Written on February 3, 2011 at 12:00 PM by Lasith

Tea Plantations: The Pedro Estate

Filed under Farming & Agriculture, People I've met {no comments}

Location: Nuwara Eliya, Central Province
Date of visit: 21st December 2010

My visit to Nuwara Eliya wouldn’t have been complete without exploring the hill country’s tea estates that blanket most of its surrounding mountains. You pass several during your drive in from Kandy, most notably the Blue Field Tea Gardens near Ramboda Falls and the Mackwoods Tea Estate in Labookellie.

Sri Lanka’s Primary Export Crop

Tea is Sri Lanka’s primary export crop, reaching about 280 kilos exported in 2010 and earning USD 1.4 bn or nearly 3% of the country’s GDP. Although only the 4th largest tea producer in the world, behind China, India and Kenya, Sri Lanka shares the title of the largest exporter with Kenya each having about 20% market share.

Compared to its global counterparts, the Sri Lankan tea industry has been successful in developing a brand for itself. “Ceylon Tea” fetches a premium in the “English Breakfast Tea” category and its auction sale prices are over 50% more than competitors.

James Taylor, Father of Ceylon Tea

Surprisingly however tea was not native to Sri Lanka and was a gift by the British colonists. It was first introduced to the country in 1824, having been brought from China and planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kandy (for non-commercial purposes). It wasn’t until the 1860′s that crop started gaining commercial popularity.

A Scotsman names James Taylor marked the birth of the Ceylon tea industry in 1867 by establishing the first tea estate on a small 19 acre plot in Loolecondra, Kandy. Tea production got a further boost in 1869 when most of country’s coffee plantations, the main commercial crop at the time, were destroyed by a fungus and most planters switched to tea.

Taylor had gained some basic knowledge of tea cultivation in India and conducted some initial processing experiments at his bungalow in Loolecondra and hand rolling the tea leaves. By 1872, Taylor had developed a fully equipped factory and, in 1873, sold his first stock at the London auction with wide acclaim.

From just a few pounds exported in 1879, the Sri Lankan tea industry grew to have exported over 80 tons by 1880, and its success is credited mainly to the efforts and perseverance of James Taylor. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series, remarked that “…the tea fields of Ceylon are as true a monument to courage as is the lion at Waterloo”.

Tea Pickers: S. Janagee and Friends

Tea leaves from over a hundred hectares per estate are still hand picked to ensure quality. Most estates employ an army of tea pickers, predominantly Tamil women, and although they are vital to the industry, they are sadly yet to share in its prosperity.

The overwhelming majority of today’s plantation workers are direct descendants of laborers brought form Tamil Nadu, India by British Colonists. Commonly called “Estate Tamils” to distinguish form the “Jaffna Tamils” who inhabited the country pre-colonialism, these workers are a largely marginalized group and even till 1984 most were not even recognized as Sri Lankan citizens.

Today most of these workers still remain greatly underpaid, making about USD 3 or LKR 300 a day while a daily-wage laborer earns about LKR 800 a day. Most still live in “estate lines”, isolated from the general population, although the housing conditions have improved considerably from what it used to be.

While walking through the hills surrounding Nuwara Eliya, I came upon a group of tea pickers. As I stopped and grabbed my camera for some pics they waved me in and I soon met the whole group. Language was a bit of a barrier since only a few spoke a little Sinhalese but I did get to meet S. Janagee who helped with the introductions and told me they were employed by the Pedro Tea Estate. None of them has seem a picture of themselves before and were extremely excited to have their pictures taken. So promising to send them some copies, I got some wonderful shots of the colorful group.

Pedro Tea Estate

The closest tea estate to the Nuwara Eliya town center is the Pedro Estate, located in Boralanda about 3 km away. I called up my friend Raju, the tuk-tuk operator I met on my first day in town, and for LKR 400 he took me on the return trip. The estate welcomes vistors to tour their factory, charging LKR 50 from locals and LKR 100 from foreigners.

Established in 1885, the Pedro Test Estate spans nearly 670 hectares of land area and employs about 1,250 laborers with another 50 in administrative staff. The company differentiates itself by emphasizing its “ethical” business practices regarding treatment of estate workers through community cooperatives, and improved housing and education facilities.

The estate produces tea primarily for sale in the open auction market but also packages some under the brands “Mahagastotte” and “Lover’s Leap” for sale at their guest welcome center. I tried a delicious cup of their ‘Single Garden Tea’ variety after my factory tour and recommend picking up a pack if you come across one.