Elephant Stories : Juliet Coombe and Conservation Concepts

In this episode Hotelier, Designer and Podcaster Dee Gibson explores the effects of Sri Lanka’s urbanisation on humans and elephants. Guest Juliet Coombe discusses her passion for Sri Lanka and her project 'Elephant Story Trails’ aimed at resolving human-elephant conflicts through sustainable tourism and conservation efforts. 

On this island shaped by monsoons and memory, the elephant is more than an animal. It is a living rhythm — a pulse that has echoed through Sri Lanka for centuries. You see them in the ancient chronicles, carved in stone beside kings and monks. In the forests of Minneriya, they move like rivers of memory — wise, deliberate, powerful. The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest of all its kind — darker, quieter, more introspective. Only a few males bear tusks, rare and sacred, like silver crescents beneath the moon.

In temples, the elephant carries the Tooth Relic of the Buddha — a bearer of faith. In villages, it ploughs the earth, hauls timber, shares water. And in our stories, it stands for patience, for strength, for grace. Yet today, its journey is uncertain. Forests shrink, fields expand, and where jungle once met paddy, conflict now brews.

Still, when you meet an elephant in the wild with quiet eyes you feel the island’s soul looking back at you. A reminder that wisdom is not always human, and that co-existence is an old Sri Lankan art.

The conversation sheds light on the challenges and solutions related to urbanization and wildlife preservation in Sri Lanka.

Episode Highlights

Meet Juliet Coombe: A Prolific British Author

Juliet's Life in Sri Lanka During the Civil War

The Galle Fort Community and Literary Festival

The Elephant Crisis and Conservation Efforts

Royal Interest and Charcoal Drawings

Elephants' Intelligence and Emotional Depth

The Holistic Elephant Conservation Project

The Importance of Biodiversity and Local Wildlife

About Juliet Coombe

Photojournalist & book author, Juliet Coombe is an inspiring storyteller who has written, while based in Asia, numerous books about Sri Lanka, including the first guide to the North and the East Sri Lanka’s Other Half, Around The Galle Fort in 80 Lives, Generation Tea, Colombo City Guide, The Power Of Sri Lankan Art, and a ground breaking environmental guide, Paradise Exorcised, for Premium brand Jetwing Hotels & Travels. 

Her work has appeared in Lonely Planet books, Insight Guides, Metro travel sections, Get Lost Travel Magazine in Australia, Connoisseur Magazine and through Getty images who represent her worldwide. Her travel portfolio of images is used in magazines, newspapers and online. 

LINKS

https://www.instagram.com/elephantstorytrails/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Around-Fort-80-Lives-Merchant

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Donald-Trunk-Crabzilla-Juliet-Coombe

Title: Sri Lanka: Modern Perspectives from an Ancient Melting Pot
Host: Dee Gibson — Sri Lankan-born, award winning designer based in London and founder of boutique hotel Kalukanda House in Sri Lanka. www.kalukandahouse.com | instagram @deegibson2017 & @kalukandahouse

Podcast Themes:

• Modern Sri Lankan identity and culture
• Architecture, art, and design
• Sustainability and heritage
• Diaspora experiences and storytelling

Why Listen:
This podcast offers deep, intelligent storytelling about Sri Lanka’s evolving identity — a blend of East and West, ancient and modern. It’s for listeners who love culture, travel, architecture, and thoughtful conversation.

Transcript

Dee Gibson: 0:05

Welcome back to series three of Sri Lanka, modern Perspectives from an ancient melting pot, the podcast that shares a dynamic modern day. Sri Lanka. I've been lifting the veil on who this island is, and you'll hear about all the things you never read about in the travel pages. I believe that meeting the people of a place gives us truthful narratives and authentic travel experiences. So through these conversations with people from the worlds of art, design, culture, hospitality, philanthropy, and more, you'll hear about a global stage setting and a multifaceted land. This is an old world island with a long indigenous past that predates centuries of colonization, followed by independence, civil war, and now on our radars as a holiday destination. Sri Lanka is so much more than that. So I'll show the truth of the Sri Lanka narrative straight from the amazing people who call this island their home. In series three, I'll be looking at groundbreaking projects across all disciplines that showcase a world class regenerative approach to preservation and harmony. My guest today is Juliet Coombe, A prolific British author, award-winning photographer, journalist, and news correspondent who splits her time between Devon Cornwall and Gaul Fort in Sri Lanka. Juliet went to Sri Lanka in the nineties as a war reporter, fell in love with a local man, Shyam Kareem, and settled in Gulf Fort, a popular UNESCO World Heritage site. She lived there during the final years of the Civil War and is a passionate advocate for the island. Its people and biodiversity. Her books include 'Around the Fort in 80 Lives', which profiles long-term merchants and creatives in Galle Fort, connecting travellers and locals. We talk about the book and the changes she has seen in this historic city over the past 30 years. Juliette is a self-confessed Chelsea girl. Privately educated in London and daughter to an eminent old Bailey Judge. Her parents and upbringing have instilled a curiosity and thirst for knowledge and it's no surprise that she has done so much in her life. Having lost her husband in 2019, she still calls Sri Lanka her home, and I've loved spending time with this energetic person who has a relentless passion for the projects she takes on. Today we talk about the elephants, my favourite creatures in the world. I find them to be majestic and otherworldly, fiercely intelligent and deeply rooted in their own traditions and family bonds. Elephants are found everywhere in Sri Lanka, not just in the national parks. Since the early two thousands, heavy investment and land reclamation has eaten into the natural habitats and Paths that these elephants would've used for eons. Sadly, this has led to issues. Many call this a human elephant conflict, but there are many others, including Juliette, who believe there is a solution. Her project called Elephant Story Trails Rewild your Spirit. It's co-created with colleagues <Maneesha Sewwandi and John Vincent. They combine research, storytelling, philanthropy, and pragmatism with a deep desire to preserve elephants and their natural habitat. We talk about a trail of people, including Mark Shams, brother to Queen, Camilla, and passionate preservationist of Indian elephants in sperm, Juliette's own team, exploration of an ancient elephant corridor across Sri Lanka. Resulting in an exhibition of findings in Gulf Fort at the literary festival. Mark Shand's nephew, Tom Parker Bowles saw the exhibition and brought an artwork which he presented to his mother UK listeners might remember in 2021 in London, the charity Elephant family showcased over 100 life-sized elephant sculptures across all the royal parks. Endorsed by the Royal Family and inspired by Mark Shand's journey. So you'll hear today how elephants capture the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life, and how in 2026 Elephant Story Trails is implementing a pilot hospitality project that could be a regenerative solution to the so-called human elephant conflict. The project will give an opportunity to showcase over 30 safari parks in Sri Lanka. It will provide valuable income streams to local farmers, and it'll give elephant lovers an opportunity to watch them thrive in harmony despite the march of urbanization. Juliette, welcome to my podcast.

Juliet Coombe: 5:21

I am very excited to be speaking to you.

Dee Gibson: 5:24

It's exciting to be talking about one of the projects that you're bringing to Life in 2026. But I'd love you to share a little bit about how would you describe yourself and how on earth did you end up in Sri Lanka?

Juliet Coombe: 5:40

I am a reporter. I'm naturally curious and I ended up marrying my translator. So my joke was I got lost in translation and ended up living in a 400 year old, uh, fortress, which people sort of sorted its own right? Was like a fairytale. It wasn't a fairytale, it was in the war. It was very grim. Um, but it was also, uh, very enlightening. We had to make everything because there was simply no shops open. Um, we had to be imaginative, you know, if I wanted a table, it wasn't going down to Ikea or any kind of, uh, furniture shop. There was no John Luth. It was literally, you know, call the local guy, he'll fill you a tree or find one that's been, you know, that's fallen over. He'll bring it on a oxcart. So there was no cars, I wasn't driving around. In comes the Ox Cart. Offloaded through the house, you know, with several people helping your neighbours getting involved. And then you show a picture and you hope that it will look like that. Doesn't normally look like it, but nevertheless, huge table is made. And then you realize years later that you will never get that table outta the house. And this is one of the sort of downsides of not buying furniture because when you buy it, you take it in, then you make sure that you measure everything. So I will never leave Sheila this at my table. But everything was made. I even made my own bras. I made my own cushions, I made my own curtains. There was no shops. It was a very different world. And if we wanted to go on a hot date, it was me making a little lunch packet. And we would go and sit on the, on the walls and watch the turtles swimming in the water, which my children later learned to swim with. And if we wanted to go away, our away war was going on. One of the bastions, having a night out, waking to the sunrise. Something we couldn't do today. It was a magical and also a very tough time. But you know what? There was always a cup of cinnamon tea. There was always a great storyteller and there was always time for everybody because time no longer mattered. And I think for me it was in many ways looking back a very, very special, but very, very traumatic time with the war. Going on as a backdrop and having children in a war is not easy. And my husband was committed to staying in the country. Shyam did not wish to leave. He wanted to rebuild his island. He believed the war would end. He actually predicted 2000 and how when it was so bad in 2000 7, 8, 9, I used to say, you are just lying. So I have another baby. But he really believed it would be over and the country would go. To incredible heights. He really believed the history of his island. Um, would, would, would eventually be told to the whole world and the world would get that. Sri Lanka was one of the most important places in the world from engineering or through to its history on protection of water. And, and that belief, I guess he inspired me to think, Hey, I'm in the greatest place in the world. What the hell is going on here? So it was very, I guess almost bipolar war going on. But on the other side, there was a lot of love.

Dee Gibson: 8:42

Yeah. I mean, the picture that you've painted does sound idyllic in many ways because life is so complicated these days, and it, it certainly seems that from a travel perspective, people are sort of looking for those kinds of experiences that you've just described. A simple life, you know, kind of seeing how, unauthentic and uncluttered life can be. But obviously that was driven by necessity because you were living in a war zone. So how many years did you spend in Sri Lanka whilst the war was running? When did you land

Juliet Coombe: 9:17

well, I first landed there in 96, um, without going into too much detail. So I saw the war, uh, at, at a very bad time. We then went into a ceasefire, as you know, so people came and bought properties, uh, created boutique hotels. But the tsunami in 2004 actually highlighted the differences between the two sides of the country. We went back into a ward that was beyond ugly, and when I say beyond ugly, I'll just give you a vignette. Uh, we didn't have a highway in those days. It would take all day to get to Colombo, which is unthinkable now 'cause you can do it in an hour. Um, but I went up to DHLA package, one of my book projects to Singapore, and, uh, it said next day delivery. Well, it didn't go the next day because the building's opposite were, blown up and we all had to get underneath the table. And I was under the table. The guy said, could you still. You know, big, big mischievous, can you still guarantee next day delivery? And he said, I'm not sure I can even guarantee you getting outta the building. So all these

Dee Gibson: 10:19

Oh my goodness.

Juliet Coombe: 10:20

go out and the whole city was blacked out just to give you an idea. And you had no idea when your husband went to work or a friend went to work, whether you would see them again. If you were in Colombo for work, for whatever reason, you would say goodbye with the view that maybe you would not say hello again. And that was a very real thing.

Dee Gibson: 10:41

Yeah. Wow. I can't imagine what it would be like to live through those times, but you kind of get a sense of why people describe Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans as being such a resilient country, you know, to have to just keep moving forward and, and live through all of that. And now what we're seeing now with this incredible, coming back to life of the island and its popularity, it's hard to believe that that only ended sort of 14, 15 years ago. But what were you doing before you landed, in Sri Lanka? What was, what was your life like? 'cause your English, through and through you are, you've described yourself to me as a Chelsea girl.

Juliet Coombe: 11:19

Well, I went to, I went to Francis Holland Girls School. My dad was a top lawyer. He was an old Bailey judge. I would say that I grew up in immense privilege. I was surrounded by prime ministers popping in and out, and it was completely normal to have people from all around the world in our house. And it was a, a a, a life of learning. And I guess that really held me in good stead because I was fascinated by knowledge. I read books, I was encouraged to learn, and my parents would say, if there's ever a war, you can lose your house. Which you can, it can be blown up. You can lose all your money. The banks go bankrupt, but you will never, ever lose your mind, hopefully. And you, and, and it's your mind that rebuilds worlds. And I, I guess, you know, I never thought I'd be justed into living in a war zone. But it's that resilience of knowledge that allows you to reboot. And Sri Lankas are truly brilliant. Even the naughtiest, most gangster, they, they are very, very clever. You know, it's a real IQ test to survive Sri Lanka. You can survive any university in the world.

Dee Gibson: 12:26

Yeah, absolutely. I think you are so interesting, Julia, and we've had a long discussion before coming on now about what we're gonna focus on because you've had your finger in so many pies. You are a prolific author as well as having this journalistic instinct and a real curiosity for life. Um, and you've been involved in so many different things, but we're gonna have to try and focus today because I want to share with people one of the most exciting projects I've heard about in recent times in Sri Lanka, which is working with the elephants. But before we really sort of getting to the nuts and bolts about that, you, so you spent a long time, what, 15 odd years living in Galle, Leading up to the end of the war. but also I suppose life in that community would've been so internalized. You would've got to know everyone who was living there. Were there a lot of expats living there with you or, you know, what was the makeup of people living in Gaul sort of post tsunami during

Juliet Coombe: 13:27

well, well, well, that's really interesting. I started living in the Galle Fort interestingly, in 2004. I didn't live there previous to that, even though my husband's family had been there for generations. And there were expats. There was a, a very interesting character called Jeffrey Dobbs, who actually got Libby to employ me to run the literary festival. So in 2006, she said, well, you have a reason for this to last, which I did because obviously I was married, gonna have children. And so she employed me to develop, the Galle Literary Festival, which then, launched in 2007 and was named very quickly the number one festival in the world. So there were expats there and there were people who were crazy enough to come and visit us in a war. But again, they were intellectuals. They felt that it was relatively safe. We weren't in the high action area of the north. Um, and they felt that the south, south, although it did have buses blow up. And in fact, when we were launching the literary festival a week before, a bus blew up, uh, very close, uh, to Galle and uh, and people were scared and we had to ring them up and say, please come. and everybody did come. So it was a very interesting time. So yes, there were expats. They were clearly brave, bright, um, they loved the food. I guess we could get over anything if it's great food. Uh, it certainly wasn't the number of expats we see there today. It wasn't the variety. It was a lot of people who, in 2004 came for the, um, the ceasefire. I think it was an opportunity to build things like the Galle Fort Hotel, uh, which was built by Carl, or I should say restored. And he did a fantastic restoration, which won a UNESCO prize. So there was this interesting group of pioneers who saw an opportunity and then obviously were thrown off tilt when we went back into a much more ugly war.

Dee Gibson: 15:13

well that really sets the scene and also brings the whole place to life. For me. I spend a lot of time in Gaul and it is such a cosmopolitan place now. It's the UNESCO World Heritage Site. You go there and you get a real sense of history with the cobble streets and the diversity and variety of businesses there. you've written a brilliant book where you focused on real life characters who were there then, and possibly still around now, some of them. Can you kind of share a little bit about what was the inspiration behind that book?

Juliet Coombe: 15:46

So the, the book is called Around the Gore 1480 Lives, and it is about the faces of gore, it connects you, it's like a bridge. So if you want to learn how to maim mate, you can come meet Janica DeSilva and learn how to take a little tree trunk and turn it into mask, how to use natural, dyes and actually do a whole workshop over a couple of days if you feel like making a ring, instead of sort of going to mine saying, I'm getting a moonstone, you can actually make your own ring. So what I did was I connected the people who've lived there for generations with the outside world. So it was like arriving and knowing the village and deciding which bit of, are you a lawyer? Do you wanna go and listen in the law courts, are you interested in astrology? Do you go and sit with the Arabic students in the night and learn all about how the stars work when you are out at sea, and how astrology is the way in which we navigate our lives. So what the book did was it opened. The community out to the world who are all hugely different. And I looked to everybody so you could be the coconut cellar. And one of my favorite moments with the coconut cellar was he, he said, it's so good for you. Electro right does all these great things. So I said, how many do you have a day? Oh, I can't stand them by the time I get home. All I want is a Coca-Cola. And I thought, what a great ads for Coca-Cola. It adds life, but actually the coconut adds more life. I've done four editions for the book and I'm going to do a fifth one. And so when you asked the question at the beginning, so, uh, people who are children are now adults running their own business. Asia was a child and the first one, she now has her own fashion. She takes old, sorry, and puts some together into the most beautiful dresses. Um, her mother who runs Exotic Roots, also married to Sri Lankan. You know, she, she's gone from being a small gallery to a massive gallery. So what we found is that some of the older people in the book, in their nineties telling us how you don't get Alzheimer's, you don't get dementia, eat cinnamon, it's really good for you. And that they never did. They passed away. Their grandchildren are now taking over, giving a different perspective. So actually it's become an intergenerational book. When I read the first one. This morning actually, I went, I can't even recognize that. Well, there were goats literally wandering around, jumpy into Tuk tuk. So I take my children to Mahinda school and I'd have a cup of goats with me. In fact, somebody actually did a drawing for a tea packaging with two goats sticky out of the a red tuuk tuk. And I, I think it might have been my tuuk tuk with my children. So two children, two go was going to school and you might be blocked by a bunch of wild

Dee Gibson: 18:17

God.

Juliet Coombe: 18:18

And I used to say to friends back home, if we're late for school, we might just have a herd of elephants in the way. And they went, oh my goodness, Julie, stop making things up. But it's true. And actually we had a group of journalists recently where they literally got stuck because 55 elephants went across the main road. And I kind of made a joke a couple of days earlier saying, this is what happened. They all went, oh yes, such a storyteller. So when it happened, I went, yay. Thank you, God.

Dee Gibson: 18:44

This is it. This is it. Because a lot of people, um, have these experiences now in Sri Lanka and what we see, it's, it, it feels like it's, um, I guess curated in a certain respect. But it is actually the case that in many parts of Sri Lanka, outside of the big towns and cities, these are the things that happen. Um, but I'll also, that leads us on very neatly to the project that you've got around the elephants because you are a huge wildlife lover and I know that you advocate for. Animal rights, you, you were sharing a few statistics with me this morning about how many animals are killed daily around the world.

Juliet Coombe: 19:25

Well, it's by the minute. It's over a million by the minute. And elephants, I had no idea until Meneesha and she told me her story and she came from the old, uh, the old kingdom, the ancient kingdom I should say, and Anuradhupura. And she said, I grew up with 50 elephants, and it became 40, then it became 20, and it's a crisis. And I kind of, I don't know. I hadn't read about it in the newspapers. No one had flagged it out to me. I, I wasn't, I disbelieved her, but I thought, we can't be losing elephants at a rate of knots. And so I thought, being a researcher, I like to do, I like to check the facts. I like to have a team with me. I set off with Meneesha, a business in John Vincent, and a photographer who is young and cool, Thomas to check out what she was saying. And actually to our horror, more than one elephant was, uh, dying, either being alive. Scooted shot at, um, you know, a a day. And it was a very serious crisis for the island that was not really being highlighted. And I think because people don't like the word conflict. If you've been through a war, you are traumatized. Now we've got another conflict. It's elephant conflict. People can't deal with that word. So I immediately thought before I do anything, I'll reframe the word. I'll look at resolution and actually I've reframed it again. And for 2026, it's gonna be about solution elephant solutions.

Dee Gibson: 20:47

I really, love the way you've reframed it and thought about from a solution perspective, how we address this. why was there so much elephant life loss on a daily basis? What, what was it that you were discovering what was happening? Well, I think massive changes after the war. So I think, you know, 2009, the, the country opened up. Um, people returned. People need land, they need to build houses. Nobody was thinking about the elephants. They were getting blocked. Waterways, pathways. These elephants have been going down the same path. A thousand. In fact, they're the, we followed the elephants. The pilgrims follow the same route. So, so, um, suddenly they're being blocked. They have to go round. Uh, people don't want 'em coming into their house. Um, uh, snuffling away at their kitchen. You probably wouldn't want 'em snuffling all your food, uh, when you've just cooked Sunday lunch for your friends. So it was suddenly. A war had started between, this is our home. We built this. And them saying, the elephants saying, but this is our home. This is where we've gone through for thousands years. What's going on here? And on top of that, the pandemic shut the world down. So suddenly elephants went everywhere and rubbish dumps formed. There was an economic crisis. Sri Lanka could barely afford to, get petrol for all the cars. So most people couldn't drive anywhere. So meanwhile, the elephants are just, they have just gone nuts. They're everywhere. And, you know, turning up, uh, in the least expected places. And they're turning up because they've not got the waterways that they had before. And they're having to look for alternatives. And what do you do when you look for alternatives? You go into people's homes, don't you? I mean, let's put it this way. If I suddenly blocked you from Waitroses and you couldn't get to a food shop, I think you'd be popping over to my house pretty quickly, wouldn't you? And I probably wouldn't want you coming over and stealing all my food. Yeah, it's urbanization and new growth and regeneration, post-war, that's claiming all this land, which is, um, causing a problem. I mean, you can understand that, can't you? People are losing their livelihoods and they're so desperate to feed themselves and their families as are the elephants. Um, so I can understand how the word conflict has arisen, but let's go back to the merry group that you got together to do, to do the trip. So you've talked about Meneesha, you've talked about John and Tom and yourself, and there's the inspiration, who is Mark Shand as well? So where does the story start? Let's start with Manisha. Who is she and how does she introduce you to this problem?

Juliet Coombe: 23:16

So I met Meneesha at the lake, it is called Bird Lake. Um, and she was an artist. She was quite extraordinary, quite mystical, and she's quite mysterious, really. Um, I, she felt it was predestined that we met and I was with John and she started to tell us about this. Story of the elephants and how she was terrified that we'd end up with none. And actually, I think if we hadn't started on this journey to solve the problem, she might've been right. So I think she was an interventionist. John was a businessman who probably in his life has never done anything like this before, but understood that greed could be wholesome. I found that hard to be a bit greed, wholesome, and he actually identified that one of the other problems was the farmers were losing money because suddenly the world economy had changed. So where they were making enough money before, they always gave a sort of dharma, a patch of land to the elephant. And suddenly they weren't giving that 'cause they had to sell it all. And so what he saw was these poor farmers they've got to make, we all got to make a living. What do we do that solves that? And he came up with a simple plan as we traveled, which was to give the farmers elephant tree houses like they'd had thousands of years ago because they watched and stopped the elephants coming on the land. But for us to then go up those tree houses. Stay on them, pay them a, an amount of money rather than clogging up yala actually learning about elephants, wild elephants actually in the field. They would then pay instead of $75 an entrance fee to yala, which is what it costs $150. As a couple get to stay in the tree house, get to have a real immersive experience, the farmers will now have a good income. They will then take the electric fence down and protect them. 'cause they're quite able, because they've historically worked with elephants to work with them. And at the same time, Thomas was always saying, and what happens if someone gets killed by an elephant And you know what, that's so great because the more negative people are, the more you go right. Solution. Solution. And the solution I came up with to get an app elephants in my area that pings you in a thing. The moment an elephant is within a few feet of you, it goes. Elephants in my area and you get up a tree, you go back in your house because elephants can disappear. They look like rocks. So if you're walking around, you can mistake an elephant for a rock, believe it or not, and then suddenly it's moving and they can hide behind trees very easily. 'cause they love a tree. They love a good little wrestle with a tree. They like to knock down old trees. 'cause remember that the gardeners of the forest and the jungle so that you might miss the fact there's an elephant behind a tree. You've got a gray sky, you don't notice it, and you there, boom, it's in your face and it's not very happy. That's met you. What are you doing there? So we realized we needed to deal with, with both helping save, the farmers and us if we're walking, wandering around and that we needed, it needed to be a joint thing. And so the simple plan then had to become a reality, and that's where the journey started. And you mentioned Mark Shan. Well, I guess he did an extraordinary thing in India. He went there in the eighties, like lots of people traveled to India. He fell in love with an elephant called Tara, who was a bit of a gypsy. He rehabilitated her and he wrote the most extraordinary book, which led him to write another book on elephants and to come up with interestingly. Elephant corridors and he made it to Royal Charity. And, uh, that has raised, I think six or 7 million. I've been very, very successful in India. Um, where he, you know, really looked at the issue and 'cause see very early on this was gonna be a big problem 'cause India is the big brother, I suppose, of Sri Lanka.

Dee Gibson: 26:54

Cross Sri Lanka. The elephants move like ancient gardeners of the forest with every slow stride. They scatter seeds, carve pathways, and shape the landscape itself, nurturing rainforests, scrublands, and dry plains. In the heat of the dry season, they dig deep into riverbeds, bringing water to the surface, creating life for all who follow. But their story runs deeper than ecology. For over two millennia, elephants have stood at the center of Sri Lankan culture carved in temples, honored in the per herra symbols of wisdom, patience, and quiet strength. They are the living bridge between nature and nation, face and forest. Yet their journey is uncertain, shrinking habitats and conflict with people now threaten the balance. They've long maintained. Wherever an elephant walks, the forest remembers and the island breeze a little easier. So you were talking about John Vincent was with you. So just for K John Vincent is a businessman who's created a hotel in ua, which is an art hotel where people can, um, really kind of immerse themselves in local art and creativity, he came along on this trip with you, with his son Thomas, who was doubting Thomas,

Juliet Coombe: 28:26

Yes. Quite literally.

Dee Gibson: 28:28

And Meneesha, who is, who's the Dr. Doolittle so I imagine this, this merry band of two women and two men who crossed Sri Lanka inspired by a similar journey that Mark Shand did in India. And this is actually the Mark who is the brother of Queen Camilla. Is that

Juliet Coombe: 28:49

that's absolutely correct, and you would never expect that royalty would turn up, uh, in, in Sri Lanka when we did this exhibition. So, you know, serendipity is a very real thing.

Dee Gibson: 29:01

so after the walk, you did the exhibition in, January, 2024. now I remember I was at the Gore Literary Festival, which is where your exhibition was. And Tom Parker Bowls was part of Gourmet Galle. And Tom Parker Bowles is obviously Queen Camilla's son and was there and happened to be speaking about his book and his work. So how did his world collide with yours in order for him to come across your, exhibition

Juliet Coombe: 29:30

the exhibition was called The Last Elephant, or Not the Last Elephant as we planned. Uh, it was a collection of paintings and poems that were incredible, um, sort provoking things that made people realize, A, there was a crisis and B, you could do something about it. I don't believe you ever do anything unless you have a solution on such a serious issue. So we also produced a brochure. Um, we gave out 5,000 of them. I don't know if he came across the brochure. He was up at the Amangala, living it up with the jet set and suddenly. Obviously all of us, the street kids, the uh, artists, the writers, uh, Shehan was staying there. He just won the Booker Prize. Um, it all collided because we were doing talks at the, Galle Fort Hotel, which is where the exhibition was, and he kind of just showed up and he went round the exhibition. He went, these are amazing. He actually said, and he wrote it in the book, this exhibition is as beautiful as the elephants themselves. And he was so. Amazed by the spirit of the work and its intention. Uh, he, he came, he came regularly and he wanted to buy some paintings to give them to his mother, queen, Camilla. And, uh, we wouldn't sell them. I mean, actually, I, I was wondering if we're gonna have our heads chopped off, but he was given two beautiful black and white charcoals from the exhibition, not the paintings. We've kept those for the future. And on one of those was this message, which was a poem written by John. And I think this is very poignant. Your life. A message, A place for us. A place for you. Yours stolen your place. A message. Our place forgotten. We so lost our place with you. And people found these words incredibly moving, so much so that people just bombarded me with emails, phone calls, what can we do to help? We've gotta get involved. We've got this connection who's, you know, working up in Jaffna. We've got this person who's a wildlife expert in London, Tokyo, Uzbekhistan. I mean, emails came flooding in from around the world. And what was great was every single one of them was positive. People wanted to roll up their sleeves and get involved.

Dee Gibson: 31:43

Amazing. So he actually took a couple of these charcoal drawings and handed them to his mother when he got back to the uk.

Juliet Coombe: 31:50

Yeah.

Dee Gibson: 31:51

So somewhere Queen Camilla has got these charcoal drawings on her wall. I'm wondering, I know that Prince William has recently done a documentary called The Guardians of the Giants about the elephants of Sri Lanka and shining a light on this issue. I'm just wondering if Queen Camilla might have had a word with her son-in-law and um, prompted this sort of royal interest.

Juliet Coombe: 32:16

I, I think interestingly they took up, he died unfortunately, Mark Shand in 2014. I think she's very much taking the mantle up of protecting the elephants. And I think it's very serious what they're doing. I mean, elephants pop up all over the place and you always find there's some kind of connection, uh, to the royal family. And I think that for people who are interested in supporting that charity, uh, they should definitely have a look at it because they've done some excellent work on the corridors and they continue to do x work on teaching people about elephants. And there is so much to learn about elephants. It almost daily, I get given a new piece of information. the more you know about something, the more you will want to save it.

Dee Gibson: 32:58

Mm, I have to say elephants are my favorite, favorite animals in the world. they live in these beautiful groups. They are so protective. Their memories are so long. They, they sort of listen through their, every, these little facts as you say about elephants, I find fascinating. One of the stories that I heard, there was a chap in South Africa who was some kind of elephant whisperer and had been for quite some time and then moved away from his plantation and the group of elephants that he was looking after. But he passed away, of old age naturally. And there was this incredible story about how just a few days later, not very long after his death, a procession of elephants turned up to come and say goodbye because they had sensed that he had passed. And so they crossed a great distance to come and sort of pay their respects. I mean, so they're, they're really sentient creatures, aren't

Juliet Coombe: 33:58

they are, and there are a lot of stories like this, actually a lot the more you research. Um, so I have one friend who's an artist and her uncle had an elephant and he was killed unfortunately, during the war and where he died, his elephant would go every year, every year exactly the same day, to go and rub his trunk exactly where he'd been killed in his vehicle and would do it year after year after year. And you know, the family just found it extraordinary. So they are very, very intelligent. I mean, they send messages, miles away just by tapping their feet. I mean, they talk in in a very different way from us. And they don't forget because they share knowledge of pathways from one generation to the next. So they're like, almost, they, they're, they're like us, but possibly more intelligent.

Dee Gibson: 34:48

Absolutely I definitely think that animals are actually far more intelligent than human beings. We, you know, we've got a, a highly developed prefrontal cortex, but everything else is just kind of forgotten. But that's a subject for another podcast. But, um, I think it's also, it's really, is really important to talk about the fact that the, whilst they are gentle creatures and highly intelligent, they should be treated with respect. Because you also see these horror stories of some tourists who'll go on Safar and jump out of their Jeeps and try and get their selfies taken with elephants. And lo and behold, they are potentially attacked because, you know, they have to be treated with respect, don't they? this is where this conversation. and the idea about the in inverted comments, conflict between farmers and elephants come because they have to protect their roots and their families, their roots to food and their migration patterns, et cetera. I've got another story which sort of illustrates the point about how dangerous elephants can be. My grandfather was a civil engineer, in Sri Lanka. and he used to take my grandmother around with him sometimes to some of his projects, and they told a story of how he'd gone to a particular project and as they were leaving in their car to sort of drive down this hill, there was a bull elephant that came from the undergrowth and was really angry with them. And was starting to run at the car. So he put his foot on the floor and just sped away as fast as possible, and the elephant was chasing them, and then it disappeared. And so they made it to the bottom of this hill The elephant was waiting for them at the bottom of the hill and actually rolled the car, and they lived to tell the tale, but this, this guy knew, okay, I'm not gonna chase you down the hill. I, I'm gonna grab a shortcut and I'm gonna get you guys at the bottom. So we need to sort of illustrate protected, but they should be good respect.

Juliet Coombe: 36:47

note in that story, he didn't then crush the car and crush them. He just wanted perhaps to warn them that maybe there were some babies nearby. They're very protective of them. He might have been worried that they might have overstepped the mark and, uh, you know, they will protect them, but he did not choose with a rolled car to kill them. So that's a really interesting aspect. And actually, we very rarely hear elephants wanting to kill a human being. It's usually a drunk person in a tutu driving at them. It's, it's an accident. Somebody's walked in the wrong place at the wrong time, hence needing an app. And we ought, we have to understand that if we have a baby and somebody gets close to our baby, we will do anything to protect it. So I think that if we look behind what. Behind why he did it. We'll probably find there's a real reason for it. And, and I think that's the thing about life. You always have to look behind the, uh, the culprit. What, why did he do it? What was the reason? Why was she like that? And when you start to look behind and you start to see some very interesting things, but what you have to do is make it a safer world. And the great thing about technology now is we can do that. your family didn't have that 'cause we didn't. But today we have a way of tracking everything, you know? And so we can use technology to protect and also learn. And the reason we need the elephants is not because they're beautiful or intelligent, they are. Literally the biodiversity engineers of our forests, they go through, they knock down the old trees, so new trees go, they are literally plucking the leaves, like gardeners do that to prune it. So new leaves come back. They create the lakes from their footprints where all the d beetles and the really important creatures that do all the work with soil and soil is so important. But that's another program so that they're creating an environment of four little lakes. As they walk through the jungle, they're, when it rains, it creates little lakes for all the animals that can't go to the big lakes. And so they are literally creating paths for us. To walk through a difficult jungle when it's very enclosed, impossible. They're using that huge task to clear it. So they are jungle clearers. They are conservationists, they are, you know, our gardeners and they understand biodiversity. You know, you don't see them going round stompy on mosquitoes or killing other animals. In fact, they're vegetarians interestingly. So it's the importance of them to us is that if they go, we will be next. We have to take that very seriously because if we keep losing bio diversity at speed to which we're losing it, there will not be a future for human beings. We are nature, we are no different. We are in that cycle. so it's really important for everybody to realize that, Elephants, they're all in the same thing. You know, the bees are so important to us. And interestingly, the only thing that scares an elephant is a bee. So they used to put bee hives the kick.

Dee Gibson: 39:41

Yes. Yes,

Juliet Coombe: 39:41

And that's because if they get in their trunk, they annoy them. And so if they hear B noises and that's what they've done is they run a mile. So, you know, it's not difficult to manage elephants. There are three things you can do. First of all, they don't like citrus plants. They hate the smell of them. So you just grow citrus plants along your board, or you don't need electric fences to kill them. They hate them. They also hate prickly things like us. They don't wanna get in their trunk. They'll get all sort of itchy and annoyed. And so you could just have cactuses. They won't go through that because they don't want to be covered in prickles. Um, because like humans, why would we want that? And then you can have bee noises. There are many mechanisms that can be used that are very natural to create borders. and they're very doable.

Dee Gibson: 40:26

Yes. And these are actually some of the programs that are coming into place, aren't they? Where, conservationists are talking to people about how to create these natural borders. Um, so let's talk about the project itself. You've. Created your exhibition. You've brought in so many people who are interested in supporting and advocating and getting behind what you want to do, and this is a very holistic solution-based project, the way you look at the world and how you kind of come at these things in order to make the world a better place. And in this case, for elephants as well as the people of Sri Lanka. What does this project look like? What is it going to be

Juliet Coombe: 41:10

I basically got all the stakeholders involved and so the hoteliers, there's Amrit who owns Island Life. He is actually. Building a tree house for people staying near his hotel, the warden's, uh, house. And so people could go, he'll encourage people to have it as an experience to go and sleep under the stars and, uh, and that will be available and it, but we, no one's gonna go there, which is what the farmers said. Well, what if no one who's gonna know about it? It's in Kaga and people go to Yala. Well, actually it will because Lonely Planet has rolled up its sleeves and gone, you know, Hey. If we wrote about it as an essay, we got you to do a two page essay. People would then travel to the country in a different way and they would think, oh, maybe I'll go and stay in a treehouse, and then tree houses will roll out. One of the things Amrit wanted to do is the biggest conflict area to create tree houses to stay around the world. So in other countries like Africa and in India. Tree houses could be a biodiversity viewing platform. Someone you can stay, you can sleep overnight. So you actually hear all the night animals, you see the elephants moving around at night. You know, so you can be part of the solution because you become not only someone providing income to the farmers as an alternative, so they don't go broke, but you are also someone who can then share information. We are all in this kind of sharing online through WhatsApp through, and so you can be part of the long-term solution, but let's get bigger than that. Let's get the schools kids involved and, and um, we've got Thomas Gall School, uh, who've got 600 students who are looking at creating the. Uh, looking at, uh, rebuilding our picture on elephants. They are taking the rubbish. 'cause one of the things on the walk we discovered was in arrogant Bay where we went, there was elephants were eating toxic rubbish. Now, to be fair to the government, they've dug a big pit round it to try and stop the elephants going there once they discovered it. But what would be better is to remove all that rubbish, turn it into a work of art to tell the world we've cleared up our rubbish. And believe me, I cleared up a rubbish pit in Cornwall that had been mounting up there for, you know, over a hundred. So it's not just Sri Lanka. we've got schools doing school programs. The tourist board is so impressed that, um, that John He's drawing a map of all the exciting elephant trails and the extraordinary animals that you can find in Sri Lanka. And, uh, from that we are actually getting guides who can talk about those animals that can lead special groups, can go into schools, give lectures. And so for the first time ever, the academics who sit in the, universities go, we have the largest number of flamingos. They're amazing. They're the only people who know about it. Along with the librarian, we're now getting them out. We're dusting them off and we're going, here you are. Connect with the world. We're connecting them together. we're working with media, who've always sent, including National Geographic. Where was she going? Yala. Uh, we are breaking those journalists outta this. Everybody goes to Yala. In fact, at the event I asked everyone to put their hands up, everyone the bean to Yala was going to Yala. My goodness, there are 30 national park opportunities. Plus you've got things like Villa, which has Loris projects, it's got auto projects. You could go round with naturalists. So we are getting people to go, whoa. And you know, one of the guys who was at the event went, you know, we should raise money. We should have an elephant trail like the Pico Trail. So we've got innovation going on. So here we have. All these different things, including your podcast, which I will be sending all around the world to 143 countries that are talking to me from the exhibition. Because what I'm learning is people in other countries have tried out elephant ideas. Why can't we try their ideas? If they're working in South Africa, why don't we try them out in Sri Lanka? Why can't we just share knowledge and share the future? And to me, what is really exciting is the future is so bright for Sri Lanka because they're such intelligent, innovators. The reason they get on the plane and go round the world, wherever you go, Silicon Valley, it's a Sri Lankan in charge. Guess who's making this podcast? It's a Sri Lankan. I mean, honestly, all hail to the intellectual elite, which have come from the birthplace of great knowledge, which is Sri Lanka.

Dee Gibson: 45:24

I love your passion. I'm in love with this whole idea of this symbiotic community from grassroots, even kids up to, the tourist board, beyond the farmers, beyond the tourist guides. Hospitality and to the world beyond as well. So the idea of collaborating with other countries who also have elephant communities as well. it's so important and what I think is just really exciting, Julia as well, is we are living online. We can't get away from it. And the whole concept of travel has become really myopic. We don't get to hear about these stories and I don't think we can blame people for following well trodden paths when that is all that we are given. So to be able to talk about this story, the elephant trails, the education around the country. The kind of innovation So beyond a boutique hotel, you can clamber up a platform, sleep under the stars, give a farmer some income, but also be able to see the jungle and hopefully the elephants around you. I think it's really, really, really exciting because one of the things that I'm really passionate about is getting people to still continue to travel mindfully and consciously about our planet and protecting everything around us from that perspective. But we must continue to travel in a way that you are showing us how for example, protect these elephants. This is the idea of providing sustainable solutions, regenerative ideas, because the world is not gonna stop,

Juliet Coombe: 47:07

No.

Dee Gibson: 47:07

you know, things. Urbanization is not gonna.

Juliet Coombe: 47:10

No. And you know what? I actually totally think we need to change the word tourism and travel. It suggests that we are coming and sitting in a big hotel and just looking at the world. I don't want people to look at the world.

Dee Gibson: 47:23

Yes, I agree.

Juliet Coombe: 47:24

to get involved, roll up their sleeves. I want them to see how tough it is to make a mask. I want them to know how to create Batik. I want them, uh, with an elephant on it. I want them to live. I feel that tourism has been the greatest voyeuristic art of all time. And that's why it has actually been very detrimental, because who wants to be in a human zoo? People are trying to charge for the go for, and I was like, I don't want people to pay $25 to see me. And then do I tell my family, you can only come one day, not a month to see, you know, the, the children see me because we are gonna be charging you every day that you come in. It is not a zoo out there. It is a wonderfully exciting world, and I feel people have forgotten what the very essence of life is. And I guess when you go through a war, you are reminded of that. You are able to study for the first time ever anywhere in the world. My son wants to go and spend a year in Japan. It's about exchange, it's about sharing knowledge. And I guess what this project is about is I love elephants. From my small years I went to see the Daphne Sheldon project. I slept with them. I actually lived with them. I used Lenore bottles to bottle feed them, and it was eyeopening. I mean, I got muddy with them. I had to sleep with them literally. because Daphne Shel was like, if the babies, they need love, you need to be waking up with them. and they don't forget you I love life and I want everyone to love life. And if we love life, no elephant will die. No human being will die because when you love life. You'll protect it.

Dee Gibson: 48:58

Yes, completely. And I think also what you are describing is, um, participation. Uh, this is how I see it, participation, but also seeing, people in other countries when you travel as being your colleagues in the world, it should be very much equal exchange and understanding about each other. And the word empathy is something that is really creeping back into our consciousness. I mean, the word's been around forever and sometimes it's treated as a bit of a, a throwaway dirty word, but it cannot be underestimated how empathy for people, but also, The natural world around us is what will help us protect it. And understanding that we are absolutely not at the top of the tree. I find it incredibly arrogant that we as a human race, think that we are at the top of the tree and the world is our playground. And so projects like this are a really wonderful way to remind people of just connecting, connecting with ourselves and with our inner beings and, and everything around us. So again, I'm getting a bit slightly woo woo, so I'm gonna have to get back on track,

Juliet Coombe: 50:11

actually, you know, it's so funny what I haven't told you is that I wanted to explain to my family what the hell I was doing. So I wrote a series which you'll be slightly appalled by, called Donald Trunk. Now, um, it's not to be mistaken with the President of America, but it, it often is. And it was about this naughty elephant that ran away from Sri Lanka. It really happened. The elephant did run away and the navy had to bring it back and it used its trunk to snorkel, 'cause elephants can swim across oceans. this elephant was brought back and because he was naughty. He was uh, he was put in a temple where he ended up in para Harris and all sorts of things. And so I actually tell this story of this naughty elephant who doesn't want to live in Sri Lanka. 'cause a bit like ud, he wanted to go and discover the world. But actually as he discovered the world looking for the elephant treasure at the British Museum where he finds a map of elephant island, the Antarctica, he realizes that the real treasure Dee is back home.

Dee Gibson: 51:05

Aw, we know that, don't we? Us? Yeah. Fantastic. I love that. Well, we'll have to put that in the show notes so people can find a copy of it

Juliet Coombe: 51:15

Well, you are a paradise. You are a PA Paradise Island girl, aren't you? I mean, you are a Paradise Island girlie. And you know what I think is that the world wanted you to come here and use all your knowledge and your education of which Britain is brilliant at and be able to share your world. And I think that's something you are doing with your podcast and it's so valuable because you understand both worlds and very few people do. And the more people who do through going and immersing themselves in travel and being apart, rather than looking down or looking across, the more rich the world will be.

Dee Gibson: 51:53

Mm. Oh, well, thank you. That's a very lovely compliment, but I went, there were lots of us around, and this is what, this is, what this podcast is about is shining a light on people like you and your networks of people that are bringing these projects to light because. No one knows about it and more people should understand how they could come to Sri Lanka and immerse themselves around the island with the projects that you are bringing to life. But we are coming to sort of, almost to the end of our time because I know that we are going to record with you again on some of your other exciting projects. But for the moment, I'd like to kind of close off on the elephant side of things. And you've spent a lot longer in Sri Lanka than I have. You've spent the best part of 30 years there. You are very much, even though you are a Chelsea girl, you are very much a Sri Lankan and, um, immersed in life there with your children and, and all your work. But maybe you can share three things that you love about Sri Lanka

Juliet Coombe: 52:53

well, it does. It's always the obvious one. Food. Uh, but actually for me it's the medicinal benefits, uh, uh, of food and all the different spices, the cinnamon, the pepper, the turmeric. Cinnamon's good for your long-term memory. Pepper is very good at, uh, at protect your immunity. Turmeric is very good at, if you've got any little eggs or things in your vegetables, you can wash it with, uh, turmeric and get rid of them. You can use it instead of bleach to clean your floors. So in the war, I was using turmeric to wash my floors as a natural way to get rid of things naturally, or at least make the spiders wander off somewhere else and hang out, uh, creating theirs outside the house, not in it. So for me, it's the medicinal value of the food, which keeps you incredibly well. It's great for your gut health. The West is finally catching up with that. Uh, so that's number one I think for me. The living history. I went from not really loving the island 'cause I first went there in war, but the incredible engineering feats that's managed water since ancient times. What you can learn from the Great king who said, don't waste a drop of water. The biodiversity would flourish because in lots of places there isn't enough water. So, you know, the Great Kings built tanks, uh, we are starting to recognize that here. But ultimately everyone talks about the smiles of the people and they are just so engaging. But for me it's the cheeky wildlife, like the dugongs. You're probably going, what is a dugong? Um, because most people will start looking at me as if I'm a bit mad when I start two pounds. They stand upright, um, in the ocean when eating. They like sea grass. They eat the equivalent of 60 lettuces a day. That's a lot of lettuce. Um, and they were mistaken.

Dee Gibson: 54:34

What is a dug ong?

Juliet Coombe: 54:36

a Dug ong interestingly a sort of, um, it, it, it's very difficult to describe. One. They, the, uh, the sailors thought they were mermaids. So they have these beautiful eyes, they have these little flippers and they stand upright and they just flip to get the grass, which they eat. They are natural cleaners. And so it's really serious if we lose dugongs and it's really important that we start planting sea grass. So I'm hoping that actually as we connect the biodiversity together, the more people will start thinking, Hey, in ur for example, they have shocks, but duggans have been seen there. If they planted sea grass, suddenly, the duggans who are very good at sniffing out, They know where to go, I guess, like human beings. If I think there's a hot new restaurant, believe you me, I'll cross London and possibly cross Antarctica for it. It's amazing how, if it's really good food, how far we will go. The doogongs are the same, and Srilanka food is amazing and apparently the sea grass is particularly good, which is why there's a big population in Mannar and I think they need protection as much as the elephants. And actually, once you start looking at it, the otters need protection. Everything needs it. But what I love about it is, is when a troop of cheeky monkeys early morning wake you up, you know, swinging outside your window with the biggest smiles on their faces. And you know what, I wanna leave you with this one thing. it's the smiles of the wildlife. And I'd like us to put the smiles back on all the wildlife. And I'd like us all to smile, not because of a mask that we have to smile, but because we genuinely feel happy inside as well as outside.

Dee Gibson: 56:12

Oh, that's a very beautiful idea, and image to close on. Thank you so much, Julia, for describing this incredible project. I'm so excited to, um, see how 2026 brings it all to life with you at the helm and your merry crew. Thank you very much.

Juliet Coombe: 56:32

It's the absolute pleasure and I hope everyone listening this will join in and get involved with this elephant project and actually just come and join us in Sri Lanka. It's one of the greatest islanders in the world. Marco Polo wasn't wrong. And I feel very honored to live in the ancient city of Guilford and go back and forth from England, which is another amazing island. But to me, my home is Sri Lanka and I'm very honored to live there.