Village development plans

Badulla does not possess the climate of the hill country. But there are some far stretched parts of the district that make you think otherwise. I was on a journey towards Ettampitiya and from there I wanted to wander off to the mountains covered with tea plantations.

Hali-ela is practically the neighborhood of Badulla. But from Hali-ela to Ettampitiya, one would find an ascending road with hairpin curves and sharp braes on a side. Isn’t what you wished for? I asked myself.

The road was peaceful and the climate was mild. The Ettampitiya town resembled a newly developed Sri Lankan town with an undertone of the old town. Even the Wade and the plain tea I had in one of the hotels made me feel nostalgic for the old town. But still this isn’t my destination. I took the mountain road stretched with curves all the way towards Gawela.

The rugged asphalt road between the lines of tea plants is pleasant enough to make you forget the heat. The scenery stretched beyond the range of green tea plants and the mist hovering around the mountain acmes in the vista would remind you of the terrain you are traveling through: The Uva hills.

At the hour I chose to travel, I have barely seen people around. Except the bunch of girls and boys who were waiting for a bus in a junction of course. Yes you have to wait for some time till a bus to the main town arrives. And the waiting time wouldn’t be killing if you are with your chatty friends!

I made a little pit stop in the only little boutique I saw within few miles. I could feel the curious eyes set on me while zipping my tea. People were certainly curious but when I look at any of them, they would treat me with a big cordial smile and more curious looks! Even on the way when the CTB bus to Ettumpitiya passes me, kids in the bus would peep from the window and wave at me with big smiles painted across their faces. That site would certainly warm your heart!

I was traveling this far off Ettumpitiya for two reasons. First I wanted to see the amazing site of mountain ranges through the arrays of tea plants and ride on these mountain roads just to make my heart fill with the pleasure. Secondly, I promised to a friend that I would meet her since I’m around the corner. She’s apparently working even though it was a Sunday but then again I knew her as a dedicated government servant. A little weekend holiday wouldn’t keep her away from work I guess. She asked me to come to a school situated on my way. Apparently all the Grama Sewa officers and villagers of the division met together to make something call VDP or the Village Development Plan! I couldn’t make heads or tails of it but certainly it intrigued my curiosity to visit them.

It was a huge meeting than I expected. And very mesmerizing as well! They have created maps of the division that would explain details from the terrain to resources to yearly climate. They started creating them using different color flowers, stones, sand on the floor and then copied them into papers. Then the villagers came up with all the social or infrastructure of any other issues related to the village that need to be fixed and used a ranking system to identify the most pressing issues needs to be solved. They even came up with novelty ideas and proposals to develop the village or bring something extra to the village. Also they have categorized the responsibilities of each and every relevant government servant assigned for those village divisions and they have rated their services based on the performance. It was truly amazing to see the methodologies, the teamwork and the sense of community at work here!

My friend is another Grama Sewa officer from Kandana division. She explained me the whole process and the purpose of this meeting over a cup of tea and she explained to me that the force behind this work is the Praja-Mandala concept which used to be around decades ago but slowly ceased to exist eventually. She said that the government and a non-government body Chrysalis worked together to bring it back to life. The work I’ve witnessed is just a one step of the journey!

I’ve heard of the Praja Mandala before but never have seen the positive impact that could cause to a neighborhood before. And I haven’t seen Grama Sewa officers engage with villagers shoulder to shoulder with such a passion and a sense of teamwork before.

It was a pleasure to meet my friend here. But I needed to be on my way as I intended to reach my destination before the sunset. And of course I wanted to know more about this Praja-Mandala projects and the impact they’ve caused.

I could feel that there would be more to the story and I wanted to find out myself. And my friend agreed to help me with that! That would be another story!