Mankada - So easy to miss... but try not to.

If you have driven passed the Uda Walawe national park I am sure you would
have passed a place called Mankada and wondered what it was all about. I am
sure you might even have seen the sign about the tinkiri tea which Dilmah
has put up on the road. I have passed it many times but had not stepped in
cos it always seemed empty and desolate. Last week I decided to take the
plunge and step inside.

For a moment I was wondering if I had made the right decision. All I could
see was some empty mud huts. But then someone came to greet us and show us
around and I realized I had stumbled across the gem of a find.

This project was set up by the man behind the pottery shop at Majestic City
whose name I cant remember for the life of me. It has a restaurant plus arts
and crafts center which manufacture amazing pottery stuff some of which you
can buy at the places like Odel for much more. The entire proceeds from this
scheme goes as income to the rural ladies who work in this facility.

I was delighted by the array of cute stuff which was on display at the sales
center. Which included some nice clay jewelry. I ended up buying some stuff
and was thrilled to see the lovely cloth bags they packed them in. Also the
Tin-kiri tea I had was awesome though at 175/- bucks a cup I thought it was
a tad too steep. Well still it was for a good cause and they did give us
some free kevum with it. And once again the presentation was great.

Here are some pictures of the place for anyone who is interested

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