While travelling to meet farmer Sarath Premathilaka of Palledelthota, Galaha who cultivates all kinds of indigenous plant varieties, especially traditional potatoes, I pass all kinds of queues and protests.
Even if one does not take part in these, seeing them is enough to feel depressed and wonder at the sorry mess we have made of this country.
Yet, this feeling is lifted when one approaches the forest like farming abode of farmer Sarath. One hears laughter and witnesses scenes of relaxed joy; he and his friends, all in their sixties, with two younger persons who have travelled from abroad are lounging around eating an achcharu made of an indigenous variety of a cucumber like fruit which could also pass on as a fruit which in common parlance called tang ting.
Green shelter
Much like the passion fruit creeper, it spreads across and provides a beautiful green shelter. The large fruits hang like bulbs and seated under this canopy sixty five year old Sarath and his friends are relaxing after some work in the morning that had included the uprooting of some indigenous yams for some visitors who had wanted to purchase them.
The time is around 11.00 am and on a small rickety table in the garden are a large bunch of leaf varieties that is to be part of the afternoon lunch.
Somewhere nearby the kettle is boiling in the garden to prepare some pol pala tea. On the table near which they are seated in the garden is an empty arrack bottle, I stifle my laughter and am told a strange story.
Apparently the arrack bottle is a cover to please the police who seem to prefer arrack purchased from the liquor bar to the local and ancient brew kithulra, which has no ill effect on the body.
Sounding like schoolchildren narrating a story of playing truant one of them narrates;
“It’s like this; we keep this bottle to show the police who descend here the minute we climb the kithul tree.” “Well how do the police far away know of this I ask?”
“Don’t you know how people are? They inform them. I am them curious as to how the poisonous quality of arrack is allowed and the non poisonous kithulra is legally unaccepted in present day Sri Lanka.
“That is what the Suddhas wanted I suppose and anyway we keep this arrack bottle handy,” says Sarath. There is then a short discourse as to whether it is indeed illegal to make kithulra and the three wheeler driver I travel to the location insists that it is not and informs that in his village it is not legally barred.
I move the conversation to the lack of electricity, the shortages of diverse sorts alongside the sky rocketing prices and ask how they are coping; and in response the reaction is a few nonchalance shrugs.
“We are not affected by these happenings. We are secure financially because we are secured in our link to the earth. Our happiness is a true happiness. Even though the police try to stop it,” says Sarath.
He then asks if I would like to taste some bees honey from the hives that he rears around his two acre land. He pours almost half of a medium jam bottle sized jar onto my palm and then breaks a couple of indigenous leaf varieties and some native tomatoes and keeps them aside for me to taste.
I then am taken around the land replete with traditional potato/yam varieties that one does not see in the market because we have not had a policy of promoting our indigenous foods.
Below are a list of traditional yams provided by farmer Sarath. Kirisambalala, Kekatiyaala, Nelumala, Gothala, Iniala, Yakuala, Sewelala, NatuAla, Natiala,Kindala, Kidaranala, Guru Ala, Rathala, Angiliala, Raja ala, Kahataala, Pathraala, Godaala, Ingiala, Hathawariyaala, KatuHithurala, Hiruwelli, Peniala, Damanila, Raththawalli, Rathagala, Thedala, Kombuwalli, Kiriwelwila, Ledhanna, Gamburala, Kekuluala, Aluma, Dehiala, Kirikodol, Thiruththuwalli, Hingurala, Kukulala, Udala, Hirithala, Thunmasala, Katuala, Ratala, Welala, Kandala, Kiriala, Rathadala, Erukka, Buthsarana, Rewulala, Deshiyaala, Yakutala and Kohila.
Diverse medications
All of the above have exceptional health properties of varying sort and while some have cooling effects others have heat inducing impact of the body and are also used in diverse medications.
No chemicals are needed to cultivate the above and there are farmers around Sri Lanka who like Sarath Premathilaka, cultivate and conserve these varieties which saves dollars because they need not be imported through middlemen food industrialists and do not need chemical fertiliser or weedicide.
Incidentally, these fertilisers and weedicides are not given free to Sri Lanka and it cost us dollars, as farmer Sarath reminds us.
‘He said we are a poor nation and indeed we are now poor. Everything that has the tag line of ‘development’ in it is done by ‘aid’ or ‘assistance’ or ‘grants’ by other countries. Was this how our ancient kings built this country?
Where is it written that we made Sigiriya or Ruwanweli Seya or established the hydraulic civilisation with ‘foreign aid’? For every inch of the so called modern roads built with foreign funds future generations have to pay. What is the use of talking about all these issues? I am just doing what I have to do,’ Sarath said.
Carpenter
His story is unique. He had been a carpenter by profession until about a decade ago when he was afflicted with cancer. How did he get cancer with this nature friendly lifestyle he follows?
“Well, at that time I was not entirely one with nature and although I still do consume some traditional alcohol in the past, I consumed mostly arrack. My diet was not as of today and the overall result was that I was diagnosed with cancer.
So did he carry out any of the usual Western medication based recommendations?
“No. I checked that I had cancer and I consulted some senior bhikkhus who advised me to engage in meditation practices and possibly change my vocation. Therefore I put to use this family land of two acres which is where my house is located and started farming.”
Does he still have the cancer? “No,” he said, pointing out that when one engages closely with the earth and especially cultivating indigenous plants of diverse medicinal properties that no abnormal health condition can last in the body.
“I do not know what Western countries tell about this, but what I know is what I experienced. I smoked heavily earlier and I have stopped this practice now. There are certain plants and herbs that prevent such addiction also, he said.
Technically, although trained as a carpenter the knowledge of farming and traditional medicine and interlinked knowledge that includes astrology, has been passed down from generations.
Ancient secret
“See, are the ancient books of my grandfather. There is so much of ancient secret knowledge in all of these which Westernised persons may laugh at but we know the effects of it,” he reveals, showing volumes of ancient looking books carefully kept in a cupboard.
“This is how our ancestors were. A farmer was also a doctor and he could be a carpenter as well or any other profession.”
His grandparents and the generations before them were apparently a cross between gurunsanses, astrologers, traditional physicians and farmers.
I ask him about plants for various ailments and he promptly informs me and as my immediate concern is falling hair I am given a list of plant varieties to make oil, which include Eramudu leaves, Nelli leaves, Kingiridiya, Sewendara, Thala Thel and Kotta poll to name a few.
All these are available in his garden and I am informed that we can all easily cultivate these even in small garden spaces.
“There are some people who come here and they tell me that they do not have any garden space at all and have to rely on pots. I tell them that it is alright and that there are even huge trees that can be grown in large barrels, at least upto some extent.
His efforts to conserve and cultivate rare indigenous yams and plant varieties is encouraged mainly by agricultural officer R. Abeysinghe of Pilimathalawa.
Abeysinghe has been spearheading a personally committed drive to encourage the growing of traditional yam varieties and while he has a sample plot in his own small land in Pilimathalawa, he works with farmers such as Sarath to see to the proliferation of indigenous nature based food.
Indigenous varieties
Apart from traditional potato varieties the other plants growing in his land include Vanila, Bulath, Lankan Kaha, Rathu Thampala, Rathu Nivithi, a variety of manioc which is said to turn the skin golden when consumed regularly, Sewendara and all indigenous varieties of fruits and vegetables that include beans and chillies.
Every inch there is some edible plant and I tip toe around the Gotukola plot which grows like grass. Just take a hand full and eat, Sarath laughs and I gladly oblige.
“We remember a different lifestyle and values when we were young. Life was enjoyable like a cloud (pulunrondak) and our parents had time to enjoy with us.
Food was what nature gave and we worshipped the earth. We respected it and it was an honour to walk barefoot on it. All of what we considered medicine and food was one entity and it was from and of the earth and we did not poison the earth to obtain it,” he said.
How did he cope with the pandemic? Does he have fears or getting Covid? His response is succinct.
“I don’t watch the news to get attacks of pandemic fear. I have had no Covid or any illness since I took to farming. My Covid prevention emanates from the earth and it does not give me dubious after effects,” he said.
He said that several school teachers from the area bring their children to see his cultivation.
“It is not the children but the teachers who need to be educated on the vast range of indigenous plants in Sri Lanka which need very little attention and survives even the harshest of weather.”
Children
When these children arrive he advises them on what they can grow easily even in pots or on limited space and goes on to give them some plants.
“There are many university researchers who come here. There was one young women who came recently to research traditional cultivation systems.
At last if our education sector realises the need to enhance the wisdom (Buddhiya) in children and not create exams on machines, Sri Lanka could be a different place, he concluded.