Day 3 – Production visit, in Dompe
Monday, 6.30 a.m.: You can tell that the journey is still a bit difficult for us. But the tiredness vanishes at the thought of the breakfast ahead of us. 😉 Now it's getting exciting again: What do we have for breakfast here? The buffet offers lots of hot and… just right, spicy dishes, such as various curries, but also beans, sausages and the traditional egg hopper: a kind of thin crepe made from coconut milk and rice flour, shaped like a bowl, filled with fried eggs and other add-ons such as coconut sambal, a coconut salad with chili, and lime. Ohh... and then there are lots of fresh, exotic fruits like mango, pineapple and watermelon... what a wonderful way to start an exciting day!
After breakfast we make our way inland to the production of our partner, driving time is about 1-1.5 hours. The traffic is significantly higher than the day before, since Sundays are also a kind of rest day in Sri Lanka. The driving style of the Sinhalese takes some getting used to, because on the narrowest streets it seems to be normal for 3 vehicles to constantly try to move in parallel. On our drive we see a lot of Buddha statues and temples, as well as an extremely green, fertile landscape with coconut palms and other exotic trees and rice fields as far as the eye can see.
Arriving at the company, we are greeted in a very friendly manner and introduced to everyone. We get coconut water as a welcome drink. We take a detailed look at the entire company premises, the production, the machines, all production processes - records, the production range, certifications, etc.
After the tour, our partner will remain in front of the company entrance. Here are two coconut palms with king coconuts - these are the yellow coconuts that are arguably considered the healthiest. Our partner quickly harvests a few coconuts with a machete and expertly opens them for us. Mhmm… what a refreshment! It's just right at over 30 degrees! Our partner tells us that the yellow king coconuts are considered the kings of coconuts - due to the high number of minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, zinc and the many essential amino acids. With the many electrolytes, they are considered an isotonic thirst quencher. Now we are strengthened!
A big lesson today: Jackfruit has a very, very sticky liquid inside the fruit, which makes cutting the fruit extremely difficult. But thank God we are dealing with professionals who know exactly which tricks to use. Incidentally, pure coconut oil is used to remove the sticky consistency from your hands. What a miracle drug! And by the way, a great benefit & a great scent for our hands 😊
After all production employees have taken their lunch break in the break area, we have an excellent home-cooked lunch with jackfruit curries in a wide variety of variants (also less spicy 😉 ) Our happiness is perfect with fresh pineapple, mango and sweet jackfruit for dessert!
After lunch, it's time for product development. Because we already had some ideas here in Germany, which the team on site have already implemented. We do a big tasting and agree on changes to the first product samples. We are very impressed by the quality awareness and innovative thinking of all employees, as well as the flexibility of the company. This is how work is fun!
In the evening we drive to a nature resort (Wasala Nature Resort) where we stay 2 nights. The reception of the staff is so friendly and courteous that we feel right at home. After everyone has freshened up, dinner is served at the resort. Over roasted cashew nuts with coconut oil, chili and curry leaves and the local lion beer, our partner tells us more about the impressive history of Sri Lanka. This is how history is fun!
Day 4 - Visit to the various home gardens
For breakfast there is fresh papaya & pineapple juice, (spicy) fish curry (although ordered not spicy 😉 ), lentil curry dhal, coconut roti (a kind of tortilla) and eggs. What a special start to the day! Well strengthened, we can look at the home gardens today. The first stop is a huge garden that belongs to a family that lives in a small beautiful house in the middle. Here everything grows as it has been growing for ages. Banana trees, next to jackfruit trees, next to coconut palms, next to papaya trees, next to pepper & cinnamon trees & next to curry trees. And because the family can't eat everything on their own, we have an agreement with our partner that he can come by regularly to harvest. And so you have to imagine many different families with their gardens (the so-called home gardens). The plants simply grow in their natural environment in tropical weather conditions, regularly bearing fruit ready to be harvested.
Another highlight is the visit of another family, who freshly harvests a ripe jackfruit for us and professionally cuts it up in front of - and for - us. We all agree: We have not often eaten something so special and delicious in taste.
OK…. And then this comes:
It took us a while to understand that this is a sprouted coconut. But right after the first bite, it was clear that this white ball tasted like a delicious kind of cool meringue inside.
Fully fed and overjoyed, it's a few meters further to a home garden where coconut syrup is made. There is an expert here who climbs down 28 coconut palms twice a day (morning and evening) to collect the syrup obtained. We almost catch our breath when we see what a skillful and quick technique the syrup expert is up on the palm with.
In the evening we go out to eat with our partner's family and spend a great evening! Then we fall into bed tired and I am sure that we will dream of all the delicious fruits.
