Fading Eco-tourism village in Madurawala- Ampitigala

 

 

Madurawala is an ancient rural village located by one of four main rivers in Sri Lanka named "Kalu" and it has a historical background as well.

Madurawala -Ampitigala Eco-tourism village was started by the "Discover Madurawala" Eco-tourism project managed by the Madurawala Tourism Development foundation, costing 116 lax in rupees.  The purpose of this project was to use ecotourism as a tool to preserve the environment and biodiversity to assure maximum socio-economic benefits to the community and minimizing poverty, preserve the age-old culture and heritage of the community for the next generation, and to provide in-depth education and information about quality development of tourism for all stakeholders. With the support of the SRI LANKA ECOTOURISM FOUNDATION, Erasmus program of the European community with its project "Sustainable Tourism agents for the rural Societies" under the Mahinda Chinthana in 2008.

Until 2012, Madurawala village was a sleepy village, and many people of the village including Buddhist monks, schoolteachers, the elderly local community did not like tourism to come to their village. But after conducting series of regular awareness and training programs on ecotourism, villagers slowly understood how it is valuable.

By this project, a good income was being generated and shared amongst the community of the village through homestay program, operating tours to the cultural and heritage sites, regeneration of traditional crafts, such as pottery, ironwork, weaving scale of handicrafts, dairy and agricultural products were the most important income-generating ecotourism activities.

However, many local industries including pottery and textiles which were operated for local and foreign tourists were collapsed and those buildings are rundown today due to low maintenance.

Today, many of the people who are living in this tourist village have to face many financial and other problems after the Easter attack and the restriction of tourist arrivals due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Madurawala tourist village was a destination for local and foreign tourists and school children on educational trips have won the best tourist village award presented by the ministry of tourism once every six-year. So this is a valuable heritage for us to protect on behalf of our next generations as well. So, this is one of the villages that have always been a tourist attraction, and a valuable resource for our country to generate more foreign exchange. There’s no point in looking for another attention to this, If we can see, this problem as a Sri Lankan regardless of race, religion, party, or position, we can secure our losing resources like this.