The Change Agent Programme (CAP) was launched in the Galle District in 1982. Factors that generate poverty were subject to an in-depth analysis and scrutiny in the course of implementing the CAP, during the last two decades. It has been revealed that many production technologies associated with village-based production practices have been the sole obstacle thathas prevented many low-income earners from improving. A vast majority of those engaged in the tea manufacturing sector are the low-income earning labour force. The research seeks to examine and identify the root causes of the small holders’ plight and the reality of the situation that confronts them.