Ellawala Horticulture and its employees participate in community projects regularly. While supporting the local school, the company has supported projects to a build community electric fence and set up a water filtration plant for the local community.
Periodic medical camps, repainting wards in the local hospital and an annual “Dansala” coinciding with Poson Poya celebrations are some of the other periodic community service activities supported by the Company.
DAMBEWATANA SCHOOL PROJECT
Ellawala Horticulture provided 1000 TJC mango plants for the school garden development program of the Dambewatana School which is adjacent to the Farm and has about 120 students from Grades 1 through 8.
The company maintains the school plantation and the income accrues to the school development fund, which has been used by the school administration to renovate buildings and equip classrooms.
HUMAN ELEPHANT CONFLICT MITIGATION
The company pioneered the introduction of village electric fencing (as opposed to forest reserve fencing) as a means to mitigate the Human Elephant Conflict in the villages around the Ellawala Farm.
The company brought together the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the farmer organizations in the neighbouring villages to erect a 14 km electric fence along village boundary to prevent elephant incursions into the village.
About 500 families residing in 6 villages, namely Dambewatana, Kompalagama, Aluth Balaluwewa, Unduruwa, Aluth Unduruwa and Kalagama which together has about 350 plots of 2.5 acres each, benefited from this initiative, providing much needed relief to both man and animal.
DAMBEWATANA DRINKING WATER PROJECT
Consuming untreated ground water has been identified as a major cause of chronic kidney (CKD) Disease in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. When several villagers in the neighborhood of the Ellawala Farm were diagnosed with CKD, access to treated drinking water became a high priority for the villages. The Company stepped in by constructing a room to house a water treatment plant. This project has benefited around 100 families.