Grant Winner - Saraii Pvt Ltd

About the Business 

Saraii Village, a sustainable and wellness focused travel company, promotes the essence of a location through community experiences for discerning and responsible travellers. Saraii Village believes that travel is not only about discovering new places, but also about authentic experiences that touch the soul. Operating one of the most eco-conscious hotels in Sri Lanka, Saraii Village invites conscientious travellers to embrace the Saraii philosophy of respecting the serene environment that surrounds them.

The hotel is built within a man-made forest, consisting of over 1200 trees. No single use plastic is accommodated on the property, and food is organic and sourced locally. Furthermore, Saraii works very closely with local communities, empowering them through trade in the form of excursions. This enables locals to showcase their skills and traditional home based small businesses, and also earn an income. Some of the unique experiences offered are farmers lunch, fishing with local fisherman, pottery making and palmyrah weaving. 

Sustainable and Engaging Tourism Experiences 

Saraii strives to provide guests an immersive and authentic experience, which will have a lasting impact on the traveller. The grant offered by the Tourism Alliance and Good Life X will enable Saraii to train local stakeholders so that they can improve the delivery of tourism excursions. 

Saraii also believes that this training and preparation will be instrumental in getting more members of the community involved in hosting experiences, which will result in increased income earning opportunities and help sustain livelihoods.