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MONTHLY NEWS BULLETIN - APRIL 2020

2020 03

 

Dear Trade Colleagues,

Greetings from the team at ExJ!

I hope this newsletter finds you, your family and your teams well. Despite the lockdowns and curfews faced by all of us in the past few weeks, I am happy to see that things are starting to look up during these bleak times. We may have not recovered fully, but this is a step forward in the right direction.

This month we come to you with a few new additions to our journey of experiences - starting with Kevan’s Casa, a boutique hotel very close to Dambana; a village which is the home to the local indegenous tribe known as ‘veddahs’. We are also pleased to introduce our guests to the beautiful and intricate art of hand embroidery. Next, we are happy to introduce you to Sameera, our featured local host for the month. He hails from an agricultural family, but found his true calling and passion in nature.

During these times, our team members continue to work from the safety of their homes while working on new plans to create new experiences for our guests for the coming months. In the meantime, we have a few of our staff members stationed in our camps, lodges and hotels around the island and they make it a point to growing fruits and vegetables in our own premises.

Anuruddha Bandara (AB)
Founder
Experiential Journeys



No one can defeat us; we work from home!

No one can defeat us; we work from home! Though the entire country is currently on lockdown, with strict curfews that are imposed to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, the Eco Team Group of Companies decided to allow our teams to work from home until further notice is given by the Government of Sri Lanka. Our team has switched to conducting all our meetings online whilst our staff works remotely from the safety of their homes. Our teams are currently working on fine tuning our array of offerings to work around this situation, as we are focussed on ensuring our guests...
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Feeding the immediate communities with our home grown produce

Feeding the immediate communities with our home grown produce Having spoken about our garden fresh, homegrown fruits and vegetables in our November 2019 edition of Journeys, this time we are happy to announce that we have started sharing our excess harvest with the immediate communities around all our campsites. Though the entire country is currently under strict curfew, we manage to continue with business as usual with our minimum staff and volunteers. With the great effort and dedication we have from our encouraged staff, we have excess stock of home grown fresh vegetables. Therefore, our teams make it a point to share...
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Our nature interpreter Sameera at our Wilpattu campsite

Our nature interpreter Sameera at our Wilpattu campsite Hailing from the Cultural City of Anuradhapura, Sameera comes from a family who are longstanding farmers. Despite his family being occupied in the farming industry, young Sameera was always a keen wildlife enthusiast. Holding over a decade of experience as a naturalist in many parks around the country, Sameera has an Advanced Diploma in Ecology from the University of Colombo and he’s completed many courses by the Young Explorers Society, whilst he currently reads for his Advanced Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from the University of Colombo. Sameera is a dedicated and passionate...
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The art of making patterns through a needle and thread

The art of making patterns through a needle and thread Everything can now be easily replicated with the help of  modern technology. Technology has become an easy way of getting things done faster, but this does not always guarantee that it will still hold the same value. People say one of the best things about technology is that it helps us do previously time consuming tasks for a fraction of the original price, but this doesn’t always make it a great thing. Let's think of a detailed pattern that is embroidered on fabric by hand. A hand stitched embroidery costs more than...
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An array of experiences and more than just accommodation at Kevan’s Casa

An array of experiences and more than just accommodation at Kevan’s Casa Located just 30 minutes away from the ancient Veddah village of Dambana; home to the indigenous tribe of Sri Lanka, Kevan’s Casa offers accommodation that is a mix of modern luxury blended with local and unique experiences for those who dare. Kevan’s Casa offers 16 rooms all equipped with modern amenities for an enjoyable and memorable stay. Memorable because the hotel offers guests the opportunity to enjoy breakfast on the banks of the lake, take part in the task of milking cows in a village house and even enjoy...
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Our policy in discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

Animals Are Friends Too: Discouraging Animal Cruelty, Tourist Traps and Staged Tourist Shows

We at ExJ stay away from tourism experiences that are staged and involve animal cruelty and shopping traps that are contrived to exploit and deceive clients.

Even though some of the popular ‘attractions’ are not included in our programmes due to the above reasons, we have no objections in our clients making their own arrangements with our Drivers to visit these places.

 

Why we do not promote following attractions

 

Turtle Hatcheries

As this concept has serious negative aspects in terms of conservation, we do not encourage our visitors to patronize the turtle hatcheries, as not all of them are really turtle-friendly. We instead encourage them to observe turtles in their natural habitats.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

When we became aware that the animal welfare standards there were questionable, we stopped encouraging our clients to visit the orphanage. We are pleased to observe that the Born Free Foundation has now adopted similar measures.

Elephant back rides – Habarana

There’s uncertainty surrounding the attitude of this place towards animal welfare. There may be a few ethical operators, but in general, we are not in agreement with how the place is run. We all would love a photo of us riding an elephant, but is a lifetime of pain caused to these magnificent mammals really worth a few fleeting likes on social media?

Traditional Village Tour with a Canoe Trip and Bullock-Carts – Habarana

This is a tourist trap where a lot of the trip is ‘staged’ for commercial purposes. Such fake touristic experiences will not give our visitors an idea of what life in the country is really like, so join us as we show you the real side of Sri Lanka. And at the end of every vacation, always ask yourself, “Did you feel that your holiday was ethical, eco-friendly, and reduced environmental impacts?”

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