Growing tomorrow

The project Anagathaya Wawamu, or Grow your future, is designed and funded by the Premier Tech Water and Environment team in Sri Lanka, in partnership with several Sri Lankan environmental organizations and government agencies. 

The project began in 2018, when our team started seeking practical ways to safeguard the sustainability of coconut trees in the country.

This resource is a cultural and economic pillar in Sri Lanka, given that planting coconut trees has a direct positive impact on local communities by raising revenues and significantly improving living conditions. Coconut trees provide food, serve as raw material for the coir industry, and play a key role in various ceremonies.

This resource also holds particular importance for Premier Tech, given that coconut fibre is used as the filtering medium of the Ecoflo® biofilter and is included in some of our growing media.

The project was carried out in two stages. Each team member was first given five coconut tree saplings to plant on their own land. The project quickly took off, inspiring partners such as the Coconut Development Authority (CDA) and the Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka (CRISL) to join forces by supplying seeds and technical support.

Coconut trees are now planted almost everywhere — on our team members’ lands, as well as on the lands of communities near our installations, schools, temples and commercial growers. Other agencies also take part in this project by planting coconut trees on lands owned by the Sri Lankan government. 

The project aims to protect this resource over the long term. As of today, 200 000 trees have been planted, with a target of 500 000 by 2028 — expecting to add approximately 50 million nuts per year by 2033, given that each tree yields around 100 nuts annually.

We can already witness positive impacts, leading many stakeholders to take part in Grow your Future. It also inspired many other organizations in the industry to launch similar projects. This collective effort will help address the current raw material shortage while producing sustainable outcomes within local communities.

*This story is from the Premier Tech Report 2025.