07/09/2026
In 1991, Sandra Wanduragala had no blueprint for building a major social enterprise. She didn't have a big factory. She didn't have millions in capital. She didn't even start with a business plan to build a global brand.
She was an Attorney-at-Law, not a textile entrepreneur. She had no background in handloom manufacturing and no large factory behind her.
What she had was something far more powerful, a desire to create opportunities for rural women and preserve a Sri Lankan tradition that was slowly disappearing.
So she started small. Very small. In 1991, in the small town of Wanduragala, Kurunegala, a lawyer named Sandra Wanduragala began something extraordinary.
Not in a corporate office.
Not in a sophisticated manufacturing facility.
In the garage of her home in Wanduragala, Kurunegala, Sandra began working with 15 women from her village. That modest beginning would eventually become Selyn, Sri Lanka's pioneering Fair Trade handicrafts company, connecting rural artisans with customers around the world.
𝐀 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡
Sandra's decision was unusual. At a time when Sri Lanka's apparel industry was becoming increasingly important, there were plenty of opportunities to build a conventional garment business. But Sandra was looking at something different.
She could see that rural women had skills but limited opportunities to use them to earn a sustainable income. She also recognised that traditional handloom weaving a craft deeply embedded in Sri Lankan heritage was facing decline.
The industry was struggling with ageing artisans, shortages of skilled workers, outdated designs, weak competitiveness and changing consumer preferences. Sandra saw an opportunity at the intersection of these two problems.
If traditional craftsmanship could be turned into a commercially viable business, it could simultaneously preserve heritage and create livelihoods. That became the foundation of Selyn.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬
The first days were far from glamorous. There was no sophisticated production facility and no established market. Sandra and the women began making handloom products such as curtains, table mats and tablecloths. But she soon discovered an important lesson about entrepreneurship. A good social mission alone does not make a successful business.
The products had to sell. The market was competitive, and Sandra realised that Selyn needed to continuously innovate.
Interestingly, she was not a handloom expert herself. According to her daughter Selyna Peiris, this may actually have helped Sandra look at the products differently. Instead of being constrained by traditional thinking, she experimented with new possibilities.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 - 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦
One of Sandra's most important entrepreneurial decisions was to move beyond conventional handloom products. Selyn entered the textile toy market, and toys opened the door to international customers. The business began exporting, allowing Selyn to build both its market and its brand outside Sri Lanka. This was a defining moment.
Sandra demonstrated that preserving tradition does not mean refusing to change.
The traditional loom could remain at the heart of the business—but what came off the loom could evolve. That philosophy became central to Selyn's growth.
𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞
As Selyn developed, Sandra built something more ambitious than an ordinary manufacturing company. She wanted the business itself to become a mechanism for empowerment. Selyn adopted Fair Trade principles and created employment opportunities for rural communities, with women forming the majority of its workforce.
The model also became increasingly decentralised. Rather than requiring every artisan to travel to a central factory, Selyn developed workshops closer to rural communities, allowing women to work nearer to their homes. Historical accounts document Selyn establishing village workshops and apprenticeship programmes to expand opportunities for rural artisans.
The thinking was simple but profound. If employment requires a woman to abandon her family or community, it may not be meaningful empowerment.
Selyn therefore developed flexible working arrangements designed around the realities of rural women's lives. Sources have reported that roughly 90% of Selyn's workforce are women.
Empowerment beyond a pay cheque
Sandra's vision went beyond giving women jobs. In 2009, she established the Selyn Socio-Economic Development Foundation to provide additional support to artisans. Its programmes have included financial management, wellness, leadership and entrepreneurship development, while a revolving fund provides access to low-interest loans.
The philosophy was clear. Economic independence should give people greater control over their lives. For Sandra, empowerment was not simply about how much a woman earned. It was about whether she had the confidence and financial independence to make choices for herself and her family.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞
There is another dimension to Sandra's achievement. She did not merely create employment. She helped keep an ancient Sri Lankan craft economically alive.
The handloom industry was facing a difficult future. Younger generations had fewer incentives to enter the profession, while mass-produced textiles placed enormous pressure on traditional producers. Sandra took a different approach. She combined traditional weaving with contemporary design, new products, export markets and modern business practices.
In other words, she did not try to preserve handloom by keeping it unchanged. She tried to preserve it by making it relevant. That distinction is crucial.
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟓 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐬
The scale of the transformation is remarkable. The enterprise that began with 15 women in Sandra's garage eventually developed a network of around 1,000 artisans. Selyn has exported its Fair Trade products internationally and established itself as one of Sri Lanka's leading social enterprises. And the growth was not achieved by abandoning the original mission.
The mission remained remarkably consistent, create economic opportunity, empower rural communities and preserve Sri Lankan craftsmanship. The business model evolved. The purpose did not.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝
Sandra's story has also become a story of succession. Her daughter, Selyna Peiris , a qualified lawyer, joined Selyn full-time in 2017 and became part of the next generation leading the business.
Selyna brought experience in areas including women's economic development and policy, while helping Selyn explore new products, partnerships, markets and technologies.
One particularly fascinating development has been Selyn's experimentation with blockchain technology to create greater transparency in its supply chain. It is a remarkable combination that is an ancient handloom tradition supported by modern technology. Selyn's objective is to allow consumers to better understand the origins of the products and the people behind them.
𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫
Perhaps the most inspiring part of Sandra's story is that major international recognition came after more than three decades of work.
In 2025, Sandra was recognised by Forbes Asia's 50 Over 50 list, which celebrates women in the Asia-Pacific region making significant contributions later in their careers. Selyn described her as the only Sri Lankan female entrepreneur recognised on that list. Yet Sandra's reaction was remarkably humble.
Reflecting on the recognition, she said that when she started Selyn, she was not thinking about the long term; she simply felt she needed to do something for society.
That may be the most powerful lesson in her entire journey. She did not begin by trying to build an empire. She began by trying to make a difference.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
Today, when we look at Selyn, it is easy to see the brand, the products, the exports and the social-enterprise credentials. But behind all of that is a much simpler story.
A lawyer walked into her village and saw women who needed opportunity. She saw a traditional craft that was losing relevance. And instead of asking, “Who will solve this problem?”she asked:
“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?”
That is where the legacy began.
Compiled by Inspire LK from newspaper paper archives, business website and other publicly available sources.
