Gammaduwa Bungalow and Estate is a Heritage Site which is run as a small private guest house offering high quality accommodation and gourmet fusion Sri Lankan dishes. Attached to the bungalow are 7 acres of vintage tea divided into 5 fields below an old pine forest. Tea is plucked on a 10-day round in the wet season or a 15-day round in the dry season. The Kankani (tea field supervisor) Mr Selladuri is over 70 years old and is highly experienced, he has been working at the estate for 60 years. There are three permanent tea pluckers, Nageshwary, Paagiyam and Amurthum who are supported by our ‘Kangani’. The tea small factory is directed by our Tea Maker, a part time tea- maker and a trainee assistant. All staff in the Bungalow, Estate and Factory are employed from the village and been trained up to deliver these demanding new exciting roles by owners Dave and Sengli and project supporters who have given time to help them learn. Special thanks to Beverly our Tea Consultant from the “Scottish Tea Factory” without whose help and guidance we could not have even begun this enterprise. The aim of the tea factory is to add social benefits to local people by increasing quality and value to the green leaf produced on the estate, to offer and sell Gammaduwa tea to guests, and to export in small amounts offering a unique consumer experience. In the long term, it is hoped that the factory may provide more employment in the village, profit share, and be self-sustaining financially. We are a social enterprise offering support and opportunities to our staff, their families and the village community. As part of this we support poorer children with school uniform and supplies and offer additional classes free of charge to Grade 7 village children

Our Teas

Gammaduwa Bungalow is in a secluded and unspoiled valley, overlooking Riverston Peak and the Knuckles mountains near Matale in Sri Lanka. There are 7 tea growing regions in Sri Lanka and Matale District is in the Kandy region. The Kandy region gave birth to the plantation era and was the first area of Sri Lanka to be planted with tea. The estate has just 7 acres of 120 year old Camilia Sinensis seedling tea bushes that are being brought back to life as well as gradually infilling the fields with new plants from our own seed ‘mother bushes’. ‘Monkeytail Teas ‘ is part of Futureproof Development Ceylon Private Limited (Reg PV113899). The company focuses on tea related tourism and handmade artisanal teas grown, produced, and packed on the premises by people from the local village overseen by our expert tea maker. This is a social enterprise private business undertaken on a profit sharing basis.