Sri Lanka Cane Furniture Industry

Cane (Calamus ovoideus) in Sinhala Wewal is a thriving industry that is fast grabbing attention in the fashion as well as the design industry. Moreover, its environment friendly nature is another fascinating feature that encourages the use of cane products. In Sri Lanka when it comes to Cane, Wewaldeniya is the name that comes the mind of many as Wewaldeniya is small town that specifically sells Cane products, ranging from baskets to chairs. A tad of a fact not too well known to visitors is that the cane or Wewal that is signature to the town’s name of Wewaldeniya is not actually native to the township itself. Wewal is brought in from as far as Monaragala, where the wewal palm (calamusrotang), grows bountifully.

Another detail that is usually left out is that the cane products that lavishly spill over onto the road travelling towards Kandy are being sold in the town of Radawadunna, which lies just before Wewaldeniya.
The shops were earringed with the kind of contraptions that went from your typical bits and bobs like flower baskets, stationery holders, laundry baskets, string hopper moulds, cup holders to purses, jewellery boxes and hats to the more serious and custom-built items such as sofa sets, swing chairs, intricately woven lamps, ornamental elephants to giant hanging baskets, book shelves and even the amusingly mimicked coconut tree.