Starter Kit. Idea 475 of 500. Cluster 25
Rowing, kayaking and sailing clubs on the reservoirs and the harbours, open to visitors
The mechanism, from the book
The country's best-known export is cricket, and little of the business around it is built at home.
The first step
Ask the managers of the guesthouses and hotels beside one reservoir or harbour whether their guests ask about getting out on the water. Then hire 2 kayaks for a weekend and offer those guests a guided paddle at a set price. Every paid paddle, and every guest who asks about joining for their next visit, tells you whether a club can stand on visitor fees.
- Who pays first
- A hotel guest who wants to be on the water rather than only look at it, and pays for a guided paddle booked at the front desk.
- What leaves today
- The island's reservoirs and harbours earn nothing from leisure, so visitors pay for water sports in other countries because nothing here is open to them.
Ask first
- the local council (Municipal Council, Urban Council or Pradeshiya Sabha). Ask whether a boat club may launch from the shore and store boats there.
- Department of Wildlife Conservation. Ask whether paddling is allowed on this water and in which parts.
Check before you spend
Confirm permission to use the water and the shore, life jackets and a trained guide for every outing, and insurance for visitors on the water.
Find out these three numbers
- What would a guest pay for a guided paddle?
- How many guests a week ask about the water?
- What does buying or hiring a kayak cost?
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.