By Ifham Nizam The establishment of Sri Lanka’s iconic tea industry dates back to 1865, when tea seeds from the Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya were planted by the then superintendent of the ...

People carry bags of freshly plucked tea leaves at a plantation in Bogawantalawa, Sri Lanka, on May 20, 2025. Sri Lanka earned 1.43 billion U.S. dollars from tea exports in 2024, with an increase ...

Tea plantation workers weigh plucked tea leaves at Spring Valley Estate in Badulla, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) AP International ...

A woman harvests tea leaves on a plantation in Sri Lanka’s hill country. Every leaf carries echoes of a colonial past and a changing present. (Courtesy of Relais & Chateaux Ceylon Tea Trails) ...

When the Australian cricket team finished a day’s play against Sri Lanka in Galle in February, they came for a well-earned break at the Radisson Collection hotel, fives miles down the seafront.They ...

There are around 1.5 million descendants of plantation workers living in Sri Lanka today, including about 3.5% of the electorate, and some 470,000 people still live on plantations.

Sri Lanka's plantation workers are a long-marginalized group who frequently live in dire poverty, but they can swing elections by voting as a bloc.

There are around 1.5 million descendants of plantation workers living in Sri Lanka today, including about 3.5% of the electorate, and some 470,000 people still live on plantations.

There are around 1.5 million descendants of plantation workers living in Sri Lanka today, including about 3.5% of the electorate, and some 470,000 people still live on plantations.

Tea plantation worker Adaraja Ali Rani leaves her living quarters to pluck tea tips in Spring Valley estate in Badulla, Sri Lanka, Sep. 10, 2024.