From starting her own eco friendly hotel Saraii Village to becoming an organic farmer and founding Saraketha, Charitha Abeyratne speaks about the importance of going organic
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Courtesy of Charitha Abeyratne
With a clutch of awards and accolades, entrepreneur Charitha Abeyratne has been pioneering the concept of sustainable tourism and empowering local communities in rural areas through her hotel Saraii while her organic produce company Saaraketha is growing exponentially. A role model for young female entrepreneurs, Charitha’s business formulae has put her on the road to achieving her dreams which encouraging sustainability.
How did you come up with the business idea?
I would love to take credit for coming up with the concept of Saaraketha, but that credit goes to Prasanna Hettiarachchi; Saaraketha was his dream, his vision which I supported in bringing it to reality, as a co-founder. Prasanna’s vision was to replicate the successful apparel industry story, in the Agricultural value chain of Sri Lanka.
Where we saw a transition from a “Sweat Shop” to a “One Stop Shop” for the world’s most ethical garments with a tagline of “Garments without Guilt”. Prasanna aims to create a similar transformation in the Agri sector with compliance and technology infusion and making Sri Lanka the Orchard of Asia.
Marketing and Branding is my forte and I travelled the country along with Prasanna, meeting farmers, understanding what they do, so that I can creatively communicate the “farm to table” connection to our consumers.
It was this journey that led me to understand that our local farmers were not happy; they were not happy for their kids to be in the same vocation, as they felt agriculture was not rewarding enough. This got me thinking of what else the locals can do in their own environments that might be more appealing to them. One of the ideas I toyed with was Eco / Agro tourism…
I wanted my business idea to be a Triple Bottom line aligned business similar to Saaraketha, where environmental and social sustainability was a key factor, apart from making money! Since I had no experience in setting up a business, I decided to get an MBA.
I found a suitable programme at Colorado State University, called the Global Social Sustainable Enterprise, also got myself a Fulbright Scholarship that funded by MBA. This gave me the time to flesh out my idea, make the necessary changes, and create a model that would work in
rural Sri Lanka.
Once I came back to Sri Lanka, I faced so many stumbling blocks from the get go, but call it perseverance or call it persistence, we made it happen…
I called it Saraii, a Hebrew word that simply means ‘the essence’ and also means “A place to stay for travellers” in Sanskrit. And true to its meaning, Saraii Village exemplifies the true essence of Sri Lankan village life. Today, Saraii Village is a dream, a concept, a connection and a business venture all rolled into one. It is an eco-tourism resort in the South of Sri Lanka built for responsible travellers from around the globe to experience the true essence of Sri Lankan life. It’s a return to basics and a lesson on how to enjoy simple pleasures, healthy food and live a lifestyle that retains a message of giving back to the community, our planet, and ourselves.
What were the challenges you faced as a female entrepreneur?
Most of the gender specific challenges came up when setting up Saraii. Tourism is still a male dominated industry and here I was, a complete novice trying to establish my own venture and trying to do it in a completely different way; which was not well received by some…
At first, they thought it was silly; because I was trying to build accommodation on trees and chalets out of mud with no normal hotel features like AC, Hot Water and no Buffets! Most of them did not understand the concept of “sustainable and responsible travel”.
Access to capital was another hurdle - I built the first 4 rooms with the money I had saved up while I was in the US, where I worked part time as a Graduate Assistant. However, when
I planned to expand the project, some of the banks I walked into, did not take my skills, my education background and my good track record of money management into consideration! They asked me about my husband’s occupation, and if he can co-sign any financial facility along with me! This was demotivating, as I wanted them to back me and what I brought to the table as an individual.
While setting up Saraii, most officials in every government institution I had to visit, found it “humorous” that I had come to register my business! I distinctly remember one official laughing and asking very loudly if my father gave me this business as a dowry to keep me busy, because I was plainly too bored. These words struck a painful chord in me, but also gave me sheer determination to succeed.
While I was fleshing out this idea of Saraii while in CSU, I had 3 more co-founders, but seeing how poorly the idea was received, they all quit before we started and I had to decide whether to give up or do it everything by myself. I’m grateful that I did not quit.
