In Sri Lanka's Monaragala district, UK firm Mygroup and Fibershed Sri Lanka are expanding a regenerative cotton initiative to help debt-trapped farmers. The Exiled project fuses ancient Chena practices with modern techniques, yielding its first crop and launching a new clothing brand this week. Farmers report hopes for stable prices and healthier soil amid climate challenges.
Deep in Sri Lanka's agricultural heartland of Monaragala, the Exiled project launched in 2025 seeks to break farmers' reliance on low-profit crops like maize and rice. Mygroup, a UK recycling firm, leased an acre of farmland in February 2025 after director Steve Carrie connected with Fibershed Sri Lanka's Thilina Premjayanth. The pilot produced 280 kilograms of cotton using regenerative methods and ancient Chena cultivation, now woven into textiles for Mygroup's Exiled brand, debuting this week at its ReFactory in Hull, UK. Rebecca O’Leary, Mygroup's textiles manager, said, “Even if we hadn’t been able to get a crop of cotton, it was always going to be a success, because we left the soil in such better condition than we found it.” This year, 20 farmers across 25 acres have joined, with plans for 50 farmers on 100 acres in 2027 through the new Cotton Farmers’ Cooperative Society. The cooperative offers training in regenerative practices, interest-free loans for seeds and compost, and emergency funds. On-farm ginning and spinning hubs from shipping containers will soon process harvests locally before dyeing and weaving. Farmers like Premawathi from Kahambana plan to dedicate one acre to cotton, bought back at LKR 1,400 ($4.40) per kilogram—far above maize's LKR 150 ($0.47). “I’m starting with one acre, because I can manage it — I can see the income and the costs,” she said. Pushpakumara from Okkampitiya added, “The long-term crisis for us is the price we get for these crops.” Concerns persist over erratic weather delaying planting. Before the 1970s, Sri Lanka had 60,000 acres of cotton and village cooperatives, but industrialization shifted to chemicals. Reviving these practices addresses health issues like chronic kidney disease linked to agrochemicals, Premjayanth noted. Pushpakumara said, “When we use chemicals on the farm, it makes me uneasy in my body.”
