Sri Lanka Industrial Visit
Acknowledgment I would like to sincerely express my gratitude to our faculty Praveen Nahar for giving us this wonderful opportunity to visit and explore the beautiful country of Sri Lanka. It was a great experience and I am very grateful for it. A hearty thanks to Amresh Panigrahi for joining us. I am especially thankful to the students and staff of the University of Moratuwa and all the guidance they have offered. It was humbling to see how openly they welcomed us and am so happy to have gained some wondereful friends.
Prologue We, students of Product Design semester 7 as part of the course Industrial Visit had the wonderful opportunity to visit the country of Sri Lanka for Design Week 2018 in collaboration with the University of Moratuwa. This document is a brief description of our time and experinces during this visit.
Our Hosts As we arrived at the Columbo Airport we were warmly greeted by the students of the University of Moratuwa. They graciously took us into their homes and hearts, quite literally, giving us both companionship and guidance. Through the course of the week we became good friends with the students, especially the Level 1 and Level 2 students. We saw their studios and labs and also got a tour of the lush green campus. The students were also our key source of information as we turned to them for every visit and trip we intended to make. They tried to teach us a few words of Sinhalese which we tried to associate with Indian languages. They showed us to the best spots for souvenir
shopping and tourist hotspots. We closly became friends, often comparing our faculty , campuses and even how we interact with our juniors. They told us stories of the crocodile in their college lake we told them about the horrid heat of Ahmedabad. The students were so nice and hospitable the entire duration of our stay. They were always ready to help us with anything and were very gracious. Indeed the students set a great example of their culture and upbringing, and showed us how welcoming Sri Lnaka can be. We only hope to return the favour when they visit.
Design Code 2018 The Design Week or Design Code as it is originally known is a week long event that showcases the best and newest of Sri Lankas design, along with help from the students and studios that are practising design. Now in its fourth year running this was the first time that it was held on such a large level. Organized at the iconic Independence Arcade the event was a sight to behold. The Main Plaza had originally been a mental asylum but was converted after the British Rule in Sri Lanka. It now serves as a shopping centre and venue for wedding photoshoots (a few of which we were able to see). The was also a central area of the city of Columbo which provided better access to the general
public to attend the events. The events included workshops, live studios talks and sessions. Throughout the event there was also an entire display of the project done by the students all years. The first level students had a study and cardboard replica of the palace where legend has it Sita was held captive by Ravana. The level two students each had a display of their work for Culture Code, a five month project done in conjecture with weaving communities of the different provinces. During this project they work with the weavers to learn and develop the weaving style, using which they create products.
Activities The event was jam-packed with activities focused on design and creation. We started the week with talks on Product Design and its implications followed by a workshop for students by Praveen. We were also given a chance to attend all the live studios that let the public interact with the students and different materials to make things. One of the first was a knotting workshop that let us attempt to make fashionable accessories with just thick yarns and ropes. It was interesting to learn the different techniques but more so to see how repeating the same
one could also create interesting patterns. Another live studio that we attended was the paper workshop, where we were simply given an abundance of newspapers and told to create a safe packaging for a glass bottle that would prevent it from breaking. It was childlike fun for us to try different rolls and folds to make the paper sturdy. Perhaps the most popular workshop was the weaving workshop that was conducted with the help of the looms made by the students of level2. We were able to learn not only the technique but also its history and where it was from.
Student Workshop On the final day of the Design Week we helped Praveen conduct a workshop with school children on design thinking. The students were explained the fundamentals of design thinking and its importance. We then, along with the final year students of the University of Moratuwa got to work with groups of students. Through the course of the morning we discussed and ideated with the students to create a new water bottle for school children. We got to help the students put down and compile their ideas and concepts for the given brief.
On the final day of the Design Week we helped Praveen conduct a workshop with school children on design thinking. The students were explained the fundamentals of design thinking and its importance. We then, along with the final year students of the University of Moratuwa got to work with groups of students. Through the course of the morning we discussed and ideated with the students to create a new water bottle for school children. We got to help the students put down and compile their ideas and concepts for the given brief.
Fashion Show The final event that marked the closing of the Design Code was a wondrous fashion show. The show that was completely organized by the students was a great display of the hard work of the students and the alumni. The first collection was the final results of the Culture Code. Our friends from Level 2 showed us the weaves and the apparels that they had created from their study and time in the respective provinces they had been to. It was indeed intriguing to see the way the students had made the techniques their own and translated the same into
fashionable articles of clothing. We were able to the differences in the colour palettes and dressing styles of the different regions of Sri Lanka. This was then followed by a select top 5 collections of the senior students. The Design Code thus gave them a chance to launch the brands that they would like to represnt in the future. The work of these seniors was quite inspiring as they showed their finesse and skill in the field.
Elephant Orphanage Pinnawala One of the places we visited during our time in Sri Lanka was the elephant orphanage at Pinnawala. The famous sanctuary for elephants provides a safe home for displaced or hurt. Spread over rolling green hills and cool, shady patches of trees the orphanage houses and cares for these animals while at the same time provide a place where the public can see them and interact. Although we were too late to see the feeding of the elephants we were still able to see the elephant calves and watch them munch on leaves. The orphanage details out the daily schedule of the
elephants so that visitors can see all the different activities they do in a day. The elephants we noticed were significantly smaller than the Indian elephant, perhaps due to it being an island species. Outside the orphanage we heard that there was a factory that used the elephant dung to make paper. The fiber from the dung was re-purposed and mixed with regular pulp to make a paper that is popular in Sri Lanka. Inspite of us not being able to see the factory we were later able to buy a notebook of this paper.
Kandy One of the first places we were told to visit was the hillstation that is Kandy. Kandy is a large city in central Sri Lanka. It’s set on a plateau surrounded by mountains, which are home to tea plantations and bio diverse rain forest. Kandy is famed for sacred Buddhist sites. We were luck enough to afford a day out which we dedicated to this trip to Kandy. The journey up to Kandy in itself was quite the adventure with crazy country roads that snaked like a roller coaster and the never ending rain that we got caught in. Even so the whole trip with Praveen, Amresh and the
students was quite memorable. We were able to visit several Buddhist Temples along with some craft centers that opened up more of Sri Lanka’s natural art scene to us. Gadaladeniya Raja Maha Viharaya was the first of these temples. Built on a rock it sits in isolation with not may visitors. It houses a small shrine with a deity of Buddha along with a Bodhisatva tree and smaller shrines. It had its own charm with a lily pond and overlooking the majestic forests and hills of Kandy.
We also visited Embekke Devale. The vahalkada or the entrance porch of the devale has 16 wooden pillars with some of the finest wood carvings, including a carving of a “mother and child�. t was more open than the previous one. Interestingly it was also close to a wood workshop that still practiced the traditional method of wood carving of Kandy. Most of the posts and adornments in the temple were in the same style. We visited a store that sold such wooden items and got to see up close the articles and the tools that the craftsmen used for carving.
The last temple we visited was the Sacred Tooth temple. This grand temple was a sight to behold, with grand ceilings and an entire moat that surrounded the main complex. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. We saw the main shrine and also observed the various religious practices that were happening in and around the temple, like the offering of the purple water lilies and the lighting of butter lamps. The overall experience was indeed wonderful.
National Design Centre - Kandy While on our pilgrimage of Kandy we also got the oppurtunity to visit the National Design Centre, that helped local artisans use their skills to create an income for themselves. The Design Centre promotes the production and sale of handmade arts and crafts that are sold through stores like Laksala in cities, the profits of which are then returned to the artisans. We were taken around the facility and got to see the various crafts that they promote and teach. This included metal working with bronze and copper sheets. Often designs would be made onto the sheets and
inlays of silver would be added. Another was lacquer work quite similar to the wooden toys of Chanapatna. The similarities in our cultures is easily visible when we see these crafts. We were able to see live demonstrations of the artisans in work as they showed us how they make figurines from wax and metal, purses from pure leather and containers from wood that were then meticulously coated in lacquer. It was definitely a great experience to see the workshop and interact with the artisans to learn about the crafts of Sri Lanka.
Galle On the final day of our visit we went down to the Southern province to a town called Galle. We along with our guide Mrs.Rowandika and our friends from the University accompined us to the coastal town. The town of Galle which was previously a Dutch fortified region is now a tourist hotspot. We spent the initial part of the day explorin the city with all of its beautiful colonial architecture. We went into the forified regions and saw the old walls, towers and the lighthouse. We also got to see the beach which due to the large coral growth had crystal clear water.
We also took a look at all the numerous shops that were selling various trinkets, gifts and even free tea as we wandered around the town. We saw villas that had been preserved in their architecture as places for tourists for rent and stay in. We visited the National Maritime Museum and saw some interesting models of ships and saw some stories of interesting discoveries of ships. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and time with our new friendsand took our leave from the wonderful country.
Looking Back On a personal note our visit to Sri Lanka was one of my best experiences. It was not only a wonderful visit to a whole new country but it was a great learning experience. We saw and learned so much about the differences in governance, politics, education, hospitality, food and especially culture. We got to see both the urban areas and the villages. We traveled through the cities and got to see the markets and shops. We had a blast trying new foods and realizing how Sri Lanka was really the melting pot of so many South East Asian cultures. We even tried to learn the
language, which again felt so familiar due to the accent and the letter form. But most of all we made some amazing friends. While the design fest itself had been a great experience and a source of inspiration for us to conduct a similar fest it was really the people we met that elevated it. This trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable had we not met the people we had met. They took us in with open arms and made us feel right at home. Within a few days we made such incredible bonds we were quite sad while leaving, but at least we had the memories.