Small Donations to Big Changes in Women’s Lives


The story of Is2tea was told on our homepage back in November 2009.

It is a remarkable story of how tea, entrepreneurship and empowerment can bring people together to help the disadvantaged communities of rural Sri Lanka.

Is2tea, established by Mary Wakefield, has committed 10% of profits to the Foundation of Goodness, and thanks to the tea-drinking of her customers, the first donation of US$120 was received in June 2010.

The amount of the donation may seem small compared to some, but it is the intention and the purpose to which it will be put to use that will make this donation grow from a small seed into a strong and sturdy tree of empowerment.

S. Nirosha is a 29 year old woman from Seenigama. She lives in a small home built by the Pheonix Team after the tsunami. One room of the house has been converted into a grocery store, which she runs with her husband. It is her mother’s house- her own is a small wooden home that isn’t suitable to bring up her 3 year old son. Life comes hard in the village.

The wind rustles though palm trees and bird sing- everything seems calm as we talk to Nirosha while she twists coir rope on the porch. But the work for the village families is never done. In between childcare and working in the shop, while her husband is at sea as a fisherman, Nirosha is building up her own business, making coir products for her neighbours and friends.

She buys coir twine from the nearby village of Rathgama. It takes her 5 minutes to twist the twine into one foot of rope, and one day of work to make the rope into a mat. She designs the mats herself, in the shapes of turtles, fruits, elephants. She can sell an elephant mat for 250 rupees ($2.50).

Nirosha has aspirations to build her business and employ local women. This is where the Is2tea donation comes in. With a small capital investment of a coir wheel, she can employ others to make the twine from the coconut husks. Having control over every stage of the production of her mats will give Nirosha the opportunity to make more products at a higher profit margin.

The Foundation of Goodness will help Nirosha through the Business Skills Development Workshops, held at the MCC Centre of Excellence in Seenigama. Once Nirosha has completed a ‘Grow Your Business’ course, she will be equipped with a business plan and a strategy to access wider markets for her products.

Nirosha is a simple lady with simple plans- to care for her mother and son while building a better future for the family. Working as a team with her husband, she shows the entrepreneurial spark that must be nurtured and encouraged. Through this donation from Is2tea, which will be used as a semi-loan- Nirosha can build her business and make her dreams a reality.

Kushil, Founder/ Trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, thanks Mary and all the customers of Is2tea products for their compassion and aspiration to help those who are disadvantaged. “If everyone makes a small act of kindness towards another, the world will be a healthier, happier place” he says. “We can all change the world, and this change starts with ourselves. I started the Foundation of Goodness in a similar manner, with small contributions to the local school that I could make from my first pay checks. And now, the fruits are to be seen in the facilities available for 20,000 people from more than 25 villages. One small step, with good intentions, acts as a catalyst for great change.”

2010.06.28