Community Impact

Launched as an ongoing project by our plantation companies, KVPL and TTE ‘A Home for Every Plantation Worker’ is a unique and multi-dimensional community initiative, targeted at uplifting the living standards of our employees and the estate community, amounting to nearly 150,000 individuals.

Living Environment: We engage our communities in multiple initiatives, including the improvement of Housing, Water, Sanitation, Recreation and Learning Facilities, which are implemented in collaboration with multiple Government Authorities and reputed Non-governmental Organizations.

Health and Nutrition: Our comprehensive health and nutrition initiatives include preventive healthcare through Immunisations, Antenatal and Postnatal Care, Guidance on Nutrition, Early Childhood Development Support and Auxiliary Medical Services.

Youth Empowerment: Working in collaboration with government institutes and reputed NGOs, we provide vocational training on a range of subjects, for the estate community youth. These training initiatives are also inclusive of scholarships for tertiary education, based on merit and talent.

Community Capacity Building: These initiatives are done in collaboration with the Estate Worker Housing Co-operative Society, and include disbursement of Micro-financing Loans, Dental Clinics, Scholarships, Eye Clinics and other donations, as well as training programmes on an array of subjects such as Dengue Prevention, Waste Management and the prevention of Drugs / Alcohol, among others.

Investment and Results: The widely successful initiative has brought about significant improvements in the quality of life of our estate community families.

Tea without Tears

Initiated and implemented by Mabroc, ‘Tea Without Tears’ focuses on employees, specifically their good health and social wellbeing. Whilst employees are given the opportunity to avail themselves of the weekly medical consultations, they also take part in annual Eye and Dental Checkups. As part of the CSR project, employees receive free Spectacles when deemed necessary by Medical Consultants. ‘Tea Without Tears’ conducts a plethora of other activities, including Schoolbook and Stationary Supplies to Employees’ School age Children, Blood Donation Campaigns, Dengue Eradication Projects, Tree Planting Initiatives and much more.

A multi-faceted program which effectively addresses a wide range of economic and social issues faced by rubber small holders, DPL Firstlight provides technical support on agricultural practices, supports community capacity building initiatives while ensuring a fair price for latex provided by farmers. Firstlight currently supports more than 830 rubber small holders and over 6000 family members in the districts of Monaragela, Bibile and Mathugama. The project is based on the four guiding principles of,

• (1) Fair price for field latex
• (2) Technical support and education
• (3) Providing input materials
• (4) Community capacity building

Hayleys Agriculture, in the forefront of improving rural livelihood and nutrition through sustainable agricultural development, introduced the ‘Jeevadhara’ programme, to promote cultivation of one million Moringa (Murunga/Drumstick/Moringa Oleifera) trees in the Northern Province via a network of 100,000 out-growers. ‘Jeevadhara’ will help create a sustainable supply of pods and leaves for consumption and value added exports. The project intends to reach 100,000 households in Jaffna, Killinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya.

‘Athwela’ by Rileys, one of the Group’s fibre Product Manufacturers, strives to develop its supplier base through the provision of necessary assistance to develop skills and knowledge in supplying coconut husk fibre. Rileys engages exporters in twisted fibre rod production from Japan, to provide exclusive training to families, facilitating Skill Development, Greener Practices and High Quality Production. Transparent buy-back agreements are in place, to ensure a source of income for these families. To date, the project supports the livelihoods of more than 150 suppliers, fulfilling around 50% of the Company’s fibre requirements and has facilitated the emergence of small scale entrepreneurs.