Suggestions: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu.

Perth, Australia. The materials used for land reclamation,
included general household rubbish.

Opposing or being critical of a project should be accompanied by alternative suggestions.

Obviously I am critical of Garbage of Colombo shipped to a Landfill in the Wilpattu Buffer zone or for that matter to any interior part of the Sri Lanka.  This is simply because the large amount of toxic chemical leachate (7 bowser loads, every day for at least 20 years) is trapped in an enclosed environment. (See Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu and Update: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu)

In the case of the Wilpattu Buffer zone site, the leachate is trapped in the Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela Estuary Complex and the Puttalam Lagoon.  Tidal currents are clockwise (Coriolis force) in the Northern hemisphere.  That means all the toxic chemicals are going to flow toward Puttalam town, and the longer the water stays (residence time), more of the chemicals will settle on to the bottom.  These will then eaten by various organisms (shrimp etc) and end up in the bigger fish (food chain).  The worst case is that all the chemicals use up all the oxygen (eutrophication) in the south end of the Lagoon.  Then all fish will die, the lagoon covered with algae and a stink to high heaven (think Bolgoda in Colombo).

Any landfill site in the interior of Sri Lanka will similarly trap the leachate in groundwater sources for years in the future.

So what are my suggestions.

• Use the garbage to create Landfill for the proposed Colombo Port City
  
  I am well aware that the leachate is going into the ocean. However, it is a much better choice than the leach contaminating and getting concentrated in closed environments such as Kala-Oya-Puttalam Lagoon system or groundwater in the interior of the country. 
  
  JFK and La-Guardia Airports in NYC were built using garbage as Landfill. However, they are an environmental disaster a) because wetlands were filled up b) as the leachate continues to seep into enclosed water bodies.  In the case of JFK Airport into Jamaica Bay and La-Guardia into Western Long Island Sound.
  
  Japan and the Netherlands and Perth Australia, seem to have better results, i.e. lesser concentration of leachate because the land reclamation has been bordering in open ocean. Also see Land Reclamation for more examples.
  
• Create blocks of garbage and cement to create artificial reefs and sea -walls where erosion is an issue.
  Charitha Pattiarachi of Uni of Western Australia created an artificial reef for surfing at Cable Station near Perth (I like the "In her study, Pattiaratchi", presumably because of the Charitha.  Pattiaratchi is 6 foot plus, Royal College swimmer and was a bouncer in a London Night Club, while a university student).  
  
  Imagine that, a surfing spot off Colombo Port City.
  
  
• Use waste plastic and burned garbage to create plastic lumber.
  
  See Waste Reduction and Management Institute at School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University for recycled plastic lumber and construction material comprised of municipal solid waste combustor ash and concrete.  They have been doing this since 1987.

American Prairie and Amazon Forest: Man Made ?

A very interesting theory from an article in 2002.  American Prairie and Amazon forest have been shaped by humans over thousands of years, and are not pristine environments as previously thought.  The Native Americans burned the Prairie Grasses to create a habitat ideal for bison, elk and deer; i.e. a gigantic farm for meat.  In the Amazon Forest, Amazonians created large tracts of very fertile super soil (Terra Preta wiki) in an infertile area.

The initial evidence for Prairie burning was as follows.

• de Soto's travels thru South East US in 1539 did not see bison.
• Archaeology of settlements shows very little bison/elk bones 
• Disease brought in by Soto and crowd (and pigs) kills off the Native Americans.
• 100 years later French explorers in the South East US saw no traces of man instead huge herds of bison
• Conclusion: Native Americans kept bison population down. After Native Americans died of European diseases the bison numbers exploded.

Anyway excerpts article.

Every tomato in Italy, every potato in Ireland, and every hot pepper in Thailand came from this hemisphere. Worldwide, more than half the crops grown today were initially developed in the Americas.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán dazzled Hernán Cortés in 1519; it was bigger than Paris, Europe's greatest metropolis. The Spaniards gawped like hayseeds at the wide streets, ornately carved buildings, and markets bright with goods from hundreds of miles away. They had never before seen a city with botanical gardens, for the excellent reason that none existed in Europe. The same novelty attended the force of a thousand men that kept the crowded streets immaculate. (Streets that weren't ankle-deep in sewage! The conquistadors had never heard of such a thing.)

The Hurons, a chagrined missionary reported, thought the French possessed "little intelligence in comparison to themselves." Europeans, Indians said, were physically weak, sexually untrustworthy, atrociously ugly, and just plain dirty. (Spaniards, who seldom if ever bathed, were amazed by the Aztec desire for personal cleanliness.)
Rather than domesticating animals for meat, Indians retooled whole ecosystems to grow bumper crops of elk, deer, and bison. The first white settlers in Ohio found forests as open as English parks—they could drive carriages through the woods.

In North America, Indian torches had their biggest impact on the Midwestern prairie, much or most of which was created and maintained by fire. Millennia of exuberant burning shaped the plains into vast buffalo farms. When Indian societies disintegrated, forest invaded savannah in Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Texas Hill Country.

Yet recently a growing number of researchers have come to believe that Indian societies had an enormous environmental impact on the jungle. Indeed, some anthropologists have called the Amazon forest itself a cultural artifact—that is, an artificial object.

In a widely cited article from 1989, William Balée, the Tulane anthropologist, cautiously estimated that about 12 percent of the nonflooded Amazon forest was of anthropogenic origin—directly or indirectly created by human beings. In some circles this is now seen as a conservative position. "I basically think it's all human-created," Clement told me in Brazil. He argues that Indians changed the assortment and density of species throughout the region.

Update

Strange Forest Patches Littering The Amazon Point to Agriculture 10,000 Years Ago
Now, thanks to new analysis of the sediment found in some of these islands, researchers have unearthed signs that these spots were used to grow cassava (manioc) and squash a little over 10,000 years ago.
That's impressive, as this timing places them some 8,000 years earlier than scientists had previously found evidence for, indicating that the people who lived in this part of the world - the southwestern corner of the Amazon basin - got a head start on farming practices.


https://www.sciencealert.com/the-amazon-basin-was-an-ancient-agricultural-hotspot-10-000-year-old-evidence-says

References

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/03/1491/302445/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-your-own-BioChar-and-Terra-Preta/?ALLSTEPS
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081119-lost-cities-amazon.html 
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Neal_Smith/wildlife_and_habitat/tallgrass_prairie.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081119-lost-cities-amazon.html

This is the Knox of N. America.  La relación of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (1528-15386)
https://ia800504.us.archive.org/15/items/journeyofalvarnu00n/journeyofalvarnu00n.pdf

Update: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu

This is an update to some of the questions on Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu. The previous post pointed out that Colombo Garbage dumped in Gangewadiya would seriously degrade the beautiful Kala-Oya, kill pristine Mangroves in Wilpattu National Park and kill breeding and fish stocks in Puttalam Lagoon.

Now to answer some of questions I was asked.

First and foremost, if this a state of the art Garbage Recycling system
a) why are the Western countries not using the methodology
b) Why is the West/Developed world exporting Garbage to third world countries.

Who wants this Done

The Ministry of Defense and Urban Development.  This landfill/garbage dump site project was approved by the previous govt based on a paper submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse in his capacity as Minister of Urban Development.

On a Sandbank right at the Kala-Oya mouth.
This is about 1 km from proposed Landfill site.
Would you swim on sandbank at Kelaniya River Mouth

The story is that former Def Secy Gotabhaya Rajapakse saw the large abandoned limestone quarry site while flying over the area and thought it was a good site to export Colombo's garbage.

How will it be Done

Basically garbage of  about a  3 floor building sent by train every day.  Thats 479 large tipper trucks per day or a tipper truck every 4 minutes, 24/7. The Garbage would be put into plastic lined pits and then concrete poured over (capping).  Seems a perfect solution.

Except for the detail.  There is expected to be toxic chemicals leak (leachate), an Olympic swimming pool amount every month (26,531.6 m3/yr)¹.  Thats about 7 large bowsers toxic chemicals every day. of Oh! it could also be more if cracks in plastic liner and concrete occur, which is very likely because of dynamiting by Holcim ².

Then there is also garbage and chemicals overflowing (storm water run off) during the North East Monsoon rainy season.

What are the consequences

Direct:  Loss of fish, clams, mussel breeding and stock in immediate vicinity and Puttalam Lagoon. The Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela  becoming a foul smelling canal.  Loss of livelihood from fishing.

Indirect: Cancer, Leukemia for generations.  Loss of pristine Mangrove. No more tourism, kite surfing at Kala-Oya and Kalpitiya / Puttalam Lagoon.

On the Banks of the Kala-Oya/Lunu Oya estuary.
3 km from the proposed Garbage Dump/Landfill

The Sales Talk

About 20 villagers were taken to Colombo and shown videos of how plastic liner and concrete capping would create beautiful golf course like parks (e. g. Fresh Kills Park, Staten Island, NY).  The video show to the villagers was of South Korean origin.

Of course they forgot  to mention the Olympic Swimming pool size of toxic chemicals leaking / leachate every month.  Also the beautiful golf course landscape would be about 20 years down the line.  10 years while the garbage is dumped into the landfill, and then another 10 years for the covering soil to be landscaped.

The villagers are no fools.  Garbage is garbage, and how ever much lipstick you put on a pig it is still a pig (I like pigs).  A couple of Villagers asked me, "If this is such great idea, why isnt it being done in Colombo" (ඇයි ඔච්චර හොඳ අදහසක් නම් කොළඹම ඔක කරන්නෙ නැත්තෙ). 

Positives (sarcasm):

Small community of only about 1,000 adults in Gangewadiya and another 2,000 or so in Eluvamkulama who would be directly affected by pollution.  So a good possibility of bulldozing the project thru, despite opposition by a 3,000 or so individuals.

Excerpts from Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA)
The EIA has seemed to have disappeared from the Central Env Authority (CEA) website

¹  that 18% of the precipitation becomes percolation. Peak PERC quantity is expected from the 3 cells of the landfill during the period of November. It is evident that the time taken for leachate production from a cell with a height of 40 m is .8 years at the rate of 26,531.6 m3/yr during

²  However, operation of the nearby potential quarry sites (i.e., the Eluwankulama Forest;) for limestone extraction by Holcim (Lanka) Ltd (for cement production) could pose a danger to the single composite liner. This is because higher PPVs due to the usage of detonators and charging drilled holes with ANFO and dynamite may rupture the HDPE liner and perhaps the soil-bentonite layer too, ultimately leading to groundwater contamination. (pg 9 EIA)

Therefore, the proposed biological treatment plant would become a failure resulting in intense pollution of the Lunu Oya especially during the drier spells (noting that rainfall is confined largely during the period of October-December to account for a significant flushing and dilution) when discharge is low due to high evapotranspiration

Visitor Photos: Sloth Bear

Laura and Malte did two and half days of safari in Wilpattu hoping to see a Leopard.  Unhappily no leopard, but some great photos of a sloth bear with a point and shoot camera (Sony DSC-W85).

Secrets of the species that thrive in the big city

Langur at Gangaramaya (Vihara) Buddhist Temple (from TripAdvisor)
Some species have adapted to city life and made their home in the city.

Foxes, Badgers in London, and Red Tailed Hawks, Ospreys, Racoons in New York City are examples.

In Sri Lanka I think there are more snakes (per sq meter) in suburban Colombo compared to say the Dry Zone.  There troops of moneys (Langur including Purple Faced and Macaque ) now in Aturugiriya, Gangaramaya, Battaramulla and Kotte.   We in WilpattuHouse have troop nearby around the Nelum Wewa, but thats bordering the Wilpattu National Park.

So why are some animals able to adapt to city life.

From the BBC

Omnivorous and have adapted their foraging behaviours to be able to exploit more anthropogenic food sources. Generalists so they are better able to cope with change than other animals that are specialised to specific habitats.

What underlies this adaptability? There's probably no single answer, but research on birds suggests it helps to be smart.

Records of 82 common bird species that occur in and around 12 cities in France and Sweden. Those with larger brains, relative to their bodies, were more likely to successfully breed in cities. These successful brainiacs included tits, crows and wrens.
(Note: In Sri Lanka the Jungle Crow is larger than the Urban Crows. Maybe brian size similar, but city crow will have larger brain to body ratio because the city crrow is smaller). Also see Birdwatching in an Urban (Sri Lanka) Environment is Possible

In line with that, there is evidence that urbanisation is driving increases in brain size. A 2013 study showed that white-footed mice and meadow voles from cities had greater cranial capacities than their country cousins. From BBC via Naked Capitalism

Cyclists

Elisabeth and Edwige were French cyclist (via Mayotte) who stayed at our place.  They have cycled through, Pakistan, Nepal and I think Tibet among other places.  Just cant imagine cycling through such high mountains.

Jess and Aivis from Guernsey were also visitors planning to cycle round the Island. 

Visitor Photos: Leopard

Elisabetta and Paul got some great leopard photos.

Visitor Photos: Whales and Eagles

Asanga Ambanpola and family. Their first dolphin watch tour was not that successful.  The second time they went out were able to see a pod of whales.

Barr on a Rock in Bar Reef.

Swim in the Lunu Ela

Visitor Photos: Dolplhins and Elephants

Some of the Photos sent by Samuel & Isabelle Metaux taken on their Dolphin watch Boat ride and Wilpattu Safari.  It was a wet Jannuary, but Samuel and Isabelle we smiling all the way.

 

Travel Tip: Places to Stay in Mullativu (budget)

Green Lodge, 10 km south of Mulaitivu

Places to Stay in Mullaitivu (reasonable).
(Also see how to cross Pulmuddai/Kokilai/Kokillai Lagoon)

lllllll
About 200 meters north of main drag. Army place on beach

Low end  from Yan Zommer 

Mullativu center there is a Three Starts Lodge on the third or fourth floor of the highest building. Very simple, but extremly cheap.   http://goo.gl/maps/onZfs

 Green Lodge on the Beach
10 km South of Mullaitivu, on the Beach, Green Lodge.  Its just past Catholic Church on East/Left Sea Side 10 km south of Mullativu.  Sign says Green Lodge.  Go straight down the road. Most locals dont know/want to give info.
Green Lodge is run by the Army. Nice chalet like place (see photo). Also a couple of round cottages with bunk beds and outside shared toilet. No electric, generator runs till 11pm.   Speak to a Ranker (i.e. stars on shoulder) to get a contact number.

This place is a little hard to find, and no permanent contact number. Anyone in the know suggest that this gets fixed (a solar powered CDMA phone maybe).

Comments from some visitors to whom we suggested the place.

Caroline/LooseCogs

Once again many thanks for your suggestions and advice about cycling here in Sri Lanka.

We cycled through Mullaittivu and asked various army personnel as to the whereabouts of the Army Hotel. Unfortunately no one spoke English so we weren't sure if we were making sense or not, but we were waved in a northwards direction. Eventually we enquired at a local government establishment where someone spoke English and directed us about 500m up the road. When we enquired there was no room. For future reference it's the right hand turn on the T junction of the North side of the 035 road.

There was a newish lodge in the main High Street, but a Swiss Cycling couple who we had briefly met earlier said it was closed. We took them at their word and didn't investigate further.

We carried on down the coast to find the Green Jackets lodge you had mentioned, the Swiss couple were in front of us, they were faster on a Tandem. We found the road on the left indicating Green Jackets resort and turned down an unsealed road, only to find the swiss couple coming back the other way saying that this too was closed and that no one was there.

They decided to carry on down the coast and see what turned up. We called in at the nearest army garrison and asked a soldier on sentry duty about the Green Jackets resort. We managed to communicate somehow and he phoned his superior who spoke to us on the phone and booked us in.

We returned back down the road to the Resort and a couple of soldiers were waiting for us. We were the only ones there, but it was a very nice setting, and they cooked us a lovely dinner.

Michel and Karin

After 80 km we saw a sign "Green jackets resort". At the end of a dirt road we found some bungalows on a nice beach. The place was empty but after some shouting, 3 young soldiers appeared. They had to call their boss at the camp to ask if we could stay there. The boss said, only accommodation, no food. Karin asked to see their kitchen and after some difficult conversation it was understood that we should give them some money to buy all that was needed for string hopper and curry and that we could buy a fish from the men who where pulling their big net at the beach.

From Blog in Dutch (Google Translate). Unhappily no photos of Green Lodge

Along the way we try to check whether we keep driving, but it was soon clear that no one here understands English. We cycle through beautiful surroundings with every kilometer an army post. This is clearly occupied territory since the war ended six years ago. The further we drive away from Trinco, the less traffic and people are not accustomed whites. They are timid, but when we sway appears the broad smile that we have seen anywhere in this country.

On the lagoon is looking for a boat that will transfer us only with sign language.Across the road is the equally beautiful. It starts to rain, but no tropical rain, there is best for cycling. Eventually we find accomodation at an army base on the beach. The men do not understand us, and the only word I understand them is the boss. "The symbol for phone to my ear, I ask to call 'boss' and fortunately the English. First he wants to know where we come from ... if you come from the wrong country, maybe you can not stay here? We arrange an overnight stay, but "only accomodation." How do we get to eat then? I try to explain that I want to see the kitchen, I can go shopping and cook, but then says one of the men he's cook. With our money, they want to go shopping for string hoppers with curry and fish. If Michel them suggesting that around here no fish for sale, the man pointing to the fishermen in the sea. They will soon buy the fish, he's still swimming.

East Coast: How to Cross Kokilai Lagoon

This was meant to be part of a post of travel by tuk-tuk along the East Coast, from Paranthan-Mullativu-Kokilai-Pulmoddai-Trincomalee.  However, there seems to be minimal information about how to get across Kokillai Lagoon. (See Places to stay around Mullativu)

For those who are thinking of traveling by bus/bicycle/motorbike along the East coast of Sri Lanka from Jaffna-Paranthan-Kilinochi-Mullaitivu - Trincomallee - Batticoloa -Arugam Bay, the lagoon at Pulmuddai/Kokilai should not be a deterrent.

Kokilai Lagoon, Kokilai. The other side of the lagoon is Pulmoddai

Just get to the fishing village at either Pulmuddai or Kokilai and arrange with a fisher to take you across. Its about LKR 500 for a person, LKR 1000 or so for a small motor bike and some where in between for a cyclist.  At times there is a boat that can take a tuk-tuk across the lagoon.

If you are traveling in vehicles larger than a tuk-tuk there is detour (42 km ) around the Kokkilai Lagoon.  It should be motorable even by a small car during the dry season.  During the rainy season, as some sections of the road are gravel, small cars might not be able to go over potential mud holes.

For detailed instructions for detour by vehicle see
http://www.wilpattuhouse.com/TravelTips/Crossing-Kokilai-Pulmuddai.html

RoundUp (Glyphosate) and Collapse of HoneyBee Colonies

Honeybee Colonies are collapsing world wide. Now that might not seem a big deal for most people. Thats probably because they are unaware that most fruits are pollinated by bees.   In certain parts of china fruit flowers have to be hand pollinated because of the scarcity of bees.

Solitary-pollen bees do not produce honey. But they are about 80% (17,000 species) of the worlds bees.  Because of the sheer numbers these solitary-pollen bees are the ones that do most of the pollination.

Honeybees are a studied extensively for their behavior. The are an excellent "canary in a coal mine" indicator of environmental pollutants. The appetite of honeybees is a good indicator of bad effects (sub lethal) of environmental pollutants.

Now it seems like use of  RoundUp (Glyphosate) can cause collapse of honey bee colonies.  One research found that typical amounts of Glyphosate added to agricultural fields could reduce short term memory and learning ability and nectar appetite of honey bees.  So the glyphosate reduces colony efficiency resulting ultimately in colony collapse.

Of course EPA/Monsanto says RoundUp is harmless for bees and have research studies to prove it. However, when reading the paper, one realizes that it focuses on mortality. That is the study focused on the effect of RoundUp (Glyphosate) acting as a poison and killing bees.  There was no study on the long term effects of RoundUp (Glyphosate) on bees.

An Aside on Sri Lanka

Of the four honeybee species of Sri Lanka, only one-the mee massa (Apis cerana)-is suitable for domestication, because it builds its hive in enclosed spaces, which makes it suitable for beekeeping. -

The bambara and the danduwel massa (Apis florea), small, red bees, build their hives in open spaces such as on trees or high up on buildings. The fourth species, the kano mee, a small stingless honeybee species, produces small quantities of honey.

-------
sbarrkum

Mexican SunFlower(වල් සුරියකාන්ත): Great Fertilizer

Found out a couple of months ago from a visitor here that Mexican Sunflower (වල් සුරියකාන්ත) Tithonia Diversifoliais a very good fertilizer. Thanks Anil Ratnayake.

Mexican Sunflower is fast growing, not fast enough here because we would like to use it extensively as soil conditioner and fertilizer. It is a weed and invasive species that originated from Central America.

• High in Pottasium (low in Mg).  As fertilizer contains 1.76% N, 0.82% P, and 3.92% K.
  In comparison cattle manure 0.6% N 0.4% P 0.5% K
  Giliricidia 3.26% N 0.41% P 2.76% K
• Soil conditioner, i.e. loosens soil.
  Much needed here because of clayey soil that becomes like rock when dry and prevents root growth.
• Decomposes fast, so nutrients available quickly.
  That means can be used for short duration crops such as vegetables.
• Grows from plant cuttings. i.e. easily propagated.
  The plant cuttings seem to be tolerant of hard water (High Mg, Ca).
• Attracts Butterflies and Bees (a big plus).
• Beautiful Flowers

 Anecdote:  My sister has a Rambutan plant that has barely grown in two years. Probably because the garden has been filled with gravel/gritty soil (බොරලු). About two-three months ago she had planted a Mexican sunflower next to a Rambutan plant.  This was before we knew about the soil conditioning properties. Anyway within the last two months the Rambutan plat has grown by about 2 feet.

References and Links 

Study  of Mexican Sunflower on Rice
http://www.agrilearning.goviya.lk/Paddy/Paddy_Research/Paddy_pdf/A27.pdf

NPK values of Manures
http://www.allotment-garden.org/compost-fertiliser/npk-manures-compost.php


sbarrkum

Travel Tip: Do your Snorkeling etc Before Mid Day

Tide at Galle: Note High Tide is around mid day

In Sri Lanka, if you plan to snorkel, whale/dolphin watch do it as early as possible. Preferably before mid day, be it East or West Coast.  Thats because the tide comes in around mid day and the sea will start to get rougher.  If your snorkeling in relatively shallow water, the sand will get disturbed and your visibility will become low.

In most other countries the tide will change every day and the height too (3-12 feet on average).  So before you go out to sea, need to check tide chart for low and high tide times.

In Sri Lanka the time of high tide (වඩ දිය) and low tide (බා දිය) changes very little. To make things even better we have very little difference in height between low and high tide.  The difference in tide height is about 0.5 m (1.5 feet) in Sri Lanka.

The reason is that Sri Lanka is one of a few tidal node or amphidromic point. That is center point around which the tides rotate. Think of a string you whirl around while moving it very slightly up and down with your hand.  There will be almost no up down (vertical) movement near your hand.  At the end of the sting there is a big up down (vertical) movement.   The amphidromic point will be your hand, the center of rotation.

For more technical/scientific explanation of amphidromic point see here.

Cashew Apple Wine

Cashew Apples, the fruit of the cashew is hardly used in Sri Lanka. A few of them will be eaten with salt and pepper.

There is a lot of information on how to make cashew apple wine.  I think this is a really great idea, especially if it is a local (small towns and villages) small scale operation.  It would provide employment/small business and a truly value added product from a produce that goes to waste.   The downside is that the facility will only be operation for a short period of time. Thats because Cashew is a seasonal bearing fruit (around april/may).  The solution to seasonality would be to use the wine producing facility to use other fruits and produce wine.  April to October is fruit bearing season in the dry zone, with plenty of fruits going to waste. e.g. Dham which is eaten and at time made into a local syrup much like blueberry syrup.

India is also looking into making Cashew Apple Wine
China too has a growing fruit wine industry

Below is recipe to make Cashew Apple wine at home from DrinksPlanet

• Top and tail a kilo of ripe cashew apples, 
• Roughly chop them (quartering them will do) and put them into a large pot.
  Optionally can keep in salt water for 3 days to remove tannin.
• Add 100 grams sugar and leave to soak for 15 mins or so.
• Then strain off the juice.
  Optionally Can add 100mg/L sodium metabisulfite to inhibit the growth ofacetic acid bacteria, wild yeasts and molds.
• Put the juice into a 2 liter glass bottle (maybe even earthen ware pot)
  (it should be about 3/4 full)
• Add a small packet of wine yeast (1/2 a teaspoon?) and shake well.
• Fit an Fermentation Lock.
  Here is how to make Fermentation Lock at home
• Leave it in a dark place for a week or two until it stops bubbling, 
• Then carefully rack it off into another clean jar (leaving all the muck behind).
• Refit the airlock and leave it to clear.
• You could help the clearing along by adding some Bentonite (optional).
  Bentonite is Aluminium phyllosilicate, impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite.
  Might be better to use powdered sago ()You need 2 grams powdered sago boiled in 10 ml water.
  Add it to the wine and stir like crazy. Then leave it overnight to clear.
• Decant it off into bottles.

Store it until you are ready to drink it.


A more industrial recipie
http://foodrecap.net/manufacture/wine/make-cashew-wine/

Research Paper
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/227760139_Fermentation_of_cashew_%28Anacardium_occidentale_L.%29_apple_into_wine

Visitors: Jacob and Johanna De Vlas

Dr. Jacob De Vlas and Johanna De Vlas-De Jong were visitors here a few months ago.  Jacob and Johanna are avid nature lovers.  

They have written two books on Sri Lankan wild flowers (I have a link only to the older)

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Field-Guide-Flowers-Lanka/dp/9551917006
The book contains mention of 1,060 species of flowers photographed throughout Sri Lanka, including very rare plants, some that are new to
Sri Lanka.

 Dr. de Vlas is a colleague/friend of Dr. Michael van der Poorten a leading butterfly expert (lepidopterist) in Sri Lanka.  He too made a lightning visit to Wilpattu House.

Palmyra (තල්) as an Elephant Deterrent

Palmyra (තල්) as an Elephant Deterrent Mr. S. M. A. Azeez is former Deputy Director of Agriculture. He has been promoting the use of Palmyra trees as an Elephant deterrent for many years.

You can contact Mr. Azeez at 077-348-7114 for further details on how the trees should be planted etc.
Photos are of the model plantation with Palmyra as an Elephant Deterrent.