I was walking around the Galle Fort before the meetup I was going to host there. I saw a Dumplings Cafe in Peddlar’s Street in the Galle Fort. I went there, and I started a chat with the owner as she was not a Sri Lankan. I was wondering why she is running a restaurant in Galle.
Then suddenly I saw a few environment-friendly plates and straws on a table. Then I asked about them. Then she started to talk about how she is trying to convert her restaurant to an eco-friendly business. She told at the beginning, she was using plastics, and one day a tourist has written a review saying that the restaurant is using too much plastic. Then she has started to think about converting her business into an eco-friendly business as much as she can and get rid of plastics. The restaurant is on Google Maps, and they reply to the customer reviews in a good way. She did all the artwork on the walls in the restaurant. She is running this business with her sister.
She is also helping the small community in Galle to clean the beaches in Galle every Sunday. She wants to protect the plant from plastic pollution. @ErmesT@DavidTito Have a look.
I decided I should share her story on the connect and it will inspire others to do something similar. Listen to her on YouTube.
@AnuradhaP This is definitely good feedback and like you said shes just recently changed from plastic to organic containers, but what’s really interesting would be to see how much impact its had in and around that area, this is a place you should revisit in a few months but hay there’s a lot of potential here
It is great to see how the small businesses start by themself to become ecofriendly, I am so happy to see how finally the change is starting, step by step, from the bottom.
On a side note, I also see a lot of Italian names in the menu of the bar. Thank you Suzy. Hope you will become a Local guide too.
Plese share with her all the congratulations from the Community
This is awesome @AnuradhaP . Never knew papaya branches are hollow and can be used as nature’s straws. Cool to think most of her cafe’s waste is now considered compostible and can make great, enriched organic matter for plants in the long run.
I highly recommend you add Suzy’s Google Maps link to this Connect post and to your group’s YouTube video.
Btw, Congrats on creating a Sri Lanka Local Guides YouTube channel! Hope to see more great content like this in the future.
HINT: My only big disappointment is that there are no dumpling photos here or in the video to show what her food looks like and how it looks using these banana leaves. = )
Can you taste the papaya straw in your drink? Are her organic dishes pesticide free?
This is an uplifting and positive story. I am very often appalled by cafes and restaurants which use too much plastic, and I often mention it very explicitly in my reviews in the hope that it will somehow influence the restaurant owner (I mention that I can’t possibly visit the place again because of the plastic issue). I don’t know if my words have ever succeeded but it’s nice to hear a positive story here. Thanks for posting this.
No doubt this is one of the best posts I read on Connect. My Chinese friends always told me about Dumplings but I didn’t have a chance to taste it. After reading your post now I want to teleport to Galle. Suzy’s story is so inspiring. She found many environmentally friendly solutions. I was so surprised when I saw that she’s using banana blossoms to offer food to customers. It’s really really impressive. If you don’t mind can I share your post with our beach cleaning group? The video is so awesome too. It’s simple and very informative. I subscribed the channel. There are a lot of awesome videos and they are really nice. Thank you very much Mr.Anuradha. I always appreciate your social work.
