“There are many who call Ragala home. We have simply tried to be worthy of living here”
Blessed with beautiful landscapes, lush forests, dense hills, and manicured tea plantations, this part of Nuwara Eliya is a haven for unusual flora, fauna, and wildlife. At over 5,000 feet, the air itself feels like a privilege.
Over generations, we have nurtured and supported the local community and environments around us. Our commitment is not a programme. It is a practice — constantly developed, honestly measured, and rooted in the belief that the estate belongs, in some sense, to everyone it touches.
The team is considered part of a larger family. We have trained, nurtured, and supported them in every way we can. Most have grown up in the local community around us — people who bring to this estate a dedication that no recruitment process could manufacture.
Many have progressed with us and now hold senior roles within the team. We continue to encourage them to look for new ideas, to guide us toward projects that have a positive impact in line with what we believe this place is for.
“From the valley below, most of our team walk or cycle to work each morning — the same roads their parents once did”
Ragala is renowned for its fruit and vegetable cultivation. Most of our produce is obtained directly from neighbourhood farmers and the thriving Sunday market fairs that animate the town each week.
The in-house vegetable fields and dedicated herb garden at the estate provide the kitchen with what it needs most — freshness and specificity. Our greenhouse sustains the supply year-round. We also keep bees on the estate, rearing our own honey from hives set among the hedges.
“These fresh ingredients are not an amenity. They are the cuisine”
We have developed a rainwater collection infrastructure and maintain a collection of barrels for reusing stored rainwater. Most of our water also comes from a spring close to the bungalow — water that falls as mist on the hills above us and finds its way, quietly, to where we need it.
We use water and electricity reasonably, and we encourage our guests to support us on this initiative.
To eliminate single-use plastics, all guestrooms are provided with refillable water bottles. We have been selective with our procurement suppliers, working with them toward a shared philosophy — not overnight, but over time, and honestly.
“We encourage our guests to support us on this. Most do, without being asked”
We have been both a catalyst and supporter of engaging with the community for enhancing development and cohesion. Over the years we have supported the development of schools, places of worship, and the many festivities of the local community.
We encourage our staff to get involved in these activities — not as an obligation, but as a natural extension of where they live and who they are.
In education, our focus has been on developing English and IT skills at local schools, where funding has often been limited. We are proud to have recently completed a dedicated, fully-fledged computer centre at a rural school — complete with computers, accessories, and the connection to a wider world that every child in these hills deserves.
Stafford Estate has been a beacon for the community around it for over a century. The restoration of the 1884 planters’ home — its transformation into the Stafford Bungalow that stands today — was commissioned not to erase its character, but to honour it.
The restoration and adaptation have been carefully executed so that the original spirit of the bungalow is lovingly enhanced, not overridden — blended with the contemporary addition and interiors in a way that inspires rather than simply modernises.
We hope it will continue to rekindle the pioneering spirit of those who planted this land, and remind those who come after them that some things are worth keeping.
“We did not inherit this land. We are borrowing it — from those who planted it, and from those who will walk these rows long after we are gone”
