The story

1947- The grandfather

The first tea was planted at Devagiri during the last 20 years of British rule in Sri Lanka. In 1947, the year before independence, Rosh's grandfather, Francis Nanayakkara (a native Sri Lankan) bought the estate, established a tea factory and dedicated his life to making the finest teas in the south of Sri Lanka.

1975- The ten brothers and sisters

By the time he died in 1975, Devagiri had built a reputation as one of Sri Lanka's best estates. The British had been gone from Sri Lanka for 27 years and the country was trying to find its feet as a self-governing nation. His children (Rosh's mum and her 9 siblings) took over in a volatile political and economic environment but, despite the many challenges, they continued to produce excellent teas.

2020- Business struggling = community at risk

By 2020, the siblings were still making fine teas and the estate community was in its 4th generation. But the volatile environment combined with the inequitable supply chain had become too much to bear. They were devastated by the idea of selling their father's beloved Devagiri, but they could see no alternative and began looking for a buyer. Unsurprisingly, few wanted to get into the tea business- it was considered just too difficult. The only offers made were from buyers who might use the land for other purposes; and the impact of this would have been devastating for the community of almost 100 who live and work on the estate. If this happened, they would have lost their homes.

What's inequitable about the supply chain?

2022- Mike and Rosh

In 2022 Mike and Rosh were on holiday in Sri Lanka and happened to visit Devagiri. They were struck by the injustice that a community who had farmed the land for four generations could be displaced almost overnight. They also saw potential to turn things around and develop a business model less vulnerable to market volatility, and less at the mercy of the traditional supply chain. So, they raised investment and left their London careers to run Devagiri.

Why would the community have been displaced?

2023- Farm to Table

Mike and Rosh were immediately disappointed by the length of the supply chain and what this means: so little goes back to the people who produce tea; it is environmentally unsound; it is impossible for a consumer to trace the provenance of their tea and the ethics of the estate it comes from.

So they began speaking with hospitality brands that want to know that the food and drink they serve comes from both a good terroir and an ethical operation, with minimum carbon footprint.

It's early days but, already, we are proud to call some great UK hotel and restaurant brands our customers. The task ahead is significant but we firmly believe that farm to table tea is the right thing for our community, our customers and the planet.

What does "farm to table" from Devagiri look like?

Who are the investors?

Disclaimer- this story doesn't yet have a happy ending

Who we are

Mike & Rosh

Mike and Rosh are the Co-MD's of Devagiri. They are partners in life and tea!

During their visit to Sri Lanka in 2022, they were struck by the injustice that the community who had farmed Devagiri for four generations could be displaced. And they saw potential to turn things around to develop a more sustainable business model. Determined to retain the family ethos of Devagiri, they asked a special group of people to join them in investing. And they left their London careers to take on this challenge.

Mike was born and raised in Skewen, Wales; where his career began at age 9 with a paper round! Between that and Devagiri, he was a senior partner at PwC UK; on the the exec board of the Tax business for 14 years, responsible for building new businesses, including PwC Legal.

Rosh's childhood was split between Sri Lanka and England. She began her career in 2005 at Save the Children before moving to the corporate world; her last role was on the exec board of Toyota Connected as VP Product and COO.

Ganaka & Blake

Ganaka and Blake are best friends, who met when they were doing their MBAs at Wharton. The photo was taken back in 2006 while they were trekking across Antarctica as part of that program. When Mike & Rosh told them about the risk to the community at Devagiri, and the opportunity to turn things around, they dove straight in. What's the connection? Ganaka and Rosh were married - a story for another time, that ends well and involves 2 awesome kids!

Ganaka is a Partner at McKinsey and Blake is the Founder and CEO of Soccerpost in the US.

Asanga & Dharma

Asanga and Dharma are 2 of the "10 siblings", who have stayed on as shareholders. While they don't take an active part in day to day operations, the heritage and insight they bring is invaluable to us today.

Now in their 60s, 70s and 80s, the siblings remain exceptionally close. Dharma is the lady standing next to the gent in the white shirt (who is the eldest, Vasu); she is also the little girl on the extreme left of the old family photo. Asanga is standing next to the lady in the red jumpsuit (his wife, Theja); and he is the little boy standing between his father and eldest sister (Swarna) on the left-hand side of the old photo. Next to him is Padma, who took on the role of managing Devagiri when their father died. He passed away in 2023, aged 80. This picture was taken just 2 years before on Dharma's 70th birthday. Dharma is Rosh's mum.

Meet the Team

Our team is made up of c150 people, many of whom are the 4th generation of their family to work at Devagiri. Across, field, factory and administration, their work is highly skilled and they work incredibly hard. They are led by our estate "Superintendent", Nandana Samarasinghe, who lives onsite with his wife Ayomi. Nandana is one of the most experienced estate managers in Sri Lanka. He joined us recently, bringing over 25 year's experience gained at the some of Sri Lanka's best estates. His agricultural expertise extends beyond tea, bringing unique perspective to our approach to biodiversity. And he shares our commitment to unlocking opportunity and ending the cycle of poverty. Nandana is a Sri Jayewardenepura University alum and he has an MBA from NSBM Green University, which is dedicated to "paving the way for environmental sustainability" in South Asia.