Dodda Mettarai Flower Farmer Producer Company Limited

Doddametrai Village is where we live and work. Our office is at No.1/90A, near the Haleseebam Post. We call ourselves the Dodda Mettarai Flower Farmer Producer Company Limited. Flowers are what we do. It is a different kind of farming because you have to be so fast. If you don't get the flowers to the market quickly, they are worth nothing. We spend our nights and early mornings picking and sorting. Our office at No.1/90A is often filled with the smell of jasmine or roses, depending on the season. It is a simple place with concrete floors and a few benches. We meet there to decide which markets to send our loads to. We are just farmers. We don't have any polished speeches. We talk about the price of water and the cost of transport. Sometimes the trucks are late and we all get worried. It is a stressful way to make a living but we like seeing the flowers grow. Most of us have small plots of land that have been in our families for a long time. We joined together so we could share the cost of the vehicles. It is a practical arrangement. We don't have any big corporate goals. We just want to make sure the flowers we grow with so much care actually reach the buyers while they are still pretty.