Deepthi Wickremasinghe oversees the cinnamon peelers working at her cinnamon plantation in Balapitiya, in Sri Lanka’s southern district of Galle. The Sri Lanka Red Cross and Spanish Red Cross are helping more than 350 small holder farmers in the Galle district rehabilitate or re-plant cinnamon plantations that were damaged or destroyed in the tsunami. Deepthi received 600 cinnamon seedlings from the Red Cross to replace several hundred plants that were destroyed in her five acre plantation. Cinnamon farmers have also been given agricultural training to improve their skills in planting, fertilizing and irrigation. Cinnamon is one of Sri Lanka’s top export earner crops and some of the best cinnamon is grown, harvested and extracted in Galle district.
Photo: International Federation (p16817)
Skilled peelers in Balapitya extract quills of bark from cinnamon sticks. The quality and price of the cinnamon is determined by the thickness of the quill, the thinnest attracting the highest prices. Cinnamon peeling is a skill learnt from hours of training and is usually passed down from generation to generation. The Red Cross, together with the department of export agriculture has trained 40 cinnamon peelers as part of the project to support the tsunami-affected cinnamon industry.
Photo: International Federation (p16897)
Cinnamon oil distillation plant owner Kingsley Mendis gathers sheaves of leaves from the cinnamon plantation, left over by workers harvesting the bark. The leaves are taken and distilled to make cinnamon oil, which is used for its medicinal properties or to make a range of commercial products ranging from toothpastes to perfumes.
Photo: International Federation (p16820)
Kingsley Mendis watches as workers extract cinnamon oil by filling large wooden vats with cinnamon leaves. The vats and kilns used in the extraction process at the distillation unit were badly damaged in the tsunami. The Sri Lanka Red Cross and Spanish Red Cross stepped in with funding and, together with the department of export agriculture provided training and the technical expertise in re-building and modernizing five of the most badly damaged units. Each day, five or six bottles of cinnamon oil are extracted for every vat in operation and Kingsley is once again turning a profit.
Photo: International Federation (p16895)
Kinsley Mendis helps his children with school work at the family home in Balapitya. Kingsley has left the wall in the background unpainted as it shows how high the water rose during the tsunami. He has turned this section of his house into a children’s room.
Disaster management
