CJS campaigns to protect the elephant in the wild

Tuesday, 16 December 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A first in Sri Lanka where an international celebrity with a local corporate supports an environmental cause
The collection spotlights importance of elephant conservation

The majestic elephant, who has for five thousand years been a symbol of Sri Lanka’s wild becomes the heart and soul of the latest collection unveiled by Colombo Jewellery Stores. ‘Unforgettable’, a collection that truly articulates ‘A Future In The Wild’ espouses the extraordinary natural beauty secreted in the wild, where the gentle yet ample presence of the wild elephant balances the vignettes of nature that may go unseen to the human eye. It was this unique balance of nature, the wild and contemporary elegance that award winning Bollywood actress and CJS Brand Ambassador Jacqueline Fernandez, herself an animal lover launched in Colombo, spotlighting the danger of immense population decline these Olympian animals face if the rising human-elephant conflict continues. Collaborating with the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, CJS used the backdrop of the remote Pussellayaya and Weheragalagama villages in Wasgamuwa, which is home to about 350 elephants, to place its Unforgettable campaign upon, committing to seek sustainable solutions for the villagers to live unitedly with the elephant in the wild, encouraging a cohesive tolerance and a habitat that would encourage co-existence rather than conflict.

Having herself experienced the sights and sounds of the Pussellayaya and Weheragalagama villages, the launch of the campaign began with Jacqueline participating in the elephant walk through the elephant corridor, beginning at the electric fence surrounding the Weheragalagama village. While conversing with the villagers who joined her, together with Chairman of CJS Akram Cassim and SLWCS Founder and President Ravi Corea, the walk headed over the tank bund, the Tree Hut Corridor and concluding at the Tree Hut. Jacqueline gleaned more information about elephant issues from the villagers, while elephants grazed on the horizon, keeping a watchful eye on the walkers. “I believe strongly that a brand like CJS, by joining the SLWCS, can spur immense awareness and educate not only the inhabitants of the village but also the general public of the need to conserve the elephant in the wild,” she opined. “We don’t realise how difficult it is for people in remote villages to balance a sustainable livelihood, but what we also don’t realise is that through decades of development, humans have encroached on elephant habitats and made their livelihoods in these habitats making it difficult for elephants to find new habitats because the fact is there is no new land to move into.” A wildlife enthusiast himself and an avid elephant photographer in his earlier days, Akram articulates the inspiration of ‘A Future In The Wild’ in his indelible masterpieces, beautifully hand-crafted earrings, bangles and bracelets, using amethysts, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and citrines. Slightly abstract and marrying both contemporary and classic design features, Unforgettable reflects the understated elegance that is the CJS hallmark. In introducing the entire CJS range of stones in this Collection, Akram communicates nature’s multi-hued pallette, opening up a canvas of thought provoking persuasions designed to make the beauty of nature and thereby, the elephant in the wild, the conversation piece. The fluidity of swirling diamonds interwoven with emeralds speaks of running waters interspersing fern fronds lying hidden in the depths of multi-coloured foliage, ideally described through purple and gold chromaticity placed on double sided chandelier earrings, reds, blues, golds and sparkles showcasing drops of dew on textured ferns and unfolding leaves seen in the whirls worked into bracelets and bangles. The SLWCS, which has been working for elephant conservation for nearly two decades, mooted one of the longest operating participatory community based human-elephant conflict resolution projects in the world, Saving Elephants by Helping People, which won the prestigious UNDP Equator Initiative Prize in 2008 in addition to a host of other awards.