Tamarind Gardens – social responsibility in action

Just before the country went into coronavirus lockdown we visited Tamarind Gardens, near Digana on the eastern side of Kandy. It’s a place we’d heard a lot about but not been to and the opportunity arose because they were holding a “Good Market” – a place to sample and purchase sustainable, organic and environmentally friendly goods. These are usually held in Colombo and Galle so when Kandy gets a look in it’s important we support it. We were very impressed with the quaity, range and prices of goods (mostly food) on offer and ended up with quite a haul. Also a great curry lunch.

We bake our own bread but still couldn’t resist the amazing loaves and dips on offer …

Tamarind Gardens is a homestay run by Ayesha and Nalin, a Sri Lankan couple who have spent a lot of time in the UK. Like many such people they have used their life experiences to combine the best of both cultures. Their place, in a lovely lakeside setting, includes a small dairy farm and plenty of homegrown produce but also supports the local community in many ways, including developing an educational centre. And of course there are lots of tamarind trees full of their strange brown fruis at this time of year as the main picture shows.

The farm produces some very tasty cheese which is always high on our wish list in this country where good cheese is hard to find and usually very expensive. The cows are loved, and the calves perhaps even more so…

We look forward to our next visit and to collaborating with Ayesha and Nalin (and others) to take forward the agenda of responsible and sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka.