Starter Kit. Idea 95 of 500. Cluster 4
Kayaking and paddle-boarding on the lagoons, with a naturalist
The mechanism, from the book
An app that tells people what is happening tonight converts a day visit into a 2-night stay.
The first step
Hire two kayaks for a morning on a lagoon near you and take two guests out with a naturalist who knows the birds and the mangroves. Ask them what they would pay and whether they would recommend it. Then leave a leaflet at three guesthouses. Bookings within the fortnight are the proof.
- Who pays first
- Nature-minded visitors staying on the coast who want a quiet morning on the water with someone who knows it.
- What leaves today
- Lagoons are passed on the way to the beach; a naturalist-led paddle sells them as an experience and a reason to stay.
Ask first
- Central Environmental Authority. Ask whether the lagoon is protected and what activities are allowed on it.
- Department of Wildlife Conservation. Ask whether the lagoon lies inside a protected wildlife area.
Check before you spend
That paddling is allowed on the lagoon, that every guest has a life jacket, and that the naturalist knows the lagoon's rules.
Find out these three numbers
- What will visitors pay for a guided paddle?
- What do kayaks, boards and life jackets cost?
- Which months is the lagoon calm enough?
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.