Siddhalepa Group builds greener nation with the participation of school children

The nelli trees are tall. The plants lush and bountiful. They are well tended, with organic manure and fresh water, by caring little hands daily. 

A large mesh made of natural substances cover a corner of the land for the wines to spread their leaves and branches of trees firmly rooted in the earth support the green stalks as they reach towards the sky....

This is the herbal garden in a school in the outskirts of Colombo South, typically representative of   herbal gardens set up in schools countrywide by the Siddhalepa Group as a key initiative of their commitment to create a greener nation. 

Over 200 schools in all parts of the country, from point Pedro to Dondra Head are part of this green wave, a solid investment by the Siddhalepa Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to promote and build a greener nation with the participation of youth – the future of our nation. 

The project which began in 2010 with a pilot herbal garden has received the patronage of larger environment groups who have contributed and participated in this initiative which has now grown to proportions where it is a challenge to the Siddhalepa Group to accommodate the requests pouring in from schools to set up herbal gardens in their premises.

For, the setting up of an herbal garden is a process requiring the maximum effort and support of the Siddhalepa team. From the initial groundwork of identifying schools, preparing the land for plantation, distributing the plants, manure and tools, to monitoring the progress of the herbal garden to organising and conducting lectures from Ayurveda doctors of the importance and value of the herbs planted the schools garden, the involvement of the Siddhalepa teams headed by their area manages is vital. Without their participation and dedication the project would not be launched and sustained for the past six years.

The project is run by a committee comprising the principal of the school, its environment committee consisting of teachers and students, and the Siddhalepa sales team. Each of the country’s provinces has a dedicated sales team from Siddhalepa to start up and run the school’s herbal gardens. While over 25,000 plants have so far been donated under this initiative, each school is supplied a minimum of 50 -100 plants initially. Plants are selected according to the climate, soil of the area, etc. 

Distributing large quantities of Ayurveda herbs for the school gardens Siddhalepa has encouraged schools to plant Ayurveda herbs and educate the younger generation on their value in Ayurveda medicine. 

“Our younger generation is not too familiar with Ayurveda herbs and their value and effectiveness in treating illnesses,” MD Asoka Hettigoda said. “We take this opportunity to tell them about the value and importance of such indigenous herbs and the need to grow them in our own land in our talk to the school by an Ayurveda doctor or our sales area managers.”

While there is a shortage of Ayurveda herbs in the country, compelling the Siddhalepa Group to import from other countries, this grow green campaign in school gardens would replenish dwindling supplies and make school children familiar with these herbs while promoting green conservation.

It was observed that schoolchildren enthusiastic about what they had studied and experienced about this herbal garden project, persuaded their parents to plant Ayurveda herbs in their home garden as well, thus encouraging a higher than expected growth of Ayurveda plants in the rural areas where land was in abundance. This course of events would be hugely advantageous to the domestic Ayurveda herb supply in future years.