Batticaloa, located on Sri Lanka’s east coast, is a district with 346 Grama Niladhari Divisions. It had 192,511 families registered on the election roll in 2020. Batticaloa’s key industries include agriculture, livestock, and fishing, but the 2020 Grama Niladhari Divisions’ statistics for the district found that other industries also had a growing presence in the area. This includes textile and textile handicrafts industries (18%), coconut/kithul/sesame/palmyra-based industries (15%) and wood (14%).
In terms of the textile or apparel industry, one name that stands out is Brandix. Brandix Essentials Batticaloa opened its doors in 2008 in Punani, before moving to Kalliyankadu, and then Arayampathy, where it currently stands. In 2008, Brandix Batticaloa had 160 employees, and in 2019, it had 4,500 employees.
During a visit to the Batticaloa facility, The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity of seeing how the apparel manufacturer is strengthening its workforce. However, along with these efforts, Brandix is also strengthening the community in which it operates, taking into consideration socio-economic factors and the needs of the people of Batticaloa.
CSR initiatives
The Brandix Batticaloa team shared that they wish to create the most preferred work environment in the East, and this transformational journey focuses on four areas: People and growth, culture and society, customers, and benefits for employees.
At Brandix Batticaloa, 89% of the workforce is female and 11% is male. The facility covers the districts of Batticaloa and Ampara, and caters to a large community. They show this community that they care through various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which are based on four pillars: Provide, educate, research, and engage.
Sharing a few examples of their CSR initiatives, the Brandix team said they have carried out close to 180 water projects. The area within a 10 km radius of the plant is developed through model villages, where the plant looks into the requirements of the community. They also carry out tree planting campaigns in the area.
Brandix Essentials Batticaloa is also the highest provider in the company’s blood donation drives due to its high number of employees. Despite the number, the team said collecting 800 pints of blood is no easy task, with the first drive not even reaching a donation of 50 pints.
The team shared that during the initial spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Brandix Batticaloa oversaw nine Covid-19 centres, providing water and dry rations as needed. The community impact of this initiative in particular is without doubt significant.
Another initiative is the Bindu Foundation, through which Brandix gives its workforce access to clean drinking water. The project was extended beyond drinking water to ensure any public projects in model villages, especially schools, had sanitation facilities of a certain standard.
However, these initiatives took a slightly different turn in 2022, influenced by the economic crisis and growing concerns about malnutrition across the country. The Brandix team shared that a lot of the funding for CSR initiatives went into food security, as it was the need of the community.
Giving farmers a much-needed push
In terms of their food security projects, Brandix Batticaloa has given farmers an opportunity to earn profit through agriculture. On a 4.5-acre plot of land, Brandix invested in the water needed for agriculture, storage in terms of wells and tanks, as well as fertiliser and seeds. These were the main shortages that farmers struggled with.
The main crops being cultivated are long beans and peanuts, both of which have a harvest every 40 days, with up to six yields a year. The dry season was previously a barrier, but with water storage facilities, the community can not only farm during the Yala and Maha seasons, but also look at a mid-season crop, thus benefiting from three cultivation seasons a year. Rainwater harvesting would further aid this, and the Brandix team divulged that they are looking into this as well.
Twelve families are directly involved in farming, with 25 other families also benefiting from the revenue. The families were chosen based on recommendations from Grama Niladhari and Samurdi officers, the Brandix team said, adding that they take turns tending to the crops and engage in farming full-time during the season.
Speaking to The Daily Morning Brunch, the farmers shared that they made a profit during the last harvest, and thus hope to continue with the crops. They are also able to do this as Brandix has laid the basic groundwork, and the farmers are only required to purchase the seeds.
The impact on the community is two-fold through this initiative. The farmers explained that while 12 farming families and 25 other families benefit from the revenue from agriculture, the townspeople are able to buy produce for a lower rate from the farmers.
An impact that runs deep
While Brandix CSR initiatives are focusing more on food security, as it has been identified as the need of the hour, the impact of their water-related projects run deep. Darshini shared her story with The Daily Morning Brunch, saying that she is a single mother of a young boy. She has been working for Brandix Batticaloa for eight years and had to rely on a neighbour’s well as she didn’t have her own.
According to the 2020 Grama Niladhari Divisions’ statistics for Batticaloa District, 25% of Grama Niladhari Divisions do not have pipe borne water from the national water supply or community-based organisations.
Darshini had a well built in her garden a few years ago. Recently, she got a main line of water as well. When asked how the building of a well helped her, Darshini explained that she had to wake up one hour earlier than she does now to leave for her shift as she had to use a neighbour’s well. This added to the challenges she faced as a single mother.
She is offered some degree of relief from living close to her family. Her parents take care of her son while Darshini is away at work.
Mahiladithivu Hospital renovations
Located 5.6 km from Brandix Essentials Batticaloa is the Divisional Hospital Mahiladithivu. One of the doctors attached to the hospital explained that the hospital provides primary care, catering to a community of 40,000 people.
However, more complicated cases are transferred to the Teaching Hospital Batticaloa, which is located 16.2 km away from the Divisional Hospital Mahiladithivu. The divisional hospital has three doctors, who alternate between shifts. They were hit particularly hard by the drug shortage in the country, and had to rely on donations from places of worship or their own personal funds.
“Managing at best”, is how the situation was described during our visit. The doctor added that while they used to have 20-25 daily admissions, the hospital could only accept 10-15 due to having fewer facilities.
In terms of maternal health in the area, the doctor informed us that the interventions of the area medical officer of health (MOH) had turned the situation from poor to good. The doctor praised the MOH’s enthusiasm, dedication and interest in providing patients with what was required to maintain good maternal health.
In 2019, Brandix constructed a 60-bed maternity ward in the hospital, and also refurbished the out-patient department. The hospital staff expressed their gratitude for this gesture, reminding us that it made a significant impact on the community.
PACE programme
While the above programmes have been noteworthy CSR initiatives carried out by Brandix, the PACE programme employees can enrol in is interesting as it directly impacts the employee but indirectly impacts the community.
PACE – which stands for Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement – is a learning framework that provides women with the necessary life skills to help them at work and also uplift their status at home.
Brandix Batticaloa carries out the PACE programme in two shifts, with the current batch having a total of 64 participants. PACE is a three-month course, and consists of eight modules conducted internally by trained instructors and four modules conducted by an external party. The modules cover topics like gender and socialisation, communication at the workplace, home and community, problem solving, concept building, time management, stress management, and financial literacy.
Arunalingam Poongothai, who joined Brandix Essentials Batticaloa six years ago, is one of the plant’s many employees reaping the benefits of PACE. She explained that PACE has made her life easier, as she has learnt a lot about problem solving, overcoming challenges in life, and managing her finances.
Poongothai said that she is 32 years old, and has two children; one aged 11 and the other aged nine. Her husband is a daily-wage earner. Before participating in PACE, she struggled to manage her salary, with her expenses often exceeding her income. However, now, she saves a considerable amount every month, and said she was grateful for the programme as it has changed her life for the better.
This impact is not something only Poongothai or other PACE participants enjoy, as through its various CSR and community initiatives, Brandix is working hard to transform the lives of Batticaloa’s people.