag making, a place for people to come and stay and help with the farm and experience Sri Lankan village life, the farm and homestay has many parts of it that the villagers help with, daily.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The owners Ayesha and Nalin Perera were living in England before they came back to Sri Lanka in 2010 to build on the land in Aluthwatthe, Digana which they had bought a few years before.
The villagers who lived close by were mainly Dolomite miners. Dolomite is a mineral used in making cement and other building materials, and the villagers who worked in the mines are paid a daily wage, so most of the time it was hard to support their families with the little they got. Even worse was the water supply, which sometimes stopped for days. The only other way to get water was to dig tube wells, which is far too expensive for them to do.
It was then that Ayesha and Nalin realized they needed to help the villagers with a proper storage system for water especially during the months of drought.
Starting with 10 tanks, the owners slowly, over time, managed to provide 450 families out of 600 in the village with water tanks.
Ayesha said that her experiences growing up in a tea plantation as a child, helped her and inspired her and her husband to build up the farm and homestay, and even though it took time, they grew to better understand the culture and norms of the village community, which in turn helped them to see what their real needs were.
Ayesha and Nalin began to find ways to help the villagers in a more sustainable manner by offering work for anyone who needed it at Tamarind Gardens, so that they could be selfsufficient in the long term, while they encourage those who visit the homestay to assist the village community as well.
THE HOMESTAY
Eight rooms with fittings and furniture made by village craftsmen can be found at Tamarind Gardens, and guests who come to stay are given a chance to ‘live like a local’. They can help look after the cows and goats, and the vegetable and fruit ga to make a Sri Lankan kitchen area. Kids wh get a chance to make
A guided village at the homestay. With helping local industri have a look at some o cottage industries tha Digana like the produ sticks or ‘Handunkur honey is made and ho jewellery is made as w
Those who wish help the villagers by c water tanks or with t their chicken coops o
THE DAIRY FARM
The 30 cows are milked twice a day. D the villagers look for quite a distance, whic along for the animals
The milk from t make butter, cheeses, and these are sold to
arden and can learn n meal in the open ho come along can fluffy pancakes. e walk is also offered h the importance of ies grow, guests can of the traditional at have remained in uction of incense ru’, how Kithul ow Kandyan well. h, can volunteer to contributing towards he maintenance of or goat pens.
e fed daily, and During the drought grass, travelling ch they cut and bring . the cows is used to , and clotted cream a few hotels and
cafes in Colombo as well as guests who come to Tamarind Gardens.
Ayesha and Nalin said that running their own dairy had taught them how important it is to support the local dairy, as this would help local farmers grow and help the Sri Lankan industry become a better one as well.
THE GARDEN
There are green chillies, pumpkin, various types of leaves and pineapple and tamarind growing in plenty.
The organic green chillies and tamarind are made into chutneys which are sold to guests. The garden is tended by a few villagers as well.
LIYA DIRIYA
Liya Diriya is a women-run business on the farm and is one of the sustainable ways in which the women of the village, especially mothers, find a way to earn to support their families.
Ayesha said that working in the dolomite mine is a tiring and time consuming job, which especially gives the mothers little time to look after their children. Making the bags at Tamarind Gardens gives them another way to find their daily wage.
The women at Liya Diriya make bags out of recycled rice bags, and Amu Redi (non-woven fabric), and aprons and clothes on demand with artwork done by the women themselves.
Ayesha hopes to open a small café overlooking the Victoria Dam at Tamarind Gardens soon, and with that she hopes she can encourage the young people in the village to take part in putting it together, especially with the wiring and the plumbing. She hopes to motivate the youth of the village through this.
Tamarind Gardens is also a place where they encourage preschools to visit and see how a farm and dairy are run. They also are hoping to open their gates for boy-scouts to come camping there if they wish.
Ayesha and Nalin say that they find great happiness doing what they do. The acts of kindness that the owners were moved to do for the villagers in Aluthwatte has in turn opened up many avenues for the village community and for Tamarind Gardens as well.
We must never forget that even the littlest act of kindness can bring about wonderful things. Sharing what we have with others, without thinking of ourselves alone can be a blessing, far more than we ever expect.