WELCOME TO

BATAGAMA

E S T A T E

Batagama Estate, located in Batagama North, Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka, was purchased by Deshabandu Dr. A.N.S Kulasinghe (www.kulasinghe.com) on 4th April 1948, which happened to be the date that Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) obtained independence from British rule. This was no coincidence since Dr. Kulasinghe, as a proud Sri Lankan, wanted to be free of the British before making his first investment in property.

“Rankula”, the bungalow located on the Estate, has been the residence of the Kulasinghe family from that date. The Estate has an area of 52 acres; 43 of which are planted in Ceylon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Blume). An area of 5 acres has been dedicated to “grow wild”, being covered with mature trees. A wide variety of wild life resides here. This unique habitat is only 11 miles from the centre of Colombo city. On the remainder of the land vegetables and fruits are grown for consumption by the family and estate workers. The ethos has always been self-reliance.

Also for reasons of sustainability, we have decided not to distil leaf oil, which is done by many estate owners to maximise returns. The process of distilling leaf oil involves burning the residual leaves. Normally the cuttings, including the leaves, are put back to maintain soil quality, otherwise artificial fertiliser has to be used which is not environmentally friendly. Also burning of the leaves contributes to global warming. The Kulasinghe family, which belongs to the Cinnamon Peeling Kurundukara sub division of the Salagama Caste, wish to continue the wisdom of their forefathers who worked on the principle that “if one hundred pounds in weight is taken out of cinnamon land, one hundred and one pounds should be put back”.

The Kulasinghe family, who are immensely proud of their roots, wish to continue the traditions established over 600 hundred years ago, which have proved the sustainability of the conventional way of cinnamon cultivation.

We are also in the process of developing new products in tune with the self-reliance philosophy, and have recently created a range of products from the residual cinnamon wood, which would normally be discarded.

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