The months of July and august are considered as the rambutan season in Sri Lanka.Rambutan trees in our home gardens are laden with red and yellow fruits during these months. Rambutan trees look as if they are illuminated with red and yellow bulbs, when seen from a distance.
Rambutan vendors haunt almost every city and village during the season. Heaps and heaps of rambutan are kept by the roadside and it is a beautiful and mouth watering sight to look at. Many busy roads, especially in Colombo, have rambutan stalls where vehicles stop to buy this tasty fruit.
The native country of rambutan is Malatsia. The rabutan tree has been introduced to Sri Lanka by the Dutch, during the time they ruled our country. Rambutan is a very tasty, juicy fruit, especially loved by children.
The village of Malwana is famous for rambutan in Sri Lanka. Both, lacal and foreigners go to Malwana to enjoythis sweet fruit and also to see the beautiful site of hundreds of rambuta trees bearing fruits.
The rambutan season is a very busy season for the people of Malwana. They keep up in the night, lighting fires and making loud noises to drive away birds and bats, who come to attack their harvest.
When buyers come to Malwana in search of rambutan, the entire rambutan tree is sold on a rent basis. Then, the fruit is picked in bunches and arranged in green baskets woven with fresh cocount branches. These are brought by lorries and trucks to the leading towns, and sold at the rate of five to seven rupees each.
There are many varieties of rambutan found inSri Lanka, today.The trees grown in farms totally for commercial purposes are called the bud trees.These trees are not so tall as the traditional rambutan trees seen in our country, which are nearly as big as mango trees. Then, there is also the original Malaysian rambutan trees grown in farms which give a better harvest and bigger fruits.
Like all other tropical fruits found in Sri Lanka rambutan too has a very fascinating taste. There is a big rambutan tree in my home garden which bears hundreds of rambutan every year. i wish more rambutan trees would be grown in Sri Lanka and the possibility of exporting this fruit to other countries would be explored in the future.
