Igniting Green Enterprise: Field Visit Lays Groundwork for Value Chains in Knuckles Region
The GCF Knuckles Project has completed a crucial field visit to the Kandy and Matale districts, identifying significant opportunities to develop pilot-level green value chains within estate worker cooperatives and smallholder farmer organizations.
The assessment found great, yet currently untapped, potential in several key areas, including:
- Herbal Products and Kithul: Utilizing local resources like heen bovitiya and kithul for value-added products.
- Tourism Services: Leveraging abundant tourist traffic in areas like Sembuwatta and Hulangala, which local communities currently see minimal economic benefit from.
- Dairy and Cardamom: Improving production and developing value-added products in the dairy and cardamom sectors.
What Happens Next?
The project is moving immediately to implement “quick-win” activities within the first 12 weeks to deliver early economic benefits to vulnerable communities. This includes:
- Launching new products in food sales and herb processing.
- Initiating basic sales points and weekend sales booths near tourist areas.
- Deploying solar dryers and standardized packaging to improve product quality.
- Addressing regulatory barriers to kithul tapping by initiating dialogue with the Excise and Forest Departments.
These pilot activities will establish a proof-of-concept for scalable, inclusive rural enterprise development across the Knuckles project area.
