Sri Lanka Air Force:

First to go for garbage recycling

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Sri Lanka Air Force, ever dedicated like the wings that protect the motherland has been a steady comrade not only for Sri Lanka Army and the Navy but for all the citizens. They have always been efficient and effective in air combats as well as on ground missions, Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) has not gone out of track being productive in all what they do.

Following the glorious victory Sri Lankan Forces achieved over ruthless terrorism the SLAF shifted their key role from air missions to development work to support the nation's effort to raise her head as a developing country. Silently in their own way SLAF started to convert their officers and men as a productive resources for the country in addition to their responsibilities as a defence force.

The training institutes of the SLAF now pay more attention in inculcating this concept into the service personnel. In this effort the SLAF Trade Training School in Ekala is specially geared in training their personnel to be utilized in productive activities parallel to their routine work.

Rather than spending the public funds entirely for the welfare of the Air Force personnel each institute, base or a camp is initiating projects to earn money to spend on the well-being of those who are deployed under the respective unit. The Trade Training School have initiated several projects as profitable ventures to provide more welfare for the trainees as well as their families. The main task of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Trade Training School Ekala is to provide formal training for all SLAF trades. The airmen and airwomen who successfully complete their initial combat training at the SLAF, Diyatalawa are sent to this station for training in their respective trades.

Warrant Officer L.S. Fernando explains the recycling process

Bakery

The recycling plant

The training is conducted by the lodger formation Advanced & Specialized Trade Training School which has provisions to accommodate more 600 trainees.

The courses include Basic, Advanced and Specialist Trade training courses. A & S TTS is equipped with modern laboratories for conducting training for both technical and non-technical trades.

The administrative, logistical and infrastructure support required for training is provided by the Station.

“This school accommodates almost 1500 living-in personnel which includes the trainees as well,” said the Commanding Officer Group Captain Laksiri Gunawardena explaining their projects which were initiated by them to solve most of the logistic and welfare shortcomings they had faced on a day to day basis.

Today the base is more aesthetic than being technical; ideal for a place of education. “We had a huge problem with garbage disposal,” said Group Captain Gunawardena.

“It was a solution for this problem that we came up with the idea of a garbage recycling project. Yet it led to many more profitable ventures as officers and men were ready to take those responsibilities,” he added.

Today the successful recycling plant is the sole fertilizer producer for the flourishing vegetable plot and the fruit orchard fast growing within the base premises. This provides those officers and men living within the base with their families to buy fresh organic vegetables at a very low price.

“We are planning to expand the cultivation as we have more land and enough and more fertilizer. With more production we will be able to get a harvest enough to sell to the neighbourhood as well,” said the Commanding officer. With the first harvest the agriculture project of the base earned Rs. 7000 as net profit.

With the garbage recycling plant, established with the assistance and technical advice from the Central Environment Authority earns money too. By selling cardboard, glass and metal items to selected people through evaluating quotations the base have earned nearly Rs.250,000.

“We received a special training through the Central Environment Authority and the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha recycling plant.

And with this now we have solved the garbage disposal problem entirely,” said Warrant Officer L.S. Fernando, the officer in-Charge of the Waste Management Recycling project.

Apart from these ventures yoghurt manufacturing project and the bakery have brought in more than Rs. 400,000 in the recent past expanding their fund base.

The Air Force initiated the yoghurt project and the bakery in all possible bases and camps in order to provide refreshments for the inmates as it is impractical for them to move out of the camp to buy these items. Today these two projects have become key projects providing financial support to these bases and camps to carry out welfare measures to the service personnel and their families deployed there.

With the funds collected through these ventures the Trade Training School have been able to construct multi religious places and a recreation park for the benefit of the officers, men and their families.

The Trade Training School does not necessarily make their work solely technical. “Though this is a training place it is best to have a pleasant place for the officers as well as air men and women.

Most of us get confined to bases and there will be less room for our families to come and spend time with the service personnel.

If space can be allocated for the families to join the service personnel once in a while in the base it would make the work pleasant for the service personnel.

The family will be more supportive too,” Group Captain Gunawardena explained.