COVID-19 has impacted economies around the world greatly, here in Sri Lanka, we have seen an abrupt halt in the community interacting with local businesses, understandably people are spending in strategic ways in order to save money and they are also practicing social distancing. However, as a person that is privileged enough to still be attending school in such circumstances and coming from a family that is able to provide for me in any situation, it is important that I bring light to the idea of “supporting local businesses” and do my best to help those in my community that are struggling. I thought about the learning outcome of the ethics of actions and choices while reflecting upon this situation. Instead of buying imported products that were just as expensive as eating out, I ordered food from local restaurants when I could.
What started off as me embracing my inner foodie, my family was consistently ordering from small businesses in Colombo. For example, Three Brother’s Pizzeria, Monsoon at Park Street Mews, The Cake Factory, and more! Although we were having all of this great food, I always kept the ultimate goal in mind and that was to help my fellow Sri Lankans. I started to post pictures of all of the food we were having on Instagram, this was the ideal way for me to publicize places because of my love for photography and creativity. I made content that reached hundreds of people, and all of the businesses that I was marketing reposted my pictures. I noticed that a lot of people would ask me about my experience with each place and ask me for recommendations so I could see that this method was paying off and I was able to get the name of many different businesses out there.
I was messages through Instagram by a company called Coho Cookies, I had been frequently buying their products and they asked me if I would be interested in a collaboration. I was so surprised that they wanted to work with me and was extremely excited by the thought! They send me a variety of cookies in their signature packaging and I would spend an hour on the weekends taking pictures of them in creative ways. I edited my favorite selection and sent them back for various uses on a range of platforms. I was practicing the learning outcome of initiative and planning through my interactions with the company and completing my role as promised. I quickly accepted and ever since October, I have been creating content for their platforms. This experience has been super exciting for me but has also taught me a lot about something that I want to pursue in university, marketing. I was able to put myself right in the heart of this process and while doing so I was able to support restaurants I love.
This entire year has been a whirlwind of experiences and emotions, however, I have learned that you can leverage your passions not just in doing things that you love but also in what you do for others. I am thrilled at the opportunity to work with such great people and use my background and platform to help people discover the amazing products they have to offer. I hope to continue working with Coho Cookies and other businesses in Colombo to encourage people to support the economy. This experience closely relates to the learning outcome of commitment and perseverance as I will continue to do everything I can with the resources I have to contribute to the working landscape and try to rally up support.