RISE Sri Lanka
A festival for everyone who loves Sri Lanka — and wants to experience it more deeply.
RISE Sri Lanka is a mindful day-festival in Ahangama blending music, dance, talks, rituals, and regeneration — with a clear intention: celebrating and honouring Sri Lanka’s land, culture, and community.
Local and international facilitators, artists, and wisdom keepers will take you on a journey into the country’s richness and stories— with diverse practices, grounded teachings, and joyful celebration — while weaving in international inspiration that adds beauty and diversity.
At its heart, RISE is about connection: celebrating side by side, living wisdom: learning from one another, and deepening friendships with care and openness.
If this resonates, we would love to journey with you. Honouring love through ritual, breath, sound, movement, and SHARED REMEMBRANCE 🧡.
📅 Schedule:
🌱 Line Up:
13 FEBRUARY – Optional Film Screening & Conversation
Echoes of the Wave – Special Preview
Giordano Margaglio | Italy (based in Sri Lanka)
Giordano is a disaster risk management specialist and independent filmmaker whose work supports vulnerable communities to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to disasters.
You are invited to a special preview of Echoes of the Wave — an independent documentary exploring the long-term legacy of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Sri Lanka, and how it continues to shape the relationship between coastal communities and the ocean.
The evening includes an introduction by the director, a one-hour screening, and an open Q&A.
14 FEBRUARY – THE VILLAGE GATHERS
🧘♀️ Wisdom, Healing & Embodiment
Dharma Talk & Meditation
Bridging Ancient Buddhist Wisdom with Modern Psychology
Venerable Nimala (Nakulugamuwe) | Sri Lanka
A Buddhist monk, meditation teacher, and holistic wellness facilitator with over 15 years of experience. Ordained in 2011, Ven. Nimala is deeply trained in Satipatthana and Vipassana meditation, Buddhist philosophy, and psychology. He also integrates Kundalini meditation, breathwork, sound, and mindfulness-based therapeutic practices.
Grounded tools for stress reduction, self-awareness, and spiritual growth through the integration of ancient wisdom and modern psychological understanding
Sound Healing
Alchemy of Sound
Prashani Abeydeera | Sri Lanka
Prashani is a Sound healer and trainer with a higher diploma in Sound therapy from India. And a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (UK). Her work is deeply informed by her studies in Buddhist psychology, which shape the way she holds healing spaces — with mindfulness and compassion
A gentle, embodied exploration of sound as a pathway to nervous system regulation, grounding, and deep rest.
Blending traditional wisdom with modern understanding, weaving intuitive sound to support deep relaxation, and inner balance.
Listening to Your Qi – A Qigong Journey
Seif Haffar | Tunisia
A reflexologist and holistic practitioner grounded in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the language of the body.
This gentle Qigong practice invites participants to harmonize breath, movement, and energy flow — reconnecting with inner vitality, the elements, and the rhythm of the land.
🌾 Land, Food & Indigenous Knowledge
Back to the Roots: Indigenous Farming & Food Wisdom of Sri Lanka
Naveen Lakshan | Sri Lanka
A practitioner of Indigenous farming, natural building, and ancestral land stewardship.
This session explores traditional farming methods, garden concepts, food culture, and plant knowledge — rediscovering land-based wisdom rooted in sustainability, and healing.
Ayurveda for Life
Dr. M. I. I. Mansha | Sri Lanka
An Ayurveda physician from the Faculty of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, with over 10 years of experience in research, teaching, and practice.
Currently working with Vedda ritual traditions, this session bridges Indigenous knowledge and Ayurvedic medicine as a holistic approach to everyday life and wellbeing.
The Economy of Life – The Oxygen Economy
Ranil Senanayake | Sri Lanka
A systems ecologist and pioneer of Analog Forestry, Ranil introduces the concept of the Oxygen Economy — a bold reimagining of value beyond GDP.
This talk explores Primary Ecosystem Services, oxygen as a global commons, and how restoring forests can create new forms of rural wealth while safeguarding the foundation of life itself.
🎶 Sound, Story & Cultural Expression
Jana Ridhma
An Exploration of Sri Lankan Folk Melodies & Rhythms
Uma, Divanka & Basho | Sri Lanka
Rooted in ancestral melodies and community storytelling, this performance weaves traditional folk songs with contemporary sound textures to create an immersive listening experience.
Intentional Listening Experience
A Sound Journey Through Ancestral Sri Lankan & Indian Music
Rob R | Sri Lanka
An immersive sound journey blending ancestral Sri Lankan and Indian music with modern electronic soundscapes — where rhythm, vibration, and innovation meet deep listening.
World Music
Priya, Mauro, Olivia, Yar, Pegah, Nathali, Dilipa & Friends |
A global musical offering rooted in devotion, healing, and communal resonance, bringing together songs from the forest, mantra, South American, Sufi, and world chants to weave voice, rhythm, and intention into a shared ceremonial soundscape.
Conscious Connection
Authentic Relating & Sound Journey
Joscha | Germany
A playful yet deep journey into authentic relating — cultivating intimacy with self, others, and the present moment.
Guided connection practices are accompanied by an organic downtempo soundscape.
🔥 Ritual & Performance
Ancestral Low Country Ritual Dance of Sri Lanka
Sashini & Preethika | Sri Lanka
A sacred performance rooted in the Pahatharata (Low Country) ritual tradition — one of Sri Lanka’s oldest Indigenous ceremonial systems.
Through powerful footwork, rhythmic drumming, and symbolic gesture, this dance embodies Prakrama (disciplined strength) and Manthra Bala (the cultivated power of sound and intention), offering a living expression of movement as medicine and ritual.
🌍 ORGANISERS
Spirit Events by Nathali | Sri Lanka
Curating healing-centered gatherings rooted in ancestral wisdom, breathwork, ceremony, and community connection.
Planetir – Joscha, Mehmed & Priya
Planetir exists so people and communities can remember their interconnectedness and act as living ecosystems. We build an AI-powered platform to connect people, wisdom, and opportunity, enabling communities to act and grow.
Join Planetir to find your people, grow your capacity, and realize your vision.
Venue partner: Harmony Retreats is a retreat space dedicated to rest, reflection, and reconnection with nature, offering a grounded environment for healing, learning, and community gatherings.
Supported by Sarana - A cultural and community space in Sri Lanka committed to regenerative engagement with land, tradition, and ancestral wisdom — a place where visitors can experience local arts, stories, and embodied practices rooted in the island’s heritage