Confluence of North and South

Saturday, 5 July 2014 00:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A mass-scale exhibition of tourism products on offer in the Northern Province – viz. Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar – was held in the Southern Province, Colombo recently. Organised by the Nucleus Foundation in collaboration with the Good Market Project and USAID, it was held over two days at the Battaramulla Diyatha Uyana and the Colombo Race Course. Its organisers claimed that the event was designed to promote tourism and products services from the north to the south, as well as forge economic and business partnerships between the provinces. Apparently 230 micro-level entrepreneurs travelled to Colombo from across the Northern Province to showcase their wares.

Interesting experience

It proved to be an interesting experience strolling across the stalls, where many artefacts and traditional crafts of the Northern Province were on display. It was also nice to see that quite a few of them had taken the trouble to modernise their designs and products to suit modern tastes and needs. Thus one got to see prettily-designed winnowing fans or hats made out of palmyrah fronds, and bottle holders and shopping baskets made out of banana twine. The advantage of banana twine products as opposed to palmyrah products, say their promoters, is that banana twine is hardier and less prone to fungal attack, and therefore more durable – although in the long run, also eco-friendly and bio-degradable. There were however also a multitude of palmyrah products to choose from. Not just the traditional wide-brimmed hats but also caps – as well as baskets, mats and popular kitchen items like winnowing fans and pittu steaming containers (neethu petti). A popular palmyrah product trend in the north now is creative decorative items like colourful flower arrangements and wall hangings, which unfortunately were not displayed at this exhibition. There were other innovative items like deep-fried tender jackfruit and bitter gourd pakoras that were selling like hot cakes.

Much-famed ‘Alpha Mixture’

The much-famed ‘Alpha Mixture’ of Jaffna – which sells a variety of snacks apart from the mixture – also had a stall. They are probably the most popular savoury snacks industry operating in the north right now. What is the secret of your success amongst so many similar competitors, I asked the Alpha Mixture sales reps. “Our attention to quality,” responds one. “Our unique taste, geared to appeal to our customers,” responds the other. Alpha Mixture is known for a unique combination of salt and chillie in its products which do appeal to many a northern taste-bud. They seemed to resonate well with southern taste-buds too, if their sales were anything to go by. Also on display were several hotels showcasing the various services, views and tours of the areas they cover. “Most southerners who visit wish to see landmarks of the war on tours,” said a tour operator who did not wish to be named. “There is little of that visible now, though!” Instead, what’s being touted now are sand, sea and water – as well as water sports!

Micro-entrepreneurs

And then, there were the various micro-entrepreneurs. The northern economy still hasn’t grown sufficiently to boast a vibrant private sector. Many people are not absorbed into the Government work-force and therefore are compelled to be self-employed. All are victims of war and still traumatised but some are more tenuous and strong-willed than others. Sajirani Krishnathas from Mullaitivu is a prime example. Or an exception, depending on how you look at it. She is what is known of as a ‘Female-Headed Household (FHH)’ in post-war Sri Lanka. A widow with a family to support, who lost her husband to the war. FHHs are often considered by aid agencies to be one of the most difficult, even though most deserving sections of the population to be made financially stable. Their dual duties of care-giver at home and breadwinner who has to work away from home, often clash; in addition to which the culture is heavily stacked against them – doubly as women as well as widows.

Sajirani’s story

Sajirani however was probably the most successful micro-entrepreneur present at the exhibition. She had even won a presidential award for her entrepreneurship skills the last Women’s Day on 8 March. “I experimented with the produce from my garden to make some vegetable-based snacks,” says Sajirani. “I actually wanted to make something similar to the Tipi-Tip (popular Sri Lankan crispies) but that needed expensive packaging, so I turned them into papadam instead.” “I experimented with various vegetables before settling on carrots, beetroots and gotukola as the best fits. The colours of orange, red and green are all natural, not dyes.” According to Sajirani, students at the University of Jaffna have tested her products and confirmed them to be more nutritious than normal papadam. Rather surprisingly, the samples she gave out did taste like papadam – in addition to being crispy and crunchy. She also proudly shows off her three-wheeler driving license. “I learnt to drive the three-wheeler in order to travel and market my products. Several shops in Mullaitivu now carry my papadam. And at this exhibition, a few southern supermarket reps have also left behind their cards, asking me to contact them. They are interested in carrying my products too.”

Other innovations

Other innovations on display included ornaments made from seashells. Tamil households are addicted to ornaments, mostly figurines made out of plaster or china. A group of young women in Mannar however have got together to produce ornaments in the same vein – except these are produced from locally available sea-shells. Also on display at several stalls were handbags, purses and footwear – mainly leather products, produced by groups of self-employed young women, trained by aid agencies. The advantage with them is that they also take on custom orders. “How durable are these footwear?” I asked one rep. “Well,” she answers, “I make mine myself and these have lasted for six months now.”

Soft-toy makers

And then there were the soft-toy makers. These were not self-employed. They worked in a factory in Jaffna. Where did they learn the art of soft toy making? “At an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp we were located in during the war,” they recall. And how much of a salary do they get? “Rs. 8,000 to 10,000.” Is that enough for a sustainable livelihood? “No,” they respond. “But what to do? This is better than nothing.” The toys they make sell from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 3,000 each, and they produce several such toys a month. Do they get overtime payments, off-day payments (they are supposed to work full days on Saturdays and even statutory holidays), or annual leave? “Where in Jaffna,” they laugh, “do you get such benefits?” Well yes. And that is perhaps why, in the Northern Province, more people prefer to be self-employed rather than be employed in whatever private sector there is. But that is a tale for another day.