Twenty-eight clusters

Each cluster, with the mechanism it uses

I have organised it by trade, in 28 groups I call clusters, and at the head of each cluster I have put the mechanism it uses, because an idea without a mechanism is a wish, and the whole argument of this book is that the mechanism is the thing we keep leaving out.

An old brass hotel room key on a leather tag resting on a folded linen map, beside a small cup of tea, on dark teak

Stay longer (the $2.4 billion gap)

If Sri Lanka earned what the Maldives earns per visitor, the visitors it already has would bring in $2.4 billion a year...

20 ideas, 1 to 20

A craftsman's hands shaping a clay pot on a wheel, lit by one lamp, clay dust in the light

Sell the making, not the object

The craft cannot be copied and the object can. In Europe people queue to watch glass being blown and then buy the glass.

25 ideas, 21 to 45

A hand-carved wooden Sri Lankan dance mask, half painted in red and gold, on a workbench with brushes and a small pot of gold paint

Souvenirs that are actually from here

The Zermatt water bottle. Sigiriya has not got a stone with its own name on it.

25 ideas, 46 to 70

A wooden boat with a single lantern on a still dark lagoon at dusk, mangroves behind, the lantern's gold reflected in the water

The experience economy

An app that tells people what is happening tonight converts a day visit into a 2-night stay.

30 ideas, 71 to 100

Brass bowls of green herbs, a glass of golden oil and a bundle of dried leaves on dark stone, a wisp of steam in the light

Wellness, which we are famous for and barely sell

Ayurveda is a system of medicine the world already recognises and seeks out. The demand is there; what Sri Lanka needs...

20 ideas, 101 to 120

A black clay cooking pot with a rich curry, surrounded by small brass dishes of whole spices on dark slate, one soft light

Food and drink as export, not just hospitality

Dilmah says it earns over 3 times the national average price for tea, because it does its own blending, branding and...

30 ideas, 121 to 150

An antique brass theodolite and a rolled drawing on a dark wooden table, a small brass lamp beside them

The infrastructure that makes the rest possible

The tiny business pathway. A rural woman with an exceptional product should not need photography, English copy...

25 ideas, 151 to 175

A coconut cut open, a glass bottle of clear coconut oil with a gold cap, a coil of coir rope and a coconut-shell cup on black

The coconut, which deserves its own list

The whole-nut principle. Sri Lanka's coconut exports are growing, which makes this the one chain already moving. Almost...

15 ideas, 176 to 190

A single lit clay oil lamp and one white lotus flower on dark stone, the flame the only light

The offering nobody else can make

What cannot be copied. Every competitor can build a beach hotel. No competitor can offer a Buddhist tradition more than...

10 ideas, 191 to 200

A white porcelain cup of golden tea on a saucer, loose black tea leaves and a small woven plucking basket on dark teak

Tea, beyond the auction

The Colombo auction sells tea by the lot to a buyer who blends it under his own name. Every step after the auction is...

20 ideas, 201 to 220

A small bundle of TRUE CEYLON CINNAMON quills tied with twine: long, thin (about a finger wide), PALE golden tan, each quill made of many paper-thin layers rolled inside each other like a fine cigar, with soft crumbly ends; NOT thick dark single-layer cassia sticks. Beside it a few loose broken quill pieces and one fresh green cinnamon leaf, on dark wood

Cinnamon and the spice garden

The imitation out-earns the original. Vietnam earns more from cassia than Sri Lanka does from true cinnamon, because...

15 ideas, 221 to 235

A jeweller's brass loupe, a rough blue sapphire and a cut blue sapphire on black velvet, one soft light

The gem chain, from Ratnapura to the certificate

The sapphire is mined here and cut here, and its value is certified in Basel and turned into money in Geneva. Every...

15 ideas, 236 to 250

The carved wooden prow of a traditional fishing boat with a hanging lantern, on dark calm water at dusk

The sea

An ocean eight times the size of the land, and a fishing fleet that sells its catch on the beach. The Maldives built a...

20 ideas, 251 to 270

A wooden crate of ripe mangoes and a sack of rice beside an antique brass balance scale on dark wood

Farm to shelf

The smallholder sells raw to a collector at the gate and the collector sells to a packer who puts his own name on it....

25 ideas, 271 to 295

An open laptop glowing softly (abstract light on the screen, no text) on a teak desk, a cup of tea beside it, a window with palm shadows behind

Software, services and the remote desk

The proof exists in Malabe. What is missing is a thousand small versions of it.

25 ideas, 296 to 320

A stack of exam papers tied with a ribbon, a fountain pen and a pair of round spectacles on dark wood, one lamp

Education and the exam funnel

177,000 qualify every year and 45,000 get a place. The other 130,000 are a market that nobody has built for, and the...

20 ideas, 321 to 340

A stethoscope coiled on a dark table beside an old telephone and a cup of tea, warm lamplight

Health, care and the parents of Sri Lankans abroad

Sri Lankans abroad have parents at home whom they cannot look after from Melbourne. They will pay, and the money stays.

20 ideas, 341 to 360

A plain navy passport with no emblem and a blank boarding card lying on an old leather suitcase, one soft light

Sri Lankans abroad, both directions

1.5 million people abroad who know how rich countries work, and who send home money and little else.

20 ideas, 361 to 380

An old film reel, a stack of sepia photographs in gold corner mounts and a magnifying glass on dark wood

Heritage, archives and film

Eight World Heritage Sites and 2,300 years of records, and the country's story is told to the world by other people.

15 ideas, 381 to 395

A dressmaker's form with a half-finished batik garment in indigo and gold, a spool of gold thread and scissors on a dark table

Design, fashion and the apparel spillover

Sri Lankans make the world's underwear to the world's standard, and the country has no fashion brand of its own that...

15 ideas, 396 to 410

A small solar lamp glowing inside a glass jar, a brass water tap and a clay water pot on dark stone

Energy, water and waste at small scale

The sun shines on every roof and the island imports its fuel.

15 ideas, 411 to 425

A three-wheeler tuk-tuk in deep navy with gold trim, photographed on black like a product, one soft light

Transport and logistics at village scale

The village cannot get a box to the container port. The gap is small firms, not big ones.

10 ideas, 426 to 435

A ledger book, a ring of keys, a small sewing tin and a cup of tea on a dark table by a window, morning light

The women who are not working

The single largest unused asset in the country is sitting at home, and the reasons are practical, not attitude.

15 ideas, 436 to 450

A brass seal stamp, a stick of red wax and a blank folded document with a wax seal on dark wood

Proof and trust, as a business

The one thing. A country where people do not expect the rules to hold cannot build anything else, and proof can be...

15 ideas, 451 to 465

A red leather cricket ball and a willow bat on black velvet, one soft light catching the seam

Sport and the cricket economy

The country's best-known export is cricket, and little of the business around it is built at home.

10 ideas, 466 to 475

An old hand-drawn map of the island of Sri Lanka on aged paper with small brass pins in the cities, no lettering on the map, dark wood around

The cities, one idea each

Every city has one thing it could be known for, and each is currently known for nothing in particular.

10 ideas, 476 to 485

A palmyra fruit, a woven palmyra-leaf basket and a small clay pot on dark wood, warm light

The north and the east

The land, the lagoons and the savings of families abroad are waiting. What comes first is the small business.

10 ideas, 486 to 495

The open front door of an old house, warm light spilling out onto a veranda, an old leather suitcase on the threshold, dusk

Coming home

The first one through pays the whole price, and everyone after walks through an open door. These are the doors.

5 ideas, 496 to 500