Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Wednesday, 3 September 2025 00:14 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Browns Hotels & Resorts Head of Business Excellence Baba Carrim(left) and Hotel Sigiriya General Manager Harintha Jayawardena
100% Pure Ceylon Bee Honey Bottles from the first harvest by Browns Hotels & Resorts’ Sustainable Bee Honey
Farming Initiative
Local farmers with their first bee honey harvest
Fresh bee honey harvest from Sigiriya
Kids experiencing the first bee honey harvest
Sustainable Bee Honey Farming Initiative from Sigiriya Community Bee Keepers
In the heart of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, Browns Hotels & Resorts has marked a milestone as meaningful as it is sweet: the very first harvest of its Sustainable Bee Honey Farming Initiative, a unique collaboration across three of its properties: Hotel Sigiriya, Occidental Paradise Dambulla and Ayugiri Ayurveda Wellness Resort.
What began with a few buzzing bee boxes has now grown into thriving colonies, yielding their first golden honey after eight months of care and dedication.
Launched initially in July 2024, the program was designed to equip rural communities with income-generating skills and sustainable livelihood opportunities, safeguard pollinators, and enrich local biodiversity. Guided by Department of Agriculture, Beekeeping Subject Matter Officer and Agriculture Instructor S.K. Kulasinghe, the project engaged local families in the neighbouring villages from the very outset. Some of the activities included community awareness sessions, where participants learnt about eco-beekeeping and the importance of pollinators to the environment, and distribution of bee boxes amongst community members and hotel properties, arming them with the resources and knowledge to begin nurturing their own hives.
Over the months that followed, regular colony audits and expert guidance ensured healthy and thriving bee populations. By August 2025, the first harvest was ready, and Browns Hotels & Resorts purchased the carefully nurtured bee honey from the local community, thereby reinforcing its long-term commitment and vision to supporting home-grown livelihoods in a meaningful way. To celebrate, an event was hosted at Hotel Sigiriya, bringing together the nearby villagers and hotel staff to mark this achievement. During the gathering, participants were commended for their dedication and care in nurturing the colonies, and were introduced to the wider vision of Phase Two of the project, which will focus on sustainability, biodiversity, and income development. The event served both as a celebration and a heartfelt thank you for their commitment.
“This first harvest is a beautiful reminder of what happens when sustainability, community, and hospitality work hand in hand. By nurturing bee populations in the Cultural Triangle, the project creates an impact that stretches far beyond the hotels themselves. Each jar of honey holds more than sweetness: it carries the story of empowered families, thriving biodiversity, and the authentic traditions we are proud to share with every guest,” said Browns Hotels & Resorts CEO Eksath Wijeratne.
