Challenges faced by the Female Tea pluckers in Sri Lanka: A study based on Galle District

Abstract

Tea plantation is a labour-intensive sector in Sri Lanka. The woman is marginalized and termed as the less skilled labour. Plucking is described as a skill that women have acquired through their nimble fingers. The main objective of this study was to investigate challenges faced by Female tea pluckers in Sri Lanka based on Galle district. Previous researches point out that the process of tea plucking continues through manual labour and has been mainly performed by the female worker. Randomly selected 05 female tea pluckers from Galle district were interviewed who consensually shared their life experiences. The interviews were semi-structured, recorded and transcribed. The interview questionnaire consisted of 05 specific questions with followed up questions. They were open-ended. The questionnaire focused on gathering data from the tea pluckers on the following areas: the lifestyle of the female tea pluckers, challenges that they encountered in the field as a woman and their future goals. According to the results of this study, the female tea pluckers are confined to the tea estates and are satisfied with the life that they lead. The main findings of this study revealed that lack of interaction with the outside world, lack of education lead them to become a female tea plucker. The female tea pluckers never consider life as a challenge but are proud of being themselves as tea pluckers. Therefore, this study uncovered the life style of a female tea plucker who serves own life for the uplift of tea plantation culture in Sri Lanka.