As part of a series marking 150 years of tea production in Sri Lanka, Groundviews used StorySphere, an immersive storytelling platform created by Google to showcase 360 degree imagery.

Here, Principal Sivayoga of Saraswathy Central College, off Gampola discusses how many of his students aspire to leave the estates and find work in Colombo. As a result, schools like his struggle to retain students, particularly past the stage of Ordinary Levels.

View the StorySphere here, or below.

2017 marks 150 years of tea production in Sri Lanka. To mark this anniversary, there have been several celebratory events and activities, including a Global Tea Party, an International Tea Convention and a charity auction organised by a variety of stakeholders including the Ceylon Tea Traders Association, the Sri Lanka Tea Board, the Tourist Board and tea companies. While these events have received wide coverage, there is little mention of the tea plantation workers, without whose contribution the industry would not exist.

With this in mind, Groundviews launched a series of audiovisual stories aimed at raising awareness on the difficulties faced by estate workers and the changes in the industry (or lack thereof) over the past 150 years.

To view the rest of the content for this series, click here.