World’s first-ever Cinnamon Museum opens in Sri Lanka’s Mirissa
Daily FT: Spotlighting Sri Lanka’s significance and rich spice heritage, the world’s first cinnamon museum opened its doors recently at Mirissa Hills Estate, offering picturesque views and a treasure trove of stories.
The Cinnamon Museum, founded by Ogilvy and Mather Former Global CEO Miles Young, was inaugurated by Tourism Minister Harin Fernando. The museum functions as a fully-fledged visitor’s centre, providing tours and demonstrations of cinnamon peeling, as well as the opportunity to be at the centre of the estate and sample local food. The museum building overlooking gorgeous parts of the estate was designed by renowned architect C. Angelandran.
Speaking at the event, the Minister Fernando said that initiatives like The Cinnamon Museum highlighted Sri Lanka’s abundant offerings. “We have not exposed at least 20% of what Sri Lanka has to offer, just the same old Mirissa beach hotels, Weligama, Sigiriya and Arugam Bay. I don’t know how many of you know, Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of cinnamon and this is a brilliant idea. This is a product that Sri Lanka could be proud of. Tourism in Sri Lanka is doing pretty well and I would like to see this kind of new approach more. Making a value addition would do us a world of good.”
The museum, designed under the advice of Mirissa Hills Adviser Herman Gunaratne, displays information, exhibits and artwork narrating the story of cinnamon. The museum covers areas such as mentions and references to cinnamon throughout history, from ancient civilizations to the current day, Sri Lanka’s role as a primary cinnamon provider and exporter, cinnamon harvesting, peeling and preparation, its uses in different industries, references in popular culture and art, etc.
Speaking about how throughout history, Sri Lanka was treasured due to its high-quality cinnamon, Gunaratne said, “The Cinnamon Museum is going to be one of the world’s most important museums for people to understand about cinnamon.”
Mirissa Hills Chairman Miles Young acquired the estate a few decades ago following a few business trips to the country. “I had to come to Sri Lanka sometimes on business, and as I was dealing with people here, someone said, well, there’s a very nice derelict cinnamon plantation. Why don’t you come and have a look at it? So the words ‘cinnamon plantation’ intrigued me and I came up here and the views were lovely. The fancy took possession of me a bit and I bought this piece of land. We’ve tried to upgrade it ever since, planting new cinnamon, hiring labour, recruiting peelers who come in on an annual basis to do the peeling.”
Then, Young saw an opportunity to bring further attention to the estate. While tourists and travellers visit Mirissa on holiday, there were few entertainment or educational activities available except visiting the beach or the neighbouring Handunugoda Tea Estate. There were people interested in seeing the cinnamon estate and therefore, Miles started tours of his estate. But mere tours also seemed inadequate where oftentimes an explanation was needed.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka continues to develop and expand more tourist attractions that captures the country’s cultural and historical events. The latest addition to the list of attractions is the aforementioned cinnamon museum. Sri Lanka already has similar destinations for tea. The prominence received by the country’s traditional export crops like tea and cinnamon in the form of museums also indicate the expansion of business/investment opportunities in the country’s cinnamon and tea plantation industries as well as in the tourism industry. With the ongoing activities and the growth potential in these industries, foreign businesses/investors could explore the expanding opportunities in Sri Lanka’s traditional export crop plantation industry and the tourism industry.