Sustainable AgricultureMy recent history is that of being a farmer, but I am firm in my belief that even for a small country life Sri Lanka, we can and MUST release 1 Million hectares of land back into forest for sustainability of food production, climate risk, and the equilibrium of man and nature.While it sounds incredible for one in Agriculture ...
What comes to mind with this statement which I just posted on FB along with two pictures of birds, I have not posted before and I don’t know the names thereof, and will have wait till I get the bird book from Yves from which to name it?The first thing that comes to mind today, of course was the use ...
http://www.sltda.lk/monthly-tourist-arrivals-reports-2019The Sri Lanka Tourism Brand – Longer Term EnhancementAspects covered here. The informal tourism sector of lodging that provide at least 60% of room nights of foreign citizen tourists visiting Sri Lanka.This will NOT cover Sri Lankan origin foreign nationals who are more likely to have researched their stays, and either stay with friends and family for part of their ...
This essay attempts to explain some of the dynamics of cultures in which we live in and is relevant to Sri Lanka, still steeped in too much emphasis of the past, with little desire for a vision of a future, which succinctly explains, Singapore’s success when compared to Sri Lanka’s inertia. The baggage called HISTORY.The USA vs Iran war ...
THE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR WHO COMES ON THE WHITE HORSEIt is no secret that the Rajapakse (there are no other words to describe the present rule) Government was “coca hoop” when the candidature of Sajith Premadasa was announced to pit against Gotabaya Rakapakse, as the result immediately became a foregone conclusion, on the day of the announcement itself.It is ...
To put it all in perspective, I had to wait over 60 years on this fair earth to attend my first convocation yesterday, though it was not mine, it was nevertheless a chance to absorb the moment when over 1200 students were awarded their doctorates, masters, baccalaureate and associate degrees at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.So what about my own? ...
What next?The way this diplomatic game is played, (yes it is an international game of diplomacy) will determine the repercussions for Sri Lanka as that is all I care about. We have an able foreign secretary in the person of Ravinatha Ariyasingha, who if given all the facts can negotiate a face saving exit for the GOSL in this incident ...
The beginning of the train wreckOf course the security apparatus, in the name of tighter security has been dismantled with many secret police, and espionage operations being disbanded Islandwide. Can one imagine how that would do down with the 90K strong Police Force.As if that was not enough, a senior investigating officer who was tasked with Investigating the Rajapakses, sought ...
The Cabinet and State MinistersI was frankly not at all surprised at the constituents comprising these ministries. After all he had no option but to appoint the very people who violated Parliamentary privilege, by behaving like hooligans inside the chamber, who should have been subject to some parliamentary discipline by now and punishment.The stark absence of minorities, Tamils and Muslims ...
My position on the Election ResultsWhile long before, at least a month before the election I was convinced that GR will win by over a million, and I told many people about it, many who would not accept, I was not joining that bandwagon, only because of the rogues that were attracted to the platform. If he was serious about ...
Happily at this Presidential Election, I decided to be a mere observer, not taking sides, and for the first time I was able to see clearly. That is to observe the faults and ploys of both the main factions, without prejudice.In the 4 years prior to that, most of the public discourse was 225EPA. That is they did not wish ...
Using the example of paddy farmers in this instance, in irrigated lands of the Wyamba, North Central and Eastern Provinces, farmers are generally able to grow two crops a year, the most productive being the Maha season ranging from planting in October to January, for harvesting between January and March of the following year. This has been the way since ...
Social media broadly attracts an audience in Sri Lanka, that reflects the societal culture, namely of ridiculing someone we envy, rather than praising them for what they have achieved. That kind of behavior is also reflective in the massive negative campaigning of the Presidential Election that is wholly biased towards character assassination and speculation, but little analysis given to evaluating ...
Entrepreneurship is encouraged, but teaching financial management, and providing insurance for economic downturns is not done by the formal sectorThe ONLY last resort of turning to the 10% a month interest charging money lender is a license to commit suicide in this economic climate. NO wonder there is slow growth and neither Presidential Candidate has a ready solution to offer.We ...
The life of HA Sirisena my man in Ratmale, who looked after me and my property for 8 years (b 18 July, 1953 – d 14 October 2019)This tribute is written of a good man, who lived, brought up his family, married off his two children and who left them living with their families in adjoining houses now with a ...
This is a critical topic, obviously not one dick of the Presidential hopefuls even understands it, so will not even have a brain cell to explain this issue or worse include it in their manifesto or in discussions.On the other hand we have just been presented with the message that part of the reason for the slow growth rate in ...
Today is World Tourism Day - A timely article by the MD of SL Tourism, highlighting the absurdly poor Labor Force Participation Rate (LFP) for women in Sri Lanka (14th worst in the world) in a Country where two thirds of graduates are women! So it is not that our ladies are uneducated, they are not empowered to take charge ...
We came across the tusker Revatha twice, once on July 30th picture below, and then again on August 16thafter he had defeated Deegadanthu 1 in battle, so then what? What is the story? The story is real, Elephants living in Sri Lanka, live on borrowed time, as the Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a continuous threat, especially dangerous for ...
I recently attended a free clinic, Dr Hemal Fernando has been running for over 21 years, every Saturday in Pamunugama, Sri Lanka, a coastal hamlet not 20km from Colombo. What hit me hard was the reality that most of the patients have diabetes, (80%) and due to that are more prone to other illnesses, and make surgery and interventions ...
The proof of a crisis is when the normal wells in the Gampaha District ran dry, with the falling water table and blame was laid on heavy water using Industries that are contributing to the economy and growth. For the purposes of argument, I will just concentrate on this area, and not the Country as a whole, but with ...
