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| Sunday, 20 March 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Pann Craftee lures local and foreign tourists From Hiran H. Senewiratne in Polonnaruwa Pann Craftee, the handicraft boutique in Giritale on the Polonnaruwa road attracts many foreign as well as local tourists. Most of the handicrafts are made out of Hambu, a parasite which spreads in river beds and tanks in the area. The natural look and handiness of the products lures many tourists to this spot. The boutique produces several handy items such as wall-hangers, hats, bags, letter hangers and purses for tourists designed by enterprising Kanchana Wevalpanawa. According to Wevalpanawa most of the raw materials including dyes are available in the area and are crafted to suit tourist needs. Wevalpanawa said that her products are extremely popular among foreigners. She gets orders from leading stores in Colombo. Ms Wevalpanawa is also in the process of promoting her handicrafts at Odel and Arpico supermarkets as well. Pann Craftee has been selected as one of four potential export oriented entities under the Export Development Board's (EDB) 'Dahas Diriya' program. They have received many inquiries from USA and China after the EDB gave details on their website, she said. She said that she got a lot of training from the "Kandurata Aruna" program organised by the Prime Minster's Office jointly with the EDB. Wevalpanawa said that the training she received from the program helped her to handled anything relating to her business. Pann Craftee has a skilled workforce of 16 but the only problem is that they do not have much work due to the drop in the number of tourist arrivals to the country, she said. The boutique has a vision but the only problem is the lack of capital to expand the business to venture into the export market. She contacts the Industrial Development Board often to find ways and means to enhance the quality as well as the finish of her products. To go even for the local market in a big way they have to invest at least Rs 15,000 for each person to buy tools and equipment. |
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