Every day for the past 35 years, Thangarasa Lingarasa (right), Thampu Thevarasa (center) and Rasaiah Pathmanathan (left) have gotten together to roll tobacco in Thirunelvely, a village in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district. They make about 2,200 cigars per week, earning 1.80 Sri Lankan rupees (a little more than 1 U.S. cent) per cigar, so each man earns about 4,000 rupees (about $25) per week.
Every day for the past 35 years, Thangarasa Lingarasa (right), Thampu Thevarasa (center) and Rasaiah Pathmanathan (left) have gotten together to roll tobacco in Thirunelvely, a village in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district. They make about 2,200 cigars per week, earning 1.80 Sri Lankan rupees (a little more than 1 U.S. cent) per cigar, so each man earns about 4,000 rupees (about $25) per week.
Every day for the past 35 years, Thangarasa Lingarasa (right), Thampu Thevarasa (center) and Rasaiah Pathmanathan (left) have gotten together to roll tobacco in Thirunelvely, a village in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district. They make about 2,200 cigars per week, earning 1.80 Sri Lankan rupees (a little more than 1 U.S. cent) per cigar, so each man earns about 4,000 rupees (about $25) per week.
