Grand welcome for MV Queen Victoria at Laksala

Hundreds of passengers of MV Queen Victoria arrived in Laksala at Thummulla, Colombo 07 on 29th this month received a grand welcome. Visitors entered Laksala throughout the day amidst traditional Kandyan dancing and drumming. They reached the flagship store from 9.30 am 5.30pm on a special shuttle bus service operated from the Port of Colombo.

Tourists visited had an opportunity to see how wooden masks and elephants were carved by skilful craftsmen who were on Laksala premises and they were delighted with handicrafts products on sale in the showroom. The management at Laksalka had prepared special arrangements such as various traditional dancing events to entertain passengers. Whenever this ocean liner arrives in Sri Lanka, tourists onboard visited Laksala as usual.

The MV Queen Victoria, which has been the second largest Cunard ship ever built next to the Queen Mary II, is a UK-registered ship operated by Cunard. The £270m worth, 294m long and a 90,000t cruise ship constructed by Fincantieri Maritimo in Maghera near Venice in Italy. The ship has a passenger capacity of 2,014 with 1,001 crew and 1,007 cabins (creating a passenger to crew ratio of 2:1). Around 86% of staterooms are outside and 71% of staterooms have balconies. There is 10,000ft of open deck space. The vessel’s maiden voyage from Southampton (its home port) took place on 11 December 2007.

Laksala opens the door to children with special needs

Laksala really wants for children with special needs to be happy and fulfilling life, and also believes that they could build a strong sense of self-confidence and a solid foundation for lifelong success with encouragement and the right support. Therefore, the management at Laksala has already made a decision to support children with special needs of the Child Guidance Center (CGC) at Maharagama, which is governed by the Department of Social Service, under its Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) project.

Children from CGC at Maharagama presenting dance at Laksala

A dance troupe from CGC visited Laksala premises at Thummulla, Colombo 07  and entertained European tourists with a delightful performance on 29th this month. Tourists were delighted with children’s presentation and applauded at the end of it.  

Mrs. R. A. D . Hansani and Mrs. Sujani Udawatta and two pre-school teachers of the centre at Maharagama accompanied these children and in a special interview Mrs. R. A. D . Hansani said “  We have around 120 children at our centre in Maharagama. Our vision is to create a conducive environment for children with special needs to live just as same as others to maintain interrelations with family members and community and optimally using available strengths and resources.”

“The specialty of our center is interventions to provide services at a very early age (from 03 months), providing services to any child with physical, mental disabilities or any other special needs, interventions for development of children through(Multi-Disciplinary Team Work), offering services as per special methodologies for client children(Individual Assessment - Progress Review), providing services to each child as per an Individual Education Plan (IEP), referring to preschools and formal school system after developing basic skills, focusing primary attention on the development of day-to-day life skills, providing post-care services for children referred to preschools and formal education, services being rendered by trained staff with requisite qualifications and experience and adopting a holistic approach which pays attention to all stakeholders (Client Children/Parents/Family Members/Community etc).”

Mrs. R. A. D. Hansani and Mrs. Sujani Udawatta
Pre-school Teachers at CGC

Mrs. Sujani Udawatta added " We provide special services for parents and family members of children with special needs. They are psychological and counselling services for mental development, health educational service programmes, religious programmes (sil and meditation programmes, christmas celebration, pilgrimages to prominent places of worship, educational tours and picnics), conducting internal and external programmes under nature therapy academy and programmes for brothers and sisters of families.”

“ We are also conducting occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and physiotherapy for these children. We would like to remind that Mrs. G. L. L. Gunasinghe, Superintendent of our centre, works with great enthusiasm and dedication to achieve the goals of our centre.”

Laksala welcomes MV Arcadia with 1500 passengers

More than 1500 passengers from MV Arcadia, the fourth largest of eight ships currently in service with P&O Cruises (a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England) fleet, visited Laksala at Thummulla on 23rd this month from 9.30 am to 5.30pm on a shuttle bus service operated from the Port of Colombo. Passengers visited were welcomed by a Kandyan troupe of traditional dancers and drummers. Laksala presented various traditional dancing events to entertain visitors. Whenever this giant vessel reaches Sri Lanka, tourists on board visit Laksala at Thummulla.

Two craftsmen who were on the Laksala premises demonstrated how to carve wooden masks and elephants and these tourists were pleased to see their carvings. In order to support local handicraftsmen working with Laksala, they purchased Gem & Jewellery, Brass, Textile (Handloom and Batik), Tea, Wood Carving, SPA, Spices, Ceramic, Leather, Rush & Reed related products.

MV Arcadia costs almost $400m and was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At over 84,000 tonnes, the ship officially entered service with the company in April 2005. This ship measures 289.90m in length. The approx. 869 crew members take good care of the maximal 2,388 passengers. This is the fourth P&O ship to be named Arcadia. The first Arcadia sailed from 1887 to 1915 and carries 410 passengers. The second Arcadia sailed form 1954 to 1979 and carried a total of 1,405 passengers. The third Arcadia sailed from 1989 to 2003 and carried 1,458 passengers.

Laksala joins World Down Syndrome Day 2019

 The management at Laksala has taken a step to support differently able and slow learning children in Sri Lanka under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project following World Down Syndrome Day held on 21st  this month.  Accordingly, Laksala opened its doors for children at "Diri Daru Piyasa", fine art and vocational training centre,  handled by Miranda Hemalatha Kala Ashramaya under the leadership of  Dr. Miranda Hemalatha, an award-winning artist and the first Director of Aesthetic Education. “Diri Daru Piyasa” is a project started in 2003 as a result of a very successful experiment conducted during the previous four years from 2000 to 2003 to develop the down syndrome children.

A  foreign couple looking at products of Diri Daru Piyasa

A special rack in the Laksala flagship store at Thummulla, Colombo 07 was allocated to sell products made by these children. Dr, Hemalatha visited Laksala on World Down Syndrome Day with children of  Diri Daru Piyasa.

In a special discussion with Laksala, Dr. Hemalatha said” At present we have 68 children learning carpentry, tailoring, making doormats, fabric painting, and many crafts through which these children could make money for their living. They learn languages, mathematics and develop other skills they need to lead a balanced life. They can communicate fairly well and use the calculator too. They are good in dancing and music, some of them are nearly normal.”

Children of Diri Daru Piyasa
 display their products at Laksala

“We have been able to develop the skills of our children to a high level to participate in many dance music and art competitions at which they were able to receive many awards winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd  places. Also, they have done very well in sports winning awards. They too have been participating in international seminars held in Sri Lanka as dancers. Very often these children participate in many other programmes organized by the hospitals, universities, and other private organizations.”

Founder Dr. Miranda Hemalatha

“We have already started job-oriented vocational training institute to develop the special children for some kind of a vocation so that they could also be independent as the other citizens. In this regard, we have been successful in our experiment and as a result, two girls are now teaching at Ladies College Colombo, Lyceum International School at Nugegoda where they get paid for their service. We are also able to develop the skills of a boy to be a tailor and quite a number for various jobs. We have presented children as solo dancers.”

“We provide all facilities free of charge to make our majority Downs and few Autism and also few CP children to make their lives as successful grown-up citizens. Our main effort is to serve the really needy children of mother Lanka though they are born to lower economic strata. We are also grateful to individuals and organization  for their help to enhance our efforts in skill development of these children.”

Laksala, the paradise of handicrafts in Sri Lanka

Laksala ensures welfare of its handicraftsmen

As a government entity we will take every step to ensure the welfare of our handicraftsmen who have been with us for many years, Mr. Madhura de Silva, Director General/CEO said at a special meeting with handicraftsmen on Laksala Thummulla premises, Colombo 07. We are committed to uplifting the standard of our handicraftsmen and they are our pride, Mr. Silva stated.

Mr. Madhura de Silva , CEO/Director Genera hands over cheques.  Mr. Allan Delilkan, Acting 

  Director (Finance)  and Mrs. Vajira Samararathne,  Deputy  Director (Purchasing) look on.

“It is our responsibility to support our people. As a first step, recently Laksala launched an awareness programme on how to use the technology to enhance the quality of creations. A number of registered handicraftsmen from different areas in Sri Lanka participated in this special session. We continue doing more in future too" Director General/CEO further added.

Realizing the value of craftsmen, the new management of Laksala headed by Mr. Muhammed Hamza, Chairman made a decision to pay the outstanding arrears of its craftsmen immediately. Accordingly handicraftsmen were paid in arrears by Mr. Madhura de Silva , CEO/Director General. After handing over cheques, Mr. Silva engaged in a brief conversation with cheque recipients too.

Hundreds of Indian tourists arrived in Pinnawala

A large group of Indians, who came to attend an international event, held in Sri Lanka, visited Laksala Showroom located at the exit gate in Pinnawala recently. They were delighted to see products displayed in the showroom and highly praised them. Finally, they bought many art and craft items as they pleased for them, their relatives and friends. This was the first time such experience these tourists received during their tour in Sri Lanka.

Passengers from the Queen Mary II flooded

About 2000 tourists from the Queen Mary II , which is the largest ocean liner ever built, visited Laksala on 06th this month. Tourists arrived in Laksala flagship store located in Thummulla from 9.30 am to 5.30pm on a shuttle service operated from the Port of Colombo. On regular basis this transatlantic ocean liner arrives in Sri Lanka and every time those on board visit Laksala as usual.

The Queen Mary 2 measures 345 meters in length. The approx. 1,250 crew members take good care of the maximal 2,620 passengers. The Queen Mary 2 is the only remaining transatlantic liner. Laksala is known among tourists on the Queen Mary 2 for the only state owned gift and souvenir boutique in Sri Lanka and offering the widest range of Gem & Jewellery, Brass, Textile (Handloom and Batik), Tea, Wood Carving, SPA, Spices, Ceramic, Leather, Rush & Reed related products at reasonable prices.

“Laksala” arrives in Nuwara Eliya

New Laksala showroom in Nuwara Eliya was inaugurated by Laksala chairman Mr. Muhammed Hamza recently. At the auspicious time, the chairman cut a ribbon and warmed the new building after lighting the traditional oil lamp. The Laksala Management has given priority to conduct business in Nuwara Eliya which has been recognized as a key area for both local and foreign customers.

The new showroom is situated at 79, Udupussalawa Road, Nuwara Eliya, Tel: 052 223 4445: adjoining Divisional Secretariat Office. The high-quality products in the new showroom are sold at reasonable prices. As the only state owned gift and souvenir boutique in Sri Lanka, this handicrafts emporium has the ability to provide high quality locally manufactured widest range of Gem & Jewellery, Brass, Textile (Handloom and Batik), Tea, Wood Carving, SPA, Spices, Ceramic, Leather, Rush & Reed and many more creative products as well as any item for local and foreign customers according to the requirement of any or institution or company.

In order to promote handicrafts, the Laksala management has decided to offer a 15% special discount on products to employees from the government sector and selected private entities such as hotels, banks and estates etc in Nuwara Eliya. Both government and private sectors in Nuwara Eliya will be given special discounts when purchasing in bulk from this new showroom which opens from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. over 365 days and being served by an efficient and dedicated staff.

Laksala, which has the largest range of handicrafts, is the leading handcraft brand in Sri Lanka, and consistently ranking highest in terms of handicraft market share. The 13 Laksala showrooms , which is operating around Sri Lanka, are linked to around 8,000 leading and skilled craftsmen and entrepreneurs who operate their own industries in rural areas throughout the country.

In addition to that , for the benefit of the local handicraftsmen, a special cabinet paper seconded in the parliament in 2006 grants permission for government institutions to give priority to Laksala when purchasing goods and services in accord with their requirements.

Senior officials of Laksala, many other distinguished guests representing both government and private sectors and people from the area were also present on the occasion.

Welcome to Laksala, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Handicraft Board, popularly known as “LAKSALA” has been promoting the sale of local handicrafts through their showrooms spread island–wide and providing the essential market linkage to traditional craftsmen to market their products since the inception in 1964. Laksala is a “State owned Gift & Souvenir Boutique” and was established under the National Crafts Council and Allied Institutions Act No: 35 of 1982. 

Since then Laksala has witnessed numerous changes with an ever growing portfolio of products on sale. Today Laksala operates a network of 12 showrooms located island-wide offering an impressive product range of traditional handicrafts, Sri Lankan Batiks, Hand-woven textiles, Fashion accessories, Gem & Jewellery among an array of other Gift items at a reasonable price.

At Laksala you step into a garden of artistic creativity. Sri Lankan batiks, incorporate fascinating motifs and colour, some traditional, others highly contemporary and individual, but all displaying a vigorousness of design unique to this Island. In the hand-woven clothing, the Sri Lankan Weavers have transformed traditional patterns and the tropical hues into beautiful textile designs.

A fine collection of Silver and Gold Jewellery set with beautifully facetted colour gemstones are showcased at LAKSALA with the perfected warranty of authenticity. In order to achieve our vision, LAKSALA will make every effort to keep the traditional crafts alive, whilst adapting itself and evolving to new needs and demands of buyers.

Most importantly, LAKSALA enables the numerous small entrepreneurs who supply goods to us to sustain their businesses and earn a reasonable livelihood. LAKSALA is poised for future growth supported by the flourishing tourism industry which is the main spearhead for our business, and an increasing demand for souvenirs and gifts from the local market. With these positive trends, we see a very bright future for LAKSALA.

Visit Laksala to buy a gift or souvenir which reflects the Sri Lankan heritage, gives you “value for money” and guaranteed quality.

Partner us to help our craftsmen!

Muhammed Hamza
Chairman
Sri Lanka Handicrafts Board – Laksala