Institute of Social Development (ISD) is a non-governmental organization based in Kandy Sri Lanka, established in 1991 by a group of activists who works in the field of human right, labour, gender, and advocacy. The group initiated a dialogue on measuring the impact of development activities implemented by various sectors including government and NGOs in the plantation sector since 1948. The findings indicated that there have been no major qualitative changes taken place in the lives of the plantation worker community.
The group concluded that unless the marginalized communities are not empowered to demand and defend their ensured rights, outsiders cannot influence them for sustainable change. Thus, ISD executed various awareness programmes to empower the marginalized plantation community.
