BANDARAWELA -Though not felt by the consuming public, there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into the packing of beautiful flowers from Sri Lanka’s hill town of Bandarawela. These flowers are packed in bamboo baskets and transported via train to Colombo.
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| Nandias’ little daughter cuts off the protruding particles of the weaved bamboo baskets |
In an effort to find out the life and times of those involved in this business, the Business Times reached a small decaying mud hut in Pahala Malkotuwa, Panangala about 3 kms away from Bandarawela, and to reach it one has to climb down a steep slope through tea bushes. In the mud hut there is a semblance of a tiny ramshackle factory and the product made is the bamboo baskets used to pack the flowers in the up-country to transport them through trains. Nandias Edirisinghe of Kantha Hela was fast stripping bamboo and these strips were handed over to his sister to weave the flower baskets.
The bamboo trees are available about 4 to 5 km away from this village, in places like Pallewela, Warakadanda and Viganatenne. They buy these bamboo trees at the rate of Rs 200 per tree and cut them into around 8 pieces – one piece is about 10 to 12 ft long - and Nandias and his son transport them on their shoulders one or two pieces each time walking through rough mountainous terrain. They carry these bamboos the whole day.Once the bamboo pieces are brought, Nandias splits them into two and the semicircle is chipped to get strips. Nandias’ sister sits in a corner and weaves the baskets.
His son shuttles between his father and his aunt providing them the bamboo strips. Nandias’ daughter keeps the weaved baskets on a chair and cuts out all the protruding particles. Day in and day out they are weaving baskets. Nandias says that this is the only trade they know and like in the time of the ancient kings, it has been coming down from father to son.
Nandias has been involved in weaving baskets for the last 25 years. They could complete around 15 baskets per day and the selling price ranges from Rs 60 to 100. Once the baskets are completed they are transported in three-wheelers to the town and when ordered to cut-flower nurseries. The income they derive from weaving these bamboo baskets would be barely enough for their existence.While the outside world is forging ahead to modernity utilizing technology to better lifestyles, people like Nandias grapple with life for existence involved in the same old primitive craftsmanship - no savings – no future and the same old quality of life.
The cut-flowers are comfortably transported in these bamboo baskets and the people in the cities enjoy these flowers not knowing the sweat and blood involved in the process.
Completed baskets and in the backdrop the walls of decaying mud-hut |
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