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WHAT’S ON
‘For appointments and further enquiries about visits, Samakanda Sundays (Open Days) or venue hire for events, please contact Alex Barrett at alex@samakanda.org or call +94 (0) 777 906 156.’
Man on the ground
A new year and new starts all round. My name is Alex and I’ve lived in Galle for almost 5 years. I’ve seen Samakanda’s development from abandoned tea estate to the idyll it is today with huge interest, especially as for the last couple of years I’ve been organizing big bicycle trips starting from Samakanda and finishing at the beach, a mere 40km.
It is a project I really believe in and now I’m involved, as the man on the ground, as it were. Brilliant. I’ll be regularly updating the website on what’s been happening and what’s definitely not happening on ‘the peaceful hill’. I’m also making myself available to try and answer any of your queries and if you’re ever in town, to arrange your visit, lunch, stay, party etc. etc. E-mail me at alex@samakanda.org or call 00 94 777 906156.
Never a dull day
Samakanda may be tucked quietly away in the jungle 20km from what is often termed a sleepy town but if the last 5 years are anything to go by, things will never be dull. And certainly not considering the projects we’ve earmarked for this year.
Draining
It probably will be in more ways than one as we are planning to empty the lake at the bottom of the bowl to try and get rid of the profusion of weeds and algae that currently proliferate. We want to get to the bottom of this problem; we want to see the bottom of the lake! So if anyone out there has any tips on creating a stable, oxygenated, fresh water, fish friendly natural lake in a wet tropical climate, please, please, let me know! Our cunning master plan at present is simply to slowly empty the lake, preferably without flooding nearby villages, and then to just get down and dirty and remove all unwanted visitors by hand. We will also remove as much silt as it is possible which will go to rejuvenating nearby growing beds. Our friends, the Hiyare Boys, will be providing expertise on which plants and fish to replant and restock with, and hey presto, all will be, well we’ll see. Mr Pitchamurtu was worried about the fish currently in the lake, what to do with them? Rory came up with the solution: ‘They are tilapia, an African fish and they are not meant to be there. Let’s eat them.’
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