Impact Stories

Building the Aspiration and Future

Bio Foods, in its long time followed path of “working with and working for people & nature” has taken many initiatives supporting this cause in all of their project locations. Of them, Elamulla (in Nuwara Eliya District) is a Organic Farm Bungalow project which stretches in a 17 acre land with a colonial type bungalow that supports responsible & participatory eco tourism, while being engaged in Organic Agriculture. 

During the first phase of the Elamulla project Mr IKGD Dharmasena,(affectionately known as Mahathun) comes in to touch with Bio Foods. Being the bread winner of the  family of wife and 4 children (3 daughters and 1 son), he and his wife started working in the farmlands of Elamulla Organic farm as a daily paid worker. With his nonchalant way of facing the difficulties in life, his untiring enthusiasm in working for a good cause, his faith in the Organic concepts had later won him the opportunity of being given the responsibility of looking after a plot of farm land for which Bio Foods have allocated a monthly payment. Bio Foods has extended the fullest support for him in flourishing this farm land in to a productive one by providing him with technical inputs, liquid manure, compost etc.

With a matter of times and due to the close relationship Bio Foods entertain with all its communities, it was brought to an understanding that the living conditions of his home is in an extremely poor status in relation to all the infrastructure. Kind of hardships the children, who are all in school going ages,  had to face in their day to day lives, have hindered their abilities in excelling in educational and extra curricular activities, which has severe consequences on their health and future. After  experiencing and evaluating these conditions they go through as a family, Bio Foods has taken the decision of easing the major difficulty they face everyday, by providing financial assistance for them to build their home.

This worthy cause started in  March 2011 and the total estimated project value for completing the house with 2 bed rooms a lobby area and a kitchen amounted to LKR 550 000.00 When started, it has become an effort of structured labour plus participatory contribution components from the family members. So far Bio Foods have funded LKR 197,600.00 (in cash and materials) which resulted in completing 2 bed rooms and the kitchen. Bio Foods monitored the progress of this project time to time, keeping inline with the quality standards and  budget lines. Remaining work to complete this project will cost close to LKR 352 000

Providing them with other basic infrastructure needs such as  electricity,safe drinking water and proper sanitary facilities are in pipe line projects, which is considered as potential opportunities for anyone who wish to make things better for less privileged in the world. Supporting his children for continuation of their school education by providing them with books and other requirements, will be a long term social investment.

Today, the happy family is living in their half way built new home, with enhanced & enriched hopes in their lives, and better prospective for the future of the children. 

In a Trail of a Millennia Old ‘Sweet’ Tradition

Senarathna initially started working with Bio Foods in 2009 as a individual supplier of treacle and jaggery, and with the formation of MOPA he now is included in the farmer organization as a small ecological producer.

50 years old Mr Senarathna hail from Hangarapitiya who lives with his wife and two children, daughter & a son.

 With the sunrise every day, he is getting ready to harvest one of the most valuable gift from the mother nature, the sap of Kithul tree

Senarathna and his heirs are the proud beneficiaries of this millennia-old tradition & knowledge, that will continue in the decades to come, sweetening lives of every one

Rangiri Ranketha Organic & Bio Dynamic Research and Training Center

Rangiri Ranketha Training Center was initiated in February 2010 and is located within the Rangiri Ranketha farm of which the total extent of  land is about 20 Acres.

The objectives of establishing this training center was to develop an organic & bio dynamic agriculture training and research center to educate & train farmers, university students, extension officers and any other interested groups who are involved in this sector and to provide facilities to conduct research on organic,  bio dynamic  and ecological farming. 

Training programmes are designed by competent resource persons with valuable inputs from Dr Sarath Ranaweera as key resource person, and contains class room sessions, discussions, practical demonstrations and field experiences in the Farm. Rangiri Ranketha farm  provides practical experience of earth friendly farming systems which includes compost unit, liquid fertilizer unit, animal husbandry unit etc for the trainees while being an economically viable venture.

This project is funded by Sustainable Sourcing Programme of Frontier USA – Well Earth, for which we extend our heartfelt gratitude.

People who enjoys the life close to nature are invited with warm cordiality to share this invaluable experience,  enriched with respect and love for everything gifted abundantly by mother nature.

The training center has the potential to develop in to a in house and field training facilities for 50 persons with dining hall, mini lab for  basic tests, computer room and a library, with an expected annual outreach of 5000 farmer practitioners.