Jetwing Vil Uyana : Ten Years of Wildlife Sanctuary

I look back at Jetwing Vil Uyana as it celebrates 10 glorious Years of eco-luxury living

Looking back, it is unbelievable that in 2006, at the height of the war, I was invited as a journalist to see Jetwing Vil Uyana, despite being stopped at numerous military road blocks owing to the raging civil war, and taking 18 hours to get there as I did not have a car at the time; not to mention numerous different buses, quite a bit of walking and finally several three wheelers to find the designated land as there was no signage and most people had never heard of it.

Working in teams

Jetwing Vil Uyana at the time was a rural site that developed a new style of architectural vision overlooking Sigriya rock fortress; it is built on land, Herbert Cooray had wisely banked in his early years as a hotelier.

The evening I arrived it was like a scene out of 1984 with people working in teams everywhere and not reflecting the luxurious way this signature property is seen today. In fact the show room was far from ready and I had no choice but to stay in the workers’ quarters and, on asking for a towel, a rather shabby item a little larger than a flannel, was found that clearly was being used by everyone. Seeing my slightly shocked face, Tissa, the General Manager at the time, said, “Don’t worry, I have a brand new piece of soap for you,” and asked me to join his team for a briefing over dinner in what is now the drivers’ quarters. A delicious curry and rice meal was served out of the biggest cooking pots I have ever seen and it was the start of an exciting week in what remains one of my favourite spots in Sri Lanka.

Over the next days I was to take on the media challenge of a lifetime; how to position a visionary hotel wetlands project as a luxury boutique experience in a civil war torn country that was at the time getting worse by the day, and if that was bad enough the much awaited mock up room was not even ready. The national airline magazine editor from Serendib called me to check if I had arrived ok and would hit the story deadline and, worried about the remoteness and lack of wireless internet, suggested I faxed it from the local post office. Stephen, the Australian editor, was just as excited as I was by the revolutionary concept, offering me extra pages, despite my protests that less is more. The staff, seeing desperation in my eyes, catapulted themselves into a hive of 24 hour activity, resulting in a mock up room to end all mock up rooms that was spacious and magical in the way it sat in the natural environment. But the team were upset when I asked, walking through this fabulous room with its vibrant décor and inspirational open plan design, how I could complain about the lack of a proper cupboard to hang my little black dresses.

Grey Slender Loris

The team, always with a wicked sense of humour, pointed out that, with all the building works going on, I looked more dusty than dusky so such wardrobe requirements would not be needed as all future guests would wear khaki to blend into the natural environment. Luckily, I am good at seeing how an area covered in jungle could be cleared and turned into an organic vegetable garden, and a muddy island, surrounded by murky water, could create the harmony required for Ayurveda, as the birds that were re-connecting with this exciting manmade wetlands project, were bringing nature back to this forgotten Eden that was once part of the elephant corridor.

Today, this organic home garden is the base for the Loris information center, which always makes me smile as I went in search everywhere, with the team, outside the site, for the ever elusive Grey Slender Loris, which no surprisingly was also naturally attracted to the areas re-claimed habitat, and also the fishing cat.

Read Full Story from – http://dailynews.lk/2016/10/28/features/97251