The hub that is not on the list yet
Jaffna and the north
Jaffna and the north, where the resource is the palmyrah, the lagoons, the mango and the savings of families abroad, and the hub is its food and craft.
Why a hub
The country funnels its visitors through a handful of small heritage cores, most of them in the Cultural Triangle. That funnel is the problem when the cores are turnstiles. It is the answer when each core becomes a hub: the place where the region's own resource is grown, made, shown and sold, with a making-house at the gate where the visitor watches the work and buys it from the hands that did it. Sri Lanka House in Colombo is the model; these are the regional editions. A hub is also the one place in its region where the rules are visibly kept: clean, priced, and honest, with a complaints line that answers. Most of the five hundred belong to at least one hub; the rest are the services and the national chains that any hub can call on.
Sri Lanka House in Colombo, the model every hub is a regional edition of
The clusters this hub is built from
27
The fruit nobody grades
Fruit the world wants, sold in a heap by the road. Grading, a name and a cold box make the heap an export and the...
10 ideas, 486 to 495
13
The sea
An ocean 8 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
14
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
18
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
26
The cities, one idea each
Every city has one thing it could be known for, and most are not yet known for it.
10 ideas, 476 to 48591 ideas that belong here
Every idea in the hub's clusters, plus any idea elsewhere in the list that names this place.
- 99Street-food walks in Colombo, Jaffna and Galle with a guide who knows every stall's historyCluster 4: The experience economy
- 132Jaffna crab and cuttlefish curry as a chilled export dish for the Sri Lankan shops abroadCluster 6: Food and drink as export, not just hospitality
- 251Sailing charters and a yacht marina at Galle or Trincomalee, with the crew trained hereCluster 13: The sea
- 252Diving schools at the wrecks of Trincomalee and the reefs of the east, certified to international standardCluster 13: The sea
- 253Sport fishing charters with catch-and-release, sold to the Gulf and EuropeCluster 13: The sea
- 254Sea-cucumber and seaweed farming in the northern lagoons, for the buyers in Hong Kong and SingaporeCluster 13: The sea
- 255Tuna graded, loined and vacuum-packed at the harbour for the sashimi market, not sold wholeCluster 13: The sea
- 256Crab and prawn from the lagoons as a branded chilled export, with the lagoon's nameCluster 13: The sea
- 257Dried fish and Maldive fish for Sri Lankans abroad, packed to a food-safety standardCluster 13: The sea
- 258Boats for export: the boatyards already on the coast building fishing boats and launches for the countries around the Indian Ocean, not only for the home fleetCluster 13: The sea
- 259Coastal clean-up businesses paid by the hotels, with the plastic sold on for recyclingCluster 13: The sea
- 260Ornamental-fish breeding for the world's aquarium trade, raised in tanks rather than taken from the reefCluster 13: The sea
- 261Beach-hut cafés run to a standard, licensed, with the sanitation that the beaches lackCluster 13: The sea
- 262Surfboard shaping and repair workshops on the east and south coastsCluster 13: The sea
- 263Snorkelling reef guides trained in marine biology, at Pigeon Island and HikkaduwaCluster 13: The sea
- 264Fish-market tours at Negombo at dawn with breakfast after, the way Tokyo sold TsukijiCluster 13: The sea
- 265Stays in old lighthouse keepers' cottages, leased from the Ports Authority where it no longer needs themCluster 13: The sea
- 266Mangrove nurseries selling seedlings to the hotels and the state for coastal protectionCluster 13: The sea
- 267Ice plants at every fishing harbour run as a service, so the catch does not spoil before the saleCluster 13: The sea
- 268Fish-leather and fish-skin products from the waste of the processing plantsCluster 13: The sea
- 269The wind, the salt pans and the flamingos as one coastal business: kitesurfing schools and camps in the windy months, walks through the salt pans where the flamingos feed in winter, and stays sold for both seasons, wherever the coast has the wind and the wetlandsCluster 13: The sea
- 270Ferry and sea-plane services between the coastal towns, the way islands elsewhere connect their coastCluster 13: The sea
- 271A farmers' co-operative dairy in the hill country selling cheese and yoghurt under its own brandCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 272Buffalo-milk mozzarella and ghee for the hotels and for exportCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 273Vegetable drying: okra, jackfruit and gotukola as soup mixes and curry bases for Europe and the GulfCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 274Frozen tropical fruit pulp for the smoothie chains of the worldCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 275Heritage rice varieties grown under contract and sold at 10 times the commodity priceCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 276Organic certification services for smallholder groups, shared so the cost is bearableCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 277Mushroom farms supplying the hotels, since most are still importedCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 278Cut flowers and foliage for the Gulf and Europe, from the cool hills, the way Kenya does itCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 279Orchid nurseries for export, which Singapore built from nothingCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 280Seed banks and seed businesses for the heritage vegetables and grainsCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 281Honey from the dry zone, single-origin, tested and brandedCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 282Egg and poultry co-operatives with a cold chain, so the price does not collapse in the seasonCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 283Goat and sheep dairy in the north, where the animals already areCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 284Vegetable box schemes for Colombo households, direct from a named farmCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 285Drip-irrigation installation and maintenance businesses for the dry zoneCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 286Cashew-processing units in Puttalam owned by the growers, not by the tradersCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 287Kithul tapping co-operatives with a shared processing plant and a brandCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 288Tamarind, lime and ginger pastes for the restaurant trade abroadCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 289Agricultural drone services: spraying, mapping and counting, sold per acreCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 290Growing what the country still imports: rice, big onions and dried chillies, on contract to the mills and the wholesalers, with drying sheds and stores so the farmer is not forced to sell at harvestCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 291A wholesale market app that shows the day's prices, so the farmer stops selling blindCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 292Palmyrah products from the north: toddy, jaggery, fibre, fruit, the whole tree the way the coconut is a whole nutCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 293Farm-machinery hire pools, so that a 2-acre farmer can afford a harvester for a dayCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 294Wood-apple, passion fruit, jackfruit and jamun as jellies, jams and fruit leathers in jars, the way Britain sells marmaladeCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 295Home gardens turned into a supply chain for one hotel, with a contract and a priceCluster 14: Farm to shelf
- 296Remote-work hubs in Kandy, Galle and Jaffna with fibre, power and a lawyer who knows the taxCluster 15: Software, services and the remote desk
- 328Foreign-degree colleges in the east and the north, since almost all of them sit in ColomboCluster 16: Education and the exam funnel
- 361A directory of Sri Lankans abroad: who does what, where, and what they will help with, verifiedCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 362Return-relocation services: the school, the house, the car, the tax, in one packageCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 363Sri Lanka House in London, Melbourne and Toronto: a shop, a café and a desk, the Colombo model abroadCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 364Money-transfer products that buy a specific thing at home (a course, a machine, a roof) rather than cashCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 365Investment clubs of Sri Lankans abroad that own one business each at home, with a manager on the groundCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 366Import agencies in each city with a Sri Lankan community, stocking Sri Lankan brands and nothing elseCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 367Family-roots trips for the second generation: the grandparents' village traced, visited and explainedCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 368Skilled-volunteer months for professionals abroad on leave: an accountant to a co-operative, a teacher to a district schoolCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 369Gift and grocery delivery to parents at home, ordered by their children abroad, for a birthday or an ordinary weekCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 370Wedding services for Sri Lankans abroad who want to marry at home: everything from the visa letter to the drummersCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 371Mentoring from abroad for the businesses in this list: one professional abroad paired with one business at homeCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 372Sri Lankan restaurants abroad supplied direct from a Sri Lankan wholesalerCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 373A book club and speaker series abroad that puts Sri Lankan authors and founders in front of Sri Lankans overseasCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 374Second-generation internships at home, 6 weeks, arranged with firms that want the connectionCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 375Citizenship, visa and dual-nationality advisory services that are honest about the rulesCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 376Rotations for Sri Lankan doctors abroad: a month a year at a Sri Lankan hospital, arranged and housedCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 377Translation and interpreting businesses serving Sri Lankans abroad in their dealings with the state at homeCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 378A bank branch or credit union owned by Sri Lankans abroad that lends to the businesses in this listCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 379A graded Sinhala and Tamil curriculum and exam for children abroad, licensed to the Saturday schools and the video teachersCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 380Retirement-at-home services for Sri Lankans abroad who want to come back at 60 and do not know howCluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
- 394Jaffna and Kandy literary festivals to sit beside Galle'sCluster 19: Heritage, archives and film
- 425Mini-grids and solar storage for the islands off Jaffna, which are not on the national gridCluster 21: Energy, water and waste at small scale
- 476Colombo: a night market on the Galle Face Green run to a standard, every weekendCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 477Colombo: the Pettah as a managed market street, cleaned, lit and sold to visitors as the best bazaar in AsiaCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 478Kandy: the lake promenade with cafés and evening performances, not only the templeCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 479Galle: the coral coast, the gardens of Hikkaduwa and the reef under Rumassala, where a visitor or a Sri Lankan abroad becomes a coral mum or a coral dad, with a coral in their name, the way people name a star, and a photograph of it every year as it growsCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 480Jaffna: the food the rest of the island does not have, odiyal kool, the crab curry and everything the palmyrah gives, cooked where it comes from and shown off to the world as a cuisine of its ownCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 481Trincomalee: the summer beach town, sold for the months when the south-west coast has its monsoonCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 482Negombo: the first and last evening of every visit, 15 minutes from the airport, with the fleet coming in to the beach, the churches and the lagoon sold as the island's welcome and its send-offCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 483Nuwara Eliya: a cool-climate wellness and tea town, not a faded hill stationCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 484Anuradhapura: a pilgrim city with lodging, food and interpretation to match its sacrednessCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 485Hambantota: an industrial estate for the processors in this listCluster 26: The cities, one idea each
- 486The Karuthakolomban mango, the finest the island grows, graded, packed and sold under its own name, from Jaffna and every district that grows it, to Colombo and the worldCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 487A fruit-grading standard and the graders trained to it, so that Grade A from any district means the same thing to a buyer in DubaiCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 488Mangosteen and rambutan flown fresh in season to the Gulf and Singapore in graded boxes, not left to the roadsideCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 489The island's bananas sold by name, kolikuttu, seeni and ambul, in Colombo and in the Sri Lankan shops abroad, not as "banana"Cluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 490Avocado orchards in the hills for the breakfast tables of the Gulf, which now fly the fruit in from much further awayCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 491Fruit-tree nurseries selling grafted saplings of the named varieties, with a guarantee that the tree is what the label saysCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 492Pick-your-own orchards and fruit trails for visitors in the season, the way apple farms do it in EnglandCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 493Fruit wines and vinegars from what rots in the glut, bottled under the district's nameCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 494Jackfruit-seed and breadfruit flour, gluten-free, for the bakeries of EuropeCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades
- 495A fruit festival in each district in its season, the way Spain sells its oranges and Japan its cherries: the mango days in Jaffna, the rambutan month in Malwana, the durian weeks on the Kandy roadCluster 27: The fruit nobody grades