Otara came within a year of selling export garments from the boot her car - the fledgling business bloosemed into what was soon to become Sri lankan's leading fashion brand - ODEL. Launched in 1990, within 300 squre feet in a building on Dickman rd. in Colombo. ODEL set new and high standers for the country's emergine life style sector. ODEL - Otara helped to create job opportunities in her internally conflicted home country at the time.
Otara Gunawardana has achieved wide recognition in her home country and internationally. Odel is Gunawardana's dream come true. But now she is using her resources to focus in her initial goal. While she may not have been able to contribute to the world of marine, biology,she has set up Embark, her personal corporate social responsibility initiative to protect stray dogs. Embark was started to reduce animals crustily, to rescue streets- dogs in Sri lanka, to provide them with medical care, at a special shelter set up by Odel, and eventually re-home them.
