Loolecondera facts for kids

The name board of the Loolecondera estate, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

The Loolecondera estate was the very first tea plantation in Sri Lanka, which was known as Ceylon back then. It was started in 1867 by a Scotsman named James Taylor. You can find this historic estate in Kandy, a city in Sri Lanka.

James Taylor and the Start of Tea

James Taylor in Kandy, Sri Lanka in the 1860s, when he began his tea work.

James Taylor was a very important person in the history of tea in Sri Lanka. He began planting tea plants on about 19 acres (which is about 77,000 square meters) of land at Loolecondera. This tea farm quickly grew bigger and bigger!

In 1872, James Taylor opened a special factory just for processing tea. He even invented a new machine to help cut the tea leaves. This made making tea much faster and easier.

James Taylor lived most of his life at Loolecondera, working hard on the tea estate, until he passed away in 1892.

Remembering James Taylor

To honor James Taylor and his amazing work, the government of Sri Lanka built a museum at Loolecondera in 1992. It helps people remember how he helped start the tea industry in their country.

What's in a Name?

The name "Loolecondera" might sound a bit tricky! It's actually a slightly changed version of the original local name, "Lool kandura." In the Sinhala language, "Loolkandura" means "the stream full of loola fish." The loola fish is a type of fish called Channa striata.