The Duke of Wellington (far right) at Raja’s Shop
At Ruk, we’re slightly away but just a short walk from Nithulemada - a village that spreads itself along the aptly-named Nithulemada-Kandy road. And while we feel pretty ‘in’ the village, we’re conscious that we’re not really ‘of’ it. This is not, well and truly, our home turf and so we try and be thoughtful about the impact that we have and the way we interact with folks that have been here much much longer than us.
Team
Wherever possible we try to bring people to work at Ruk who live close by. It makes obvious sense for us and, we hope, is beneficial for them. It’s not always possible but - and admittedly it’s not a huge team - but around 60% of the Ruk team comes from Nithulemada.
Our preference, with things like food and massage, is to find enthusiastic folks nearby and work with experienced guys to help give them the skills necessary.
Schools
To be quite honest we’d like to do a lot more in terms of positive interaction with nearby schools. For now we just make sure that any yoga mats and other gear that might not quite cut the mustard for sensibilities of paying guests, gets passed on as gym and play-time equipment to the schools nearby.
If you’ve a mat of your own that you think could do with replacing and would like the old one to have a welcome home, we can definitely assist.
Head Gardener Kumara tends to bring his cows to work