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Sri Lanka’s Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge to export home grown agro products

Sri Lanka’s Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge to export home grown agro products

Daily FT: For the first time in the leisure industry, a trendsetter in the Sri Lankan hospitality sector, Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge, Kandy Chairman Philippe Gomez would be engaging in Agro-based exports from products from their hotel.
The mentor behind the project, Gomez, a French national, said that they have already planted 4,500 vanilla trees, 4,000 coffee plants and 1,000 pepper plants.
“We have allocated more than half of the land from the hotel property and hope to expand this plantation by nearly six more acres as an export-based initiative. We started this project some time ago and are ready to start exports targeting the European market in a more organised manner from early next year. In a bid to support the community we also have an out-grower system and soon their products would reach the export market as well.”
As a new approach, the company recruited an Undergraduate of Wayamba University Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management Mahisha Rathnakumara to improve the organic farming.
“Landscape designs and our tea and vanilla cultivations and also to uplift the eco-friendly concept in the Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge,” said Gomez. He recalled that he first visited Sri Lanka four decades ago as a part of his European tour, fell in love with the country and visited the island nation many times.
During these visits during the peak of the LTTE attacks he found that there were no high-quality purpose-built Boutique hotels in Sri Lanka and to fill this void in the Sri Lankan hospitality landscape he bought a 24-acre tea estate. “Since there was no clamping concept in Sri Lanka, I bought high-quality tents from South Africa and created Sri Lanka’s first glamping luxury boutique hotel with 19 shelters that could accommodate around 45 guests. To emphasise the unique culture of Sri Lanka as well as France, I also built the main premises mixing French and local architecture including a kitchen, bar, dining area, and reception. In addition to bringing in more luxury I also built an infinity swimming pool confronting the panoramic view of Knuckles Mountain. I also added a modern gym, spa and a heli pad to accommodate high end clients.”
He said in a bid to give back to the community they also have a special area where items produced by the local community are sold to guests.
Madulkelle Tea & Eco Lodge General Manager Thissa Ruberu, a former active member of the chamber administration, said that today the hotel is much sought after by both local and foreign high-end clientele mainly from EU, UK, and Australia. “We have special menus to cater to every taste and have separate areas for large groups to wine and dine and offer special nature trail attractions, which are very much sought after,” he added.

OSL take:
The increasing demand in Sri Lanka’s agriculture industry, especially the export agriculture industry is evident by the latest move by Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge to export agro-based products produced by them. Sri Lanka’s trade agreements and trade concessions enjoyed with other foreign countries have all helped boost the country’s agriculture industry. The latest programme by an entity engaged in eco tourism to expand to exporting home grown agro products is indicative of the evolving nature of the business/investment opportunities emerging in Sri Lanka’s key economic sectors. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka, especially in tourism and agriculture industries, while also looking at forming collaborations with local businesses in these industries to look at further expanding operations locally and internationally.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20241025/Z_4

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