Sri Lanka is an extremely green island, and few would disagree that it’s the paddy fields where that green is at its most intense. The Island’s history of paddy cultivation goes back to about 900 BC. By 300 BC, a sophisticated hydraulic civilization was in place, born of the need to conserve water between monsoons in the arid and intermediate zones. This civilization created the traditional paddy field, or kumbura in Sinhalese, an intricate collaboration between man and nature designed to produce rice, the country’s staple food crop while protecting the environment. The system spread to the rest of the country, leading to bountiful harvests and international renown for Sri Lanka as the granary of the east. Unfortunately, years of colonization brought an end to those days of plenty. Despite the spread of modern farming technology today, some ancient practices continue in rural Sri Lanka. So stop at the next paddy field on your journey and explore the ingenuity of the ancients. Traditional paddy fields are based around centuries-old principles of using and conserving water. The water in a paddy field is ever-flowing. Paddy farmers grow their crop on land with a very low gradient that allows water to move from the highest point, called the mudunna, to the lowest point, where there usually is a drip tank. The gradient is called the ellangava and is important for the recycling of water. The highest point of the land, usually reinforced with wetland plants like the habarala, is called the ovita or hovita – the addition of the ‘h’ echoes the ‘ho’ sound of flowing water.

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