Visit to Bellwood Farm

I drove from Kandy to Galaha, taking the road that runs thru Hantana and Uduwela. I last took this road about three years ago by van. The road was in very bad shape but, because the lower parts of the road had been repaired and carpeted, I expected some improvement all the way to Galaha. For about 5 kms, up to Uduwela, the winding drive that goes thru Hantana Group (a tea plantation) was a treat, the road carpeted and the surroundings opening to some lovely views. Beyond Uduwela, the road deteriorated alarmingly, turning into rubble or deep potholes.  The forest closed in, barely opening a path fore car to go thru. Beyond Uduwela, I did not meet a single vehicle heading in the opposite direction. Pedestrians stared in wonder at the the car and the foolish driver (me), perhaps because no other car would have ventured this way in months. Fearing a breakdown, I called Sarath, the caretaker of Bellwood Farm, to drive down on his motorcycle. His appearance gave me the confidence to drive on, although there was no chance of turning back.

I later dwelled on the the plight of Kandyan peasants and estate labourers (the latter group mainly Tamils) who no doubt suffer hard lives and seem to have been forgotten by the politicians who have the power to build roads, hospitals, and schools. The road passes thru beautiful scenery, pine forests and sweeping valleys, but the scenery is only for the occasional visitor and not for the peasants who have to scratch a living here. Because most of the road passes thru Hantana group, the plantation also has a responsibility to improve it, but nothing seems to have been done in years.

The trees at Bellwood Farm appear to have grown since my last visit. Sri Lanka is suffering a severe drought (Pondside is parched, and Hantana has daily water cuts) and Sarath told me that Bellwood, too, hasn't had rains in months. But the greenery hasn't been affected.

Bellwood Farm was bought for Hamlin, my brother-in-law, who wants to become a farmer when he retires from his quantity surveyor job in the Middles East. Hamlin was hit by the downturn in Dubai but he has since moved to Qatar, where the construction industry is doing better. So he has started to plant tea and the photos show what Sarath has been doing recently. About 3 acres have been cleared and planted.  The drought is a problem but that can be solved with pipes leading up to the spring further up the hill. But the bigger challenge comes from the wildlife, wild boar, porcupines, and monkeys. The wild boar roots up the tea seedlings, the porcupines cut them, and the moneys simply pull the seedlings up and throw them around. Sarath is at his wits end and tries all kinds of strategies to keep these animals at bay. He has given up planting vegetables for the same reason.

Seedlings waiting to be planted.

Sarath. He used to be a government agricultural instructor in this region and knows the area well. We are lucky that he agreed to work for us when we bought Bellwood. Sarath loves the soil and puts up with every challenge and inconvenience to keep Bellwood going.

He knows the socio-economics of the surrounding villagers and how the Bellwood area has evolved from a large plantation to a multitude of small holdings and given to villagers by the government. As in Boralessa, where Pondside is located, villagers prefer to live on the monies sent by their family members working abroad (mainly as domestics or labourers). They have no tolerance for physical labor and would rather sit at home, watching TV or sleeping, than earn a wage. Their small plots are not large enough for any agricultural work.

The view from Bellwood Farm. Sarath said that one of the last tea plantations in the area had been forcibly occupied by locals (as usual, supported by politicians). The plantation has since been divided among themselves by the occupiers.


I took the longer route (23 kms) from Galaha to Kandy. A narrow road full of sharp corners, I had some narrow shaves with huge buses that ply this road. Sri Lanka used to have a range of buses that suited narrow road, but the buses I see now appear to be of the same large size.