ABSTRACT
This chapter showcases the notable work of a sustainability champion, Mahendra Peiris, in the collapsing Sri Lankan tea industry, an individual who has become a dauntless pioneer of many innovative programs. Despite its economic, environmental and social importance, in the recent past, the tea industry in Sri Lanka has faced serious sustainability challenges on many fronts. These require urgent productivity improvements leading to economic success and ecosystem preservation while improving the working conditions and living standards of the plantation communities. The sustainability champion introduced many novel, yet simple, innovative approaches. These focused on controlling the weeds through biological means by boosting ecosystem immunity instead of using weedicide chemicals, low-cost productivity improvements that need minimum use of synthetic agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, preservation of the ecosystem and enhancement of the income level and well-being of employees in the century-old tea industry. However, his campaign was met with criticism, scepticism and rejection. Nevertheless, his dauntless struggle to make sustainability work offers interesting lessons for aspiring sustainability champions around the world.
