HOW MANY SRI LANKANS DOES IT TAKE TO CUT DOWN A TREE?

In the process of getting small businesses off the ground, I see various businesses that are profitable in ways that would not be possible in Australia. Because labour is so cheap here, there are many jobs that would not even be available in Australia.

Sarath has started a business selling firewood to the roof tile factory. They, in turn, use this fuel in the kilns to fire the clay tiles. When I was first given the application it looked like a simple enough concept, or so I thought.

As part of our procedure, Priantha or I conduct an interview to find out more about the family and the business. Now that Priantha has been working with me for six months, I usually send him alone or allow him to lead the interview. He is able to assess the business and he can communicate much more easily.

Once we have all the details I sit down with Hayley, Priantha, Kanchana and sometimes Ronald, our driver, as he was previously a manager for a large business here in Sri Lanka. We discuss the details of the business, if they fall within our criteria and where any problems may lie in the business or their ability to repay the loan.

Sometimes cultural differences and practices become obvious and we need to assess whether the practices make for bad business or if they are just a different way of doing things. To make this judgment, I like to make sure I have a clear understanding of how the business works. In this particular instance, my preconceptions were making it difficult for me to see precisely how the business would work.

I started asking questions to try and work around this impasse. To start off on the right foot, I began with something that I was sure I understood, like the fact that Sarath goes and chops down the tree. I assumed Sarath must want the money to buy a chainsaw. Confidently I put the question out there, and prepared to write down the yes and move on to other details.

"No" was the answer from all the Sri Lankans at the table.

This was going to be a tough day. Wanting to put this behind me, I thought the best way forward was to find out who did cut down the tree.

"The man with the chainsaw," they replied, looking at me as if I really didn't know anything about business.

So I moved on to what I thought was the next obvious idea, getting the wood to the factory.

"Does he want the money to buy a landmaster to take the wood to the factory" I asked undetered.

Once again, the Sri Lankans look at each other, have a quick chat in Sinhala and then reply, "No."

Naturally I wanted to know who does take the wood to the factory. Once again the obvious reply, "The man with the lorry. A landmaster is too small"

Strike two. Wanting to sound like I understood the scenario so far, I gave them a rundown of what I had learnt. So the Chainsaw Man rings Sarath and tells him that he has a tree to cut down. Sarath pays him to chop it down and rings the Lorry Man to come and collect the wood and he pays him. So thats what he wants the money for?"

"No"

"What?! So what does he want the money for?"

At this point everybody is laughing and convinced that I am in no position to be giving out loans.

Once again they try to explain it

"Tree person calls Sarath and tells him they have a tree they need removed. Sarath calls the Chainsaw Man and the Guy With The Lorry"

At this point, Hayley, passing through on her way to the biscuit jar, interjects. "Why don't you call the Tree Man, Greg, Chainsaw Man, Bob, and Lorry Guy, Steve." She is an invaluable part of this process, given her skills in giving characters names.

Trying to salvage the situation, I thought that finding out the cost of things would be an easy way to distract them from my previous inability to grasp simple Sri Lankan business.

"First Greg calls Sarath and tells him that he has a tree that needs removing?"

"Yes"

"Wohoo! Great! Now I am getting somewhere. So, how much does Sarath get for chopping down the tree?"

Now I had them looking confused and there was quite a bit of Sinhala discussion going back and forth. Finally they aswered, "Sorry? We don't understand. Sarath has to pay for the tree. That's why he needs the money."

"He pays to chop someone's tree down?"

"Yes."

At this stage we all are laughing. We are amused that the Sri Lankan tree removalist would pay to do his job. The Sri Lankans are amused that Australians would pay to give their tree to someone else. It's all so weird.

Pushing on, I continue in my attempt to clarify the situation. "Sarath pays Greg to remove his tree. Sarath pays Bob to chop down the tree. Sarath loads the wood into Steve's lorry and takes it to the factory, where they pay Sarath and he pays Steve.

"Yes!"

However I was still perplexed. "So why doesn't Sarath cut the tree down himself?" I asked.

More incredulous looks and laughter. "Bob only charges a little money and Sarath does not have the time!"

An hour after we started I decided to leave it there and ask the most important question. "Is it a good business?"

"Yes, it is very good" came the quick reply.

THE WEEKEND THAT WASN'T

Isn't it the way?! When I have time to blog, I have little to blog about. When things are busy and there is much to report, I don't have the time to sit and tell you about them. Well, today I am under the weather and unable to drum up the energy or inspiration for any more administrative tasks, so I am ignoring the waiting tasks and writing to you about my weekend instead.

Friday was Children's Day - if I have understood correctly - and this was the reason for our busy weekend. Despite having taught a class in a nearby town on Friday evening, I was up bright and early on Saturday - a scenario I would normally do my best to avoid. We had been invited as special guests to an Children's Art Exhibition in honour of Children's Day.

Not that the Art Exhibition was bright and early; in fact, it was at a very reasonable hour. It's just that it was a three-hour drive away. However, we were meeting a friend who said he knew a short-cut and that 2 hours would be sufficient. Ah, the Sri Lankan short-cut - we've been fooled before. I am coming to understand that short-cut actually translates to alternative route and there is no guarantee that any time is saved at all. In fact, chances are high that it could take longer.

So, at the designated time, we were still far from the designated venue and, as Darren's mobile is just another thing in the long list of broken appliances/machines in our life of late, we were unable to contact anyone to say we were on our way. Finally, three hours after our trip began, we arrived at the venue with profuse apologies. Next time I will place more confidence in my own sense of time.

The Art Exhibition was a most enjoyable occasion. It started with a presentation of flowers for each of the honoured guests and the lighting of the candles in the brass lamp. This is a tradition that is part of any special event in Sri Lanka. Several candles are placed on an elaborate brass stand and special guests will each light a candle before proceedings begin. After the candles were lit, the children welcomed us and gave a speech to all the guests. Then the special guests were given a tour of the exhibition by the children before it was opened to all the guests for their enjoyment. I find Sri Lankans to be quite artistic, as a general rule, and the standard of work presented was very high.

After we had all perused the artworks, there was a singing competition, followed by a game of musical chairs. There was also a parade of a herd of water buffalo heading down the road in front of the venue, heading for a field to graze in. Okay, that wasn't actually part of the day's program, but it was also a bit of a highlight for me. I enjoyed watching these creatures tramping past but I was also a little anxious, hoping that my children, who were out playing in the nearby field, would have the good sense to get out of the way. They did.

As the day's program drew to a close, there were speeches given to the children by the Sinhala-speaking special guests and then awards for the winners of the art competition and the singing competition. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with our hosts and then it was time to begin the long journey home.

On the way home, Cedric decided he would try a short-cut (you would think we would know better by now!). Goodness knows if this short-cut would have saved us time but it did get us a little lost. I wasn't too bothered. I fell asleep, as I usually do on long drives home, but I was disturbed from time to time by Darren, with his Google maps, and Cedric, with his own plans, debating which roads to follow and which roads to turn down. Unfortunately, all debates became moot when we did finally find our way back to the main road. A large school in that area was having a special parade to celebrate Children's Day. Roads were blocked as children marched down the Colombo Road (the main highway from Negombo to Colombo) on floats, under banners, with displays, holding posters. It was all very lovely, if you weren't all tired and ready for home and wondering if there ever was an end to this parade. The roads became choked with traffic as vehicles tried to edge themselves into pole position for after the parade had passed and the vehicles on the highway tried to maneuvre past the marching children. Finally, we were able to get back on our way home, all thankful that we were heading away from Colombo and not part of the massive queue of standstill traffic trying to make its way in.

Now, don't think an important weekend like this would let you get away with one appointment. The following day we were up bright and early once more, ready to head another couple of hours in the other direction from home. This time our meeting was being held in a small jungle village. This is the kind that my kids like because they get to go exploring - follow the path one way to rice paddies, the other way to jungle. I thought I would join them for a bit of an explore - partly because it was reminiscent of all the running through the bush that I used to love doing when I was a kid growing up in a small, country town and partly because I thought it would be a good opportunity to impart some of the wisdom I gathered running around in the bush in summer and learning how to avoid snake bite. So, the intrepid explorers can't have gone much further than a few metres into the jungle when they came - almost - face to face with a face-sized spider, hanging face height! Lesson effectively learnt - always keep alert; your eyes open and your wits about you. The intrepid explorers beat a hasty retreat - not too hasty, because lesson 2 was 'don't panic and then step on a snake while you are running away!' - closer to civilisation, but not without a photo first. I felt like such a hero, brave enough to take the photo, but thank goodness for good zoom!

By mid-afternoon, our hosts had an unexpected situation to deal with so we bid a timely adieu and made our way back home again. The place was beginning to look unfamiliar. What do you mean the weekend's over now? Where did it go? Sigh, it's only a week until there's another one. We had a fantastic time with all the things we did, but thank goodness the next weekend is expected to be a lot quieter!