A completely ‘nutty’ experience with Kapruka

The coconut is a staple essential in the life of any Sri Lankan. Our work for the day begins with cleaning the house and the compound which is done using two kinds of brooms - one where the husks have been turned into coir and been made into a broom to clean inside of the house and the other using the midribs of the coconut leaf and made into an ‘ekel’ broom to clean the home’s compound. 

Next, coconut is used to cook our local dishes using coconut milk and coconut oil, and sometimes dishes are made directly out of coconut such as the flavorful coconut sambol (a type of local sambal made with coconut, spices and maldive fish). Locals also use coconuts to make ‘toddy’ a delicious local arrack made with fermenting coconut water, and also use the coconut tree to make coconut treacle, vinegar and jaggery. The flesh of the coconut is used to produce coconut oil, which is used in cooking as well as used to apply on hair to make one’s hair grow and shiny whilst also used to make desiccated coconut which is exported around the world from Sri Lanka. 

Since there are a countless number of items that are made using the entire coconut tree; from the root to the flowers (each part for different purposes), the locals call the coconut tree ‘Kapruka’, meaning the tree that provides all comforts.

Your coconut experience will start with a session on toddy tapping, which is extracting the alcohol from the coconut flower, and using that to create coconut treacle, vinegar and jaggery. During this experience, you can also witness how coconuts are plucked from the tree, which is considered to be an art here by some. Having the opportunity to witness the making of coir products is a unique experience as the by-products of the process which are called ‘coco peats’ are used to make eco-friendly products such as flower vases, peat blocks and peat bricks and also used for various agricultural purposes. And last but not least, don’t forget to enjoy the water of the king coconut and eat the flesh of the fruit, which is a delicious and natural drink that is great for your body!