Nuwara Eliya

Sri Lanka is the second biggest tea producer in the world, generating an annual turnover of approximately US$60 million.  This equates to around 330 million kilos of tea leaves being picked each year.  Both directly and indirectly, this huge industry employs over one million Sri Lankan workers.  A large proportion of the workforce consists of young women and the minimum working age is twelve. The Nuwara Eliya district, in Sri Lanka’s central province, is home to many of the ‘tea workers’.  Whole communities are built around these tea plantations with schools and amenities catering to the needs of the ‘workers’.  Standing all day in the sun, working 365 days per year, these women often have to hand pick 17kgs of tea leaves a day.  Some of these women have been doing this for over 20 years for a wage equivalent to around $5 USD a day.

 

Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 1
A view from the Labookellie Tea Factory in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya district. Directly and indirectly, over one million Sri Lankans are employed in the tea industry. A large proportion of the workforce is young women and the minimum working age is twelve.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 2
Inside a tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya district in Sri Lanka.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 3
A woman picks tea leaves in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya district. Standing all day, in the sun, working year round these women often have to hand pick 17kgs of tea leaves a day. Some of these women have been doing this for 20 years, for a wage equivalent to around $5 USD a day.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 4
Machinery inside a tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya Tea district in Sri Lanka.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 5
An employee of a tea factory, airing tea leaves.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 6
Machinery inside a tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya Tea district in Sri Lanka.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 7
Tea leaves at their final stage of production. Being the second biggest tea producer behind India, this industry generates an annual turn over of approximately $60 million USD for Sri Lanka. Equating to around 330 million kilos of tea leaves being picked a year.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 8
Tea leaves on a belt in a tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya Tea district in Sri Lanka.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 9
Bags of tea ready to be exported.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 10
Machinery inside a tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya Tea district in Sri Lanka.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 11
A view of tea pickers and tea plantations in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya district.
Nuwara Eliya Tea Plantations 12
A tea factory in the Nuwara Eliya Tea district in Sri Lanka.