GOING GREEN WITH GEHAN DE SILVA

Since this blog is on a green track (momentarily), here's another personality who deserves a post of his own. One who has shown that it is possible to balance the ethics of business with that of the environment.

I met Gehan de Silva, CEO of Jetwing Eco Holidays, thanks to the spectacular room given to us at The Lighthouse. In one of few chats, he mentioned his work briefly. It already seemed like a lot.

For starters how often do you come across a trained engineer turned banker turning his job on the big bucks in London to return home to don the garb of a conservationist.

Gehan did just that when he moved back to Sri Lanka to train his pen, his lens and his creative energies on building an eco-tourism industry in the country. Putting his money exactly where his mouth is, he started by showing to the world and the sceptics alike that championing conservation and research into it can pay off financially. Today, Jetwing Hotels and Jetwing Eco Holidays are synonymous with sustainable tourism. You only have to stay at one of their properties to figure that out for yourself.

A savvy media lobbyist, Gehan's name is almost everywhere. When he is not at work on another book, he is busy penning articles for print or making appeareances on television. All of these are driven to one end - conserving our rich bio-diversity for generations to come.

The message may be emerging out of Sri Lanka, but its one that resonates across the world.