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Our History

Every family has a story to tell... welcome to ours...

Humble beginings...

The vision of our community based venture was conceived in 2003 when Mr.Davide Bertelli of Vagamondi, Italy, visited Sri Lanka to support a fundraising project to establish a learning facility for the deaf and dumb children on the invitation of Rev.Sr. Chidinma of the Daughters of Providence - who was in Sri Lanka on missionary work.

Our beginings...

His visit was a joyous event to everybody, promising the continuous development of the new school building. Therefore everybody got together to prepare a warm welcome ceremony for Mr.Davide Bertelli. However it was the flower bouquet made of stocking net that became the story of the day, catching Mr.Davides' attention. During his stay, he got the opportunity to meet the mothers of the differently-abled students and were deeply affected by the financial struggles & plight of the families.

By that time the Rev. Sisters had recognised the key to grant a proper education for these children lies not only with founding learning facilities, but also with establishing financial wellbeing for their families. Having witnessed the circumstances of the unemployed mothers, our founder Mr.Davide Bertelli indicated that the eye-catching stocking net bouquet would establish a promising market in his motherland, Italy.

When he expressed the opportunity that is open for handcrafts in foreign market, the sisters saw the great chance to raise economic level without hindering responsibilities and role as mothers. They established Araliya Community in the same year, as a as a small scale community based project to manufacture and export artificial handmade ornamental products.

The venture was solely supported and funded by Vagamondi Social Cooperative, an Italian community-based social venture certified in Agices (a certification body and Italian Assembly of Fair Trade) and a licensee of Fair Trade and was meant to export handmade ornamental products to Italy. The project was designed to cater the needs of the unemployed mothers of the differently-abled children. They worked four hours per day during school hours, while their children were attending school.

The meaning of our name...

Araliya, the gorgeous and aesthetically-pleasing flower plays an integral role in the Sri Lankan culture & experience.

The delicate andfive overlapping petals and delight fragrance of Araliya symbolise the lives and aspirations of Sri Lankan mothers, home makers and differently abled community.

Due to its pleasant and welcoming aroma, the Araliya flora is widely regarded as an icon of purity, prosperity and goodwill. Just as the potent symbolism rising from this unique gift of nature, Araliya Community Co. (Guarantee) Ltd. celebrates artistic skills and aids the local women and their families who are living in poverty.


A change of scenery...

Back then it was our founders desire to do small things with great love that gave life and strength to our community based venture. Since its inception in 2003 Araliya Community has remained true to the vision of contributing to the social and financial empowerment of local women.

In the early days we did not have a proper workshop, and the number of employees were limited to a small yet dedicated group of four. As months pass by the community started to see the positive impact of Araliya project on the lives of unemployed local women. Because at Araliya, we not only provide them with a source of income, but also they were taught of artistic skills and how to transform their innate talent for creativity into a mode of income.

The inspiring word of mouth generated a boost in our number of employees. As the small community project started to expand Mr. Amal Herby joined the venture as the Managing Director and in 2008 the company was registered as Araliya Community Co. (Guarantee) Ltd.

Today, Araliya Community is home to a strong workforce of sixty-five self-sufficient and financially independent local women. Each year we bring forth a novel collection of Araliya handmade products and always we strive to deliver the best for our customers. These strengths saw Araliya Community expand into new markets including Australia and United States. In order to match the increasing demand, we have expanded our number of workshops to six which are located in Kondagammulla, Kongodamulla,Kudapaduwa, and Daluwakotuwa.