In the middle of a Sri Lankan tea plantation there is a lodge: Rainforest Eco Lodge.

The lodge is the result of a collaboration between the Sri Lankan government and USAID with a view to strengthening tourism in Sri Lanka. A number of interest groups identified “eco-tourism” as a potential, new trend within tourism, and they wanted to create a model for future eco-tourism in Sri Lanka. The choice fell on the Enselwatta tea plantation, which borders the Sinharaja rainforest.

The lodge consists of 20 cabins dotted throughout the green tea plantation. All are built using recycled materials. The cabins themselves are built from old shipping containers, the walls and ceilings are built from bamboo and the terraces are built from railway sleepers.

The Rainforest Eco Lodge is moreover the only LEED platinum-certified accommodation in Sri Lanka, the 4th in Asia and the 5th in the World. The lodge has thus been built according to special sustainable guidelines that have ensured that its construction has not destroyed or disturbed the rainforest habitat and the local community, which consists of 30 families who all work in the tea plantation.

Before the construction of The Rainforest Eco Lodge, the families lived in extremely poor conditions. The hotel management decided that, for the lodge to be a success, it was necessary to improve the living conditions of the local people and give them access to better and more opportunities. The decision was therefore made to build them a new village near the old one, with improved housing with sanitary facilities, electricity, and access to clean drinking water, which is financed by The Rainforest Eco Lodge. A new school was also built for the village’s children, where the teachers are paid by The Rainforest Eco Lodge. Every Monday, the pupils are given a free lunch, and every Wednesday, the children are taught English by the hotel management.

The Rainforest Eco Lodge’s ambition is for the “community outreach” programme to develop over time and expand to include even more focus areas to improve the living conditions of the local community.

Green energy and eco-friendly solutions are a major focus for The Rainforest Eco Lodge, which helps to reduce the environmental footprint through cleaning wastewater and reducing carbon emissions with the help of solar panels.