These photos are for my friend Bea in Toronto. She is a seasoned traveller who collects weaving samples on her many stops around the world. She has not been to Sri Lanka yet so I thought I’d send her some photos of an array of fabrics I found in a store along Galle Street in Colombo, near the Crescat Mall.
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| Some of the shops sold their clothing and textiles by weight. When I go to Maharagama with Mark, I may be tempted to buy tea-towels, boxer shorts, and pajamas this way. | |
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I’m unsure whether this three wheeler is delivering stock or carrying full load of purchased items.Annand said that Maharagama is one of the few places where everyone is charged the same price – tourists won’t be gouged….a relief for me as sometimes, you just don’t feel like fighting tooth and nail for a buck off your purchase. |
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| Not all the shops have ‘permanent’ locations; some are just a tarp thrown on the ground. Each shop seems to have different stock though, so it takes a lot of walking to find particular items. Although all the shops are crammed, they seem to still find a way to present their wares in an attractive way…neatly hung or folded. | |
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 In some of the stores, it was necessary to take off our shoes before entering. Most shops were small so every part of the store was used to display merchandise, including the ceiling! |
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Annand doing his shopping thing!
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A headline like “Garment Free Trade Zone”, might lead one to believe that we visited a nude colony in Sri Lanka… but the emphasis here, is on “Free Trade Zone” not “Garment Free” !
Last week Annand took me on an excursion with one of the teachers from his Jaffna schools to buy outfits for their upcoming August concert. The idea was to buy sets of matching ‘good clothes’ for each of the classes in the concert – a total of 200 students! Can you imagine the administrative nightmare of measuring all the children and then purchasing the clothes? Well, Annand and Ann-Mary had it all under control – I joined them on their 3rd day of shopping along Pamunugama Road in the Maharagama area just outside Colombo. Annand tells me that the shop keepers visit the many Garment Factories operating in this area very early in the morning and they purchase a certain amount of the clothing destined for the western markets. The prices on the street are unbelievable – a child’s sporty-looking shorts $1.00 Canadian!!
More pics and stories about the day to come!
