Sri Lanka’s estate workers housing societies empower plantation community

Plantation workers and residents have been significantly empowered by the establishment of Estate Worker Housing Cooperative Societies (EWHCS) which provide them loans and access to many goods and services within their respective estates, as well as creating job opportunities.

The EWHCS were first established in 1993, by the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT) (a tripartite organisation consisting of the Regional Plantation Companies, the government and estate sector trade unions) in collaboration with the Department of Cooperative Development, mainly with the intention of disbursing funds to construct houses for estate residents. EWHCS have been set up at all estates managed by Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) at present.

According to a media release issued by the Planters Association (PA) last week, the 418 EWHCS functioning in the sector (which include units located at both RPC and state-managed estates) have in total disbursed nearly 79,000 loans within 2014 alone for estate workers/residents who are members of these societies. Nearly 80 per cent of the loans have been provided for housing purposes, while loans have also been granted for agriculture, emergencies, festivals, and for income generating activities.

The EWHCS can now generate their own funds, with the value of savings of EWHCS in the plantations multiplying by nearly 53 times between 2002 and 2010. In 2010, EWHCS had a membership of over 240,000 – a growth of 145 per cent from the 98,000 who were members at the inception in 1993. EWHCS now even has its own bank – the ‘Vathusevaka Nivasa Samupakara Samithiya (Vanisa) Bank’ – which among others provides agricultural and small business loans and other interest-free loans to its members.

“The EWHCS have emerged as a leading community-based organization in the country and many units located in Regional Plantation Company estates which receive strong support from the management, have improved their rankings in recent years based on criteria determined by the PHDT and monitored by the PHDT’s Regional Offices,” the release said.

“The significant strengthening of the Estate Worker Housing Cooperative Societies over the years reflects how the estate community has been gradually empowered and is now capable of fulfilling many of its own needs,” Roshan Rajadurai, Chairman of the PA which represents the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) said. “The Regional Plantation Companies have always supported the EWHCS in any possible capacity and will continue to do so. It is important that all stakeholders contribute to efforts to improve the self-sufficiency of the estate community.”