Sigiriya luxury hotel, Sri Lanka

Our Youth Development Project has shattered an industry shibboleth and proved that rural youth are eminently trainable in tourism and hoteliering. We have provided training in English and hotel management, absolutely free of charge to disadvantaged rural youth and given them a viable career and gainful employment in a milieu to which they are eminently suited. First of its kind in this country, the Youth Development Project has made a significant contribution by way of an unique initiative towards solving Sri Lanka’s youth-unemployment problem. It also provides a solution to the manpower shortage experienced within the Sri Lanka Hotel industry in general.

Our presence in this remote area of our island has also involved the local communities in tourism, changing their perceptions of it for the better and passing on to them many of its benefits. This very successful pilot project carried out at the hotel is a model for further training activities at our other properties, elsewhere in Sri Lanka. Development of the youth continues, for we believe that they are the hotel managers of the future.

We acquired twenty five acres of abandoned, fallow land, vitiated by the ruinous slash and burn system of agriculture. Working with water professionals from the Irrigation Department of Sri Lanka, we instituted a two year research on water retainability. The heart of the project was ten acres of land which became two lakes.

Twenty five luxury villas, common guest facilities and a staff village were constructed. On the rest of the land we planted groves of trees, reed beds, and rice fields. Five acres of parkland were left to nature. Within three months of completion of the buildings, the woodlands and marshes became populated with Peafowl, White-rumped Shama, the Pied Kingfisher, Blackheaded Oriole, Black Magpie Robin, Little Egret, Sand-piper Pond Heron, Red-wattled Lapwing and many more colourful and sweet-voiced bird varieties. Two young crocodiles took up residence in the lakes. Elephants began to call on us and tribes of Toque & Gray Langur monkeys provided arboreal entertainment.

We practice the separation of garbage at the hotel; this includes wet garbage which is sent to a nearby piggery. Plastics, paper, metals and glass are separated and sold off to various vendors that wish to purchase them for various recyclable items. In addition to the above we also compost material in both forms i.e. worm composting and regular composting, which is of course used in our gardens for the cultivation of various small crops.