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Day 3, the floor of the building almost done. Managed to get it done in between showers of rain. #conslinks (at Wetalawa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDXaAYyJiyS/?igshid=1crjufla4y3gb

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Our team just restarted work on our coffee/spice processing plant. It's been many quiet months since CoVID. This was day 1, levelling the floor before concreting. #conslinks #agriculture #coffee #spices (at Wetalawa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDU9HnHJ6oi/?igshid=1u6kn9c7s6rwf

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Some nice shots of yesterdays weeding, fertilizing and mulching. #ginger #agriculture #farming #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3swvEGAkPc/?igshid=1fl5389rdangg

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Ginger planting beds need to be weeded, fertilised and mulched. The mulch is twice husk and slows down weed growth. Here our female staff and Somarathna at work. #ginger #spices #tropical ##SriLanka #permaculture #agriculture #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3q3OtBgoxN/?igshid=hacrw5iijfy0

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The traditional way to remove the seed coat is by pounding the dried coffee beans in a granite mortar with a pestle made from coconut wood. The next video will show this in action. #coffee #tradional #permaculture #farming #SriLanka #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3nkaPBAO6u/?igshid=10xyoqb5ws3ft

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Our first attempt at making coffee beans the traditional way. This is after sun drying. The next step is removing the outer coat. Stay tuned! #coffee #tradition #Srilanka #permaculture #conservationlinks #conslinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3nj-slAesd/?igshid=hmd47nifv9t9

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One of our founding directors, Mr JK Wijedasa, and our staff planting three native lime trees on the farm. We hope to have a diversity of plants including everything needed for cooking on the farm. #lime #farming #agriculture #homegardening #permaculture #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3is5UggJtn/?igshid=1qjvmrh16epvl

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Todays training on pruning Gliricidia was from Mr Senerath Agalawaththa, an experienced pepper grower. It is important to have a strong main trunk of the support tree (Gliricidia). As pepper climbers grow tall and have many leaves, a strong support tree is vital. It does mean drastic pruning measures. Somehow, it all seems to work! In normal arboriculture practice, we remove a maximum of 30% of any living tree canopy. But in the case of Gliricidia, we see regular removal of all living branches. Instead of stressing the tree and sending it into a downward spiral, the tree seems to do better! The result is a strong trunk and support for pepper climbers. #arboriculture #agriculture #horticulture #farming #pepper #SriLanka #conservationlinks #conslinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3UByWdgHut/?igshid=1sv9up0vl3hfg

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View of Kotmale Valley to the west of our farm. #agriculture #farming #SriLanka #permaculture #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Tlbm2A6IG/?igshid=1988g67xmftiq

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A moss wall at the Hanuman temple in Kotmale. Nice colours and patterns. #plants #moss #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Shri Bakta Hanuman Temple - Ramboda) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3PluAogZDt/?igshid=11qboopsnnv8b

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A guardian figurine on one side of a Hindu temple in Gampola. Saw this while looking for farm equipment one night. #culture #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Gampola Town, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3MqRHygB0d/?igshid=17g5h8dwa1jkf

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Rains coming over the mountains. #monsoon #Srilanka #farming #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3MpocTAFef/?igshid=vqfxh2x0uzg2

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The third stage of home made coffee. After removing the fleshy out parts of the coffee berry, we leave the seeds in a dark room to ferment 24 hours. Here the coffee beans are being sun dried. #coffee #sustainability #smallholder #agriculture #permaculture #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3MpKtvgg8P/?igshid=1udqox7hcv5qg

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Sunset in Kotmale valley. Beautiful colours today. #conslinks #conservationlinks #nofilter #farming #agroforestry #kotmale #Srilanka (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3HfiOWggeR/?igshid=4m6ebzsscl2v

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An unknown species of snake found in the soil on our land. Any ideas on what species? Most species of snakes in Sri Lanka are not venomous, and little is known about them. #snake #reptiles #coexistence #sustainability #biodiversity #tea #coffee #spices #agroforestry #conslinks #conservationlinks (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3GvPnkAqy3/?igshid=10qhsyizadr25

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Happy Internation Coffee Day (Yesterday)! We celebrated by planting 128 coffee bushes at our forest-farm boundary. #agroforestry #biodiversity #coffee #conslinks #conservationlinks #InternationalCoffeeDay2019 (at Hedunuwawa, Sri Lanka) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3GI-emATQu/?igshid=tc0l5ordkk75