Idea 487 of 500. Cluster 27: The north and the east
Jaffna heritage stays in the old Dutch and Jaffna houses, restored by the families abroad
The mechanism, from the book
The land, the lagoons and the savings of families abroad are waiting. What comes first is the small business.
Every idea in cluster 27 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Ask 3 families abroad who own an old house in Jaffna whether they would restore one room and let it to visitors, with a local manager caring for the guests. Photograph one house as it stands, write a short history with the family's permission, and share it in a group for Sri Lankans abroad. Named families saying they would book for their next visit are the first proof.
- Who pays first
- A Sri Lankan family abroad visiting home who would rather stay in a restored house of their own heritage than in a hotel, and will pay for it.
- What leaves today
- Old houses stand empty while their owners live abroad, and visitors to Jaffna spend on lodging that holds none of the place's history.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. ThreeWhat We Have Already Built
Jaffna in what we have already built - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
A nurse who comes home with a credential and not only savings
More from cluster 27
- 486Palmyrah co-operatives owning the processing, the way the coconut list works for the south
- 488Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu farm co-operatives with a cold chain to Colombo
- 489Batticaloa lagoon tourism: the singing fish, the kayaks, the prawns, sold as a week
- 490Technical colleges in Jaffna and Batticaloa funded by families abroad, with the employers at the table
- 491Trincomalee's Dutch fort and Koneswaram as one managed site, with a shop and a guide service
- 492Passikudah as a family resort town with the standard set by the residents, not the chains
Idea 487 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.