Udawalawe - Day 21

Before you ask, the elephant from the lake is still alive. He's been successfully flipped onto his healthier side and locals have reported a lot of movement. Dr. Vijitha tells me this is a promising sign. If you would like your heart even warmer, villagers have begun bringing him hundreds of pounds of fruit from their markets to aid in his recovery. This is an elephant town.

No more milk for you. 

Life is pretty good as Dilmah's project manager thus far. Each morning I'm awoken (though I try to hide this fact)  by Seda, the potter/cook/janitor/repairman at my lodging, who has brought my tea. As I drink the hot sugar water, my anxiety peaks for the day: "Please let there be running water this morning," I think. In the morning there will either be electricity or water. Rarely both, sometimes neither. I (usually) shower, pack up my computer, eat whatever delicious breakfast Seda has prepared, and make my way to the street. Usually waiting for me is Suresh, my three-wheeler driver. Suresh does not let his underdeveloped legs get in the way of industry and chauffeurs me to and from work each day.

The commute. Twice Suresh has allowed me to drive us home.  Suresh has instilled in me the importance of honking the horn when passing anything. 

A healthy portion of my day is spent writing copy for film projects, newsletters, web material, and any other publication project Dilmah can use to publicize its efforts at the Elephant Transit Home. With my boss 150 miles away, I also attend each elephant feeding.

About 1,200 tickets are sold at the Elephant Transit Home a day

at 20 LKR each (about 15 cents). This averages out to 300 viewers per

public feeding. 

awwwwwww.

Yesterday, environmental scientist turned poop-energy entrepreneur, Chanadan of Bio Fuel Lanka, agreed to give me a tour of a biogas plant installation at the Asialine garment factory. He was required for scheduled maintenance of the plant and was happy to take me along and introduce me to the technology. At the site, Chanadan and Asialine's sustainability head, Roshan, proudly turned on the industrial stove burners powered by compressed methane. By simply pouring the food waste from the kitchen into the digester each day, anaerobic chemical processes produced enough gas to cook hundreds of liters of rice and dal for the employees. As a bonus, Roshan took me on a tour of the clothing factory. Asialine is a massive Sri Lankan enterprise and exports garments to several major clothing companies in the UK and US. More impressive than the gargantuan washing, cutting, and compressing machinery, was the module floor. In an acre-sized room, 1,400 women sat over sewing machines. The combination of the women's bright pink and white uniforms and the overpowering fluorescent ceiling lights rendered a lot of visual information to digest. Roshan was unfazed however, and regaled Chanadan and me with such anecdotes as "If a sewing needle is broken from a machine and lost, the employees have one hour to find it. If it is not located, every garment on the floor is disposed of. We do not want someone pulling on a pair of pants with a needle in it." I'm afraid photography was prohibited.

After the tour, Chanadan and I stopped by the Elephant Transit Home to pursue the feasibility of a biogas plant at the Home, powered by elephant dung, to boil water for the animals' milk. I introduced him to Dr. Vijitha and, after scouting potential locations and reviewing the facilities' requirements, Chanadan was optimistic. It is now a matter of price, a discussion that takes place above my pay grade.

Thank you for your patience. Here are some baby elephant photos:

Less cute, but bonus for exposed tusks.