08.20.07
tragedy pervades Indian tea
posted by Michelle Rabin | 28 comments
I was shocked to read this article describing how disaster is the daily reality in the Dooars region of West Bengal. The closed and “sick tea gardens” of the Jalpaiguiri district have been essentially ignored by the Government. As Americans and the world enjoy their cup of Darjeeling tea, workers at tea estates are experiencing devastating conditions leading to suicides, trafficking of children, and poor health conditions, all without the intervention from the Central labor ministry.
I can’t help wonder what we, at T Ching can do. There are no sexy movie stars to lead the cause and get the word out. I know that Rajiv and Ankit Lochan are making considerable efforts and strides to help improve the lives of workers and their families around the regions of their estates as well as setting up foundations such as the Indus Foundation to help improve educational opportunities for tea garden children. I’m afraid I was just not aware of how serious and extensive this national crisis is. I’d welcome the opportunity for some serious discussion. As many of you may have seen, we offer some advertising for Save the Soul, an organization to help bring relief to citizens of Africa. Let’s put our heads together and generate some ideas. Through T Ching, we can certainly take donations. That’s the easy part. Let’s see what a network of international tea lovers can accomplish. Namaste
August 20th, 2007 at 8:30 am
i am really grateful to tching for being so considerate and thoughtful - i do not have words to express my gratitude to all of you for thinking so much about our people. we are really grateful. the west bengal tea industry has been hit very hard - 10000 hectares of tea bushes are getting spoilt as gardens are closing day by day and 20,000 men and women are on the road to starvation.
our industry is in a real bad shape - we need urgent and immediate help - people are dying everyday - there is no signs of real help by our government - only speeches and speeches.
i thought and thought over this article and came to an idea which i thought i should share with all of you:
lets get some people together - organise some funds from people who can afford to donate - collect the funds at one place - perhaps with tching - michelle or anyone who wishes to volunteer can lead the process and then we can have some people come over and organise relief packages for those people who are in a bad state.
another way to help is we collect funds from several people including us - we form a cooperative -buy one or two of the gardens and all of us assist in marketing of the tea - if the marketing is good then the garden will be profitable and the people will all be happy as they will get good wages. we will look after the labour, manufacturing part and day to day running of the garden. shares will be alloted in the names of all people who have donated money big or small.
if we can do this or work on these lines - i am sure we will do a favour on a lot of people whose blessings will give us a reason to smile everyday!
time to get to work for the cause of social responsibility towards humanity!
looking forward to reading everyones views.
ankit
August 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Ankit, I think both suggestions warrant merit. The second would be more productive to getting these good people back on their feet permanently.
Now where do we go from here?? In the Coffee World we have the Coffee Kids program founded by Bill Fishbein. It could be used as a template. We at Valley Supreme supported it for years.
Come on people lets think. That’s my input for now…..PJF
August 20th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Ankit, can you tell us what the owners of the various plantations in trouble are doing about this situation? What will they do if their tea gardens fail? Can you also give us an idea of what the general cost might be to purchase one of these estates?
The reason I am asking these questions is because I was wondering about the possibility of using the model of finding a way to help the current workers of these farms obtain shares in the ownership. This way they have more invested in the outcome and the better the farm does the more they will prosper. We can also find ways to provide them with whatever help they need to create a successful business. It’s a win-win for everyone.
August 20th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Sandy, Good thought. The Coffee Kids Program creates a village bank and loans money to the workers and their families, while putting basic services in place, hospital, sanitation etc, with monies provided by large roasting companies i.e. Starbucks. People volunteer time to work in these villages. Difference here is many of these folks already own a piece of the action. They are just too poor to make it work. Hence all the recent fair pricing programs.
It’s private enterprise that makes things work , not Governments. This is a ghastly example….PJF
August 20th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
hello paul,
i agree with you - personally i am intrested in the second option myself.
our company is ready to invest upto 30% of the total amount for acquiring a tea estate - we require additional help of 70% from friends - we shall convert these funds as shares in the company that we takeover in proportion to the investments.
for working capital - bans have agreed to finance us at low intrest rates for the day to day running of the garden.
as for contributions from our side - we do not want any return on investment for first 3 years - we shall work for the tea estate without any charges - our team of 100 people (including managerial staff) shall help promote garden sales of tea without any commision or any expenses. we shall sign contracts with overseas buyers for the promotion of these teas and pass on all profits to the labourers.
for all shareholders options will be open - if they wish to receive dividends we will give them that otherwise we will reinvest the money into the gardens and start lifting the standard of living for people by opening hospitals, schools, recreation centres.
we need motivated people who are willing to fight for a cause to help humanity which is in a bad state at the moment.
grants or temporary help in the form of donations will not help them a long way - we have to sell their product in order for them to have a permanent solution. this is a challenge that a sales company can best take up.
thank you.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
hi sandy,
the situation basically is lack of proper sales due to lack of marketing. the owners are selling the teas below cost of production due to their inability to interact and promote their brand. this has created a situation that the gardens have a big liabilty at a certain stage and they are forced to shut down as all their supplies die down.
a proper system of marketing and management is the key to running these gardens.
today the 11 gardens in our area are lying closed and people are dying out of hunger as they have no other source of income.
we will negotiate with the owners and try and get a garden for a reasonable price but we will have to square off many liabilities - so we should expect a price ranging from 300,000 USD to 500,000 USD for a garden of appromixately 500 hectares or so.
the people working on the farms are uneducated and cannot run the farms themselves, they need support - the best way would be to start giving them shares in the form of bonuses every year and that way they will be more involved and they can make money while working in the garden and also get a part of the profits from every kilo of tea sold.
we need people to come forward and say - YES we are ready to do it - then we would be more than happy to organize a high level meeting with our central ministers and tea board of india who would really help us in furthering our task of helping the dying people.
thank you for your inquisitiveness - really grateful for your thoughtfulness…
August 21st, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Thank you for raising awareness about the poverty that exists outside of my privileged little bubble. I have no doubt that it is occurring more than we would like to hope. I just wonder if the problem is indeed more prevalent in the tea growing areas, the district of Jalpaiguiri, and the Dooars region of West Bengal compared to the rest of India. 70% of India lives on less than 2 dollars a day, about 40% is illiterate, and undernutrition among children is a leading cause of death. The biggest problem for me when it comes to wanting to contribute toward “the problem” is understanding where to begin.
August 21st, 2007 at 12:45 pm
I think you have touched upon a very important point perpleXd. I believe that the majority of people are compassionate and caring and want to help others in need. I think the reason more people don’t do anything is precisely because of what you said. The problems often seem so overwhelming and the solutions are always much more complex then they appear to be and so a common response is just to do nothing because as you said, people just don’t “understand where to begin”. It truly takes someone with a vision and a commitment to see their efforts through to the end, with all of the trials and tribulations as well as the joys of service.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Ankit,
I would recommend getting in touch with the United Farm Workers Union - http://www.ufw.org. They are helping to get decent working conditions organized for plantation workers in many third world countries and are full of ideas for setting up working condition and wage standards.
Personally, I was an activist for this union when it started and I know that agreements CAN be reached between the farmers and farm owners. It takes a good deal of grit, but it can be done.
Shen
August 21st, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Great idea Shen. I think that is something that probably needs to come further down the line though. According to what Ankit has shared with us it really sounds like considerable work needs to be done to help with the successful management and marketing of these business to increase their success rate so there is even work to be unionized around.
Ankit, is there any element of this problem promoting these estates related to the quality of the tea? Does there need to be work done with that as well?
August 21st, 2007 at 11:55 pm
hello people,
thank you for sharing your views with us. we all have been blessed by the almighty to the extent that we hve never had to think about our daily meal, our sanitation, our health problems and so on. the people that we see are living on 2 USD a day are trying to improve their condition and they are acheiving their goals when they get external support from people. we cannot help all the people that are in trouble but personally i think we should try and help as much as we can, every person that we help is one man less - it will take time but its not an impossible task. at the time of independence our countrys literacy rate was 12% - today it is 65% - this change was made by efforts - we have to start somewhere. when we started our school at doke for one free meal and free education we had ten children - today we have 400 children - we have to start …….. there are more than 400,000 children in that area that do not have access to education and perhaps they will never go to school but we have to work for their next generation - i take this as my social responsibility to humanity not just to my country.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 am
hi sandy,
my suggestion for this cooperative to help the poor labourers came at a point where we know we can all get success because we know how to go about it. i know to collect such an amount it will take time and efforts - people have to be satisfied that they are moving in the right direction - it could be that my thoughts do not make much sense and they look like an idea that will not really bear fruit but i wish to try so that my soul will be satisfied that i gave it my best shot. by gods grace if all goes well i will be able to form a cooperative with the support of my friends, family and clients and then i have a vision to start with one tea estate and then take others over. i believe as i had written earlier - we have to start somewhere …… this is what my teacher once told me in school when i asked her “mam i do not know how to give tomorow’s exam - there is just too much to do and in too less time.” she replied ” son, go ahead and start your preparation without more delay - it is never too late.”
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 am
hi shen,
thank you so much for the idea - i have already shot off an e-mail to them. will let you know once i receive a reply. your suggestions have always been very helpful - really grateful.
will keep you posted on the progress.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:17 am
hi sandy,
regarding quality - these are basically gardens making the typical old fasioned CTC tea - we need to reorganise that and switch to orthodox methods of production where we can make long leaf back tea and golden buds. we will have to segregate areas where we can produce white teas, green teas, oolong teas. there is no problem with the raw material of these gardens - we will have to organise the production facilities.
people in these gardens have not been thinking on these lines - we will have to educate them and convince them that by producing these teas our cost of production will increase slightly but our selling price will double so we will be in a profitable position.
we will have to start the process of converting these gardens into organic, apply for fair trade, start bio-dynamic practises …….. these efforts will help us win the battle in the long run.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:45 am
Aha! Therein lies the answer. You have already got the answer Ankit. These estates need to be converted to orthodox tea production to produce high quality organic whole leaf teas which will allow them to generate considerably higher profit margins. Combined with improved marketing strategies, these gardens can be much more financially viable. This will bring higher wages and shared profits which will translate to improved quality of life.
Now we just need to figure out how to gather the right group of people who can make this happen.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:01 am
yes sandy - the answers are clear - as you are aware we have a very strong marketing line up also - now all we need is a proper group of people who can pool in money and we can go ahead with this venture.
normally CTC teas sells for USD 1.5 per kilo at an average and normal orthodox long leaf tea sells for average USD 3 per kilo so the gain is substantial.
the reason why the owners are not producing long leaf teas is because firstly they are not confident and secondly they do not have a local market for it - for orthodox tea you need to have an overseas market.
fair trade, organic and bio dynamic practises will not effect the yield in a great way but the selling will further increase making the garden more profitable.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
Ankit,
You may also want to contact Mike at Taylor Maid Coffees and Teas -(www.taylormaidfarms.com). They have been active in supporting not only Coffee Kids, but co-ops of small growers and third world fair trade organizations. Percentages of their profits go directly to the farm community. Their approach has not only benefited small farmers and farm workers, but also helped to establish standards within the fair trade market.
And, in my opinion, Taylor Maid does very well, not only because their product is wonderful, but, because of the good works which they encourage and in which they participate.
Since they have been dealing this way for quite some time, I am sure they would have advice that is born of experience and success.
Shen
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:44 pm
hi shen,
i have gone thru their site - will mail them all details.
thanks for the guidance.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:00 am
Hi Sandy, Ankit and all,
Ankit brought to my attention this situation about the tea Gardens and i think it is a gesture towards humanity to get involved. Clef des Champs is concerned about the situation but we are limited in our actions, struggling in our own markets to have a comfortable place.
The degradation of this situation seems to mainly come from a lack of proper management wich led to closure. I am sure that Lochan teas experience will benefit the future developments of these gardens. As Ankit says, we need to start somewhere and commiting on one estate can lead to others being added eventually.
To go another step forward, we could name the project, start putting up together a document of participation and commitment to send partners and gain support. A restructural plan with financial, social and development figures needs to be built in order to have the banks and the partners support. Histories of similar success scenarios can be gathered to back us up. Lochan tea as an history of starting and developping tea gardens on wich we can rely.
Being well prepared to contact people is the best way to convince them, they must feel that a strong base is in place and that results are possible. We are concerned about the living condition of the people and we know the project is livable.
I am following this situation with you.
Francois Dufort
August 24th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
francois,
i am really motivated by your support - thank you very much.
we have started work on the proposals to the indian government and are also working on drawing up a detailed plan of how we would change our policies so that we can change the CTC tea attitude of the people. we have to teach them how to work on quality basis and make a living rather than on quantity and to sell below cost of production.
we are on the job and are really glad to have people like you with us.
thank you very much.
August 24th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Yes, the situation is heart wrenching. I like the various ideas that have been suggested and am in to help however I can. I do have a few thoughts on the subject. The first thing that needs to be clearly understood is, what are the real, core reasons for the problems in the first place (there is more than one). Is it just simply a poor market? Poor management? Is demand simply not high enough to support a living wage? Or, is it really a symptom of a systemic problem like over-population, governmental apathy, cultural tradition? Any attempted solutions should be targeted toward the root cause. Otherwise, all the hard work and compassionate intentions will merely provide a temporary delay of the inevitable. Once these factors are realized, effective measures can be undertaken, either business practices, humanitarian aid or both.
If it is just due to poor market conditions (under developed or over saturated) then by changing the market the problem will be resolved. Much time and money would need to be spent in order to increase demand - a slow process. The parallel effort then becomes more humanistic - providing for the workers until the market can support the costs. From a business point of view (which can be cold and ruthless), if a company can not offer viable competition in it’s market, it should perish. Tea prices already are below cost. If it is simply poor management then this gives the opportunity for someone who can run it successfully to step in and either buy out the failing company or start a new venture. Imagine a small, floundering boat, stuffed with people. If some people don’t get out then everyone will go under. It is just a matter of time. If demand can not be increased then the effort should not be to try to save a doomed business but rather to train it’s people to do an new, more marketable job. Jump out of the full boat and get into a bigger one. Again, vocational re-education takes time and money but may be the best long term use of all the efforts.
The source for the funding needs to ultimately come form the end consumer. Merchants, suppliers, and other business people can help greatly but those in the tea business know that their pockets are not that deep. The end consumer has to value the product more and in greater numbers. The average American home has at least one TV probably 2 or 3. Do they really need 3. No, but they value it enough to buy that many. The media reports of tea’s healthful effects has done a lot to increase consumption in the US. Still the over all impact on the pickers is small. Most people are good hearted and are willing to pay a little higher price for their tea if they know it is to help some worthy cause. There are just so many worthy causes asking for money that even the biggest hearted tea lover has to draw the line somewhere. In addition, they are now being asked to pay a premium for “certified organic” or “fair trade” products. Good things but again, there is a limit to what people will pay.
If the real issue is non-business related then efforts should be focused on changing the cultural factors. Changing peoples thinking is harder than increasing market demand. We are all resistant to change but it can and does happen. China’s drastic “one child” policy has been effective in reducing the crushing rise in population. Social equality of all people, regardless of class, is essential. Prejudice only solidifies the problem. The efforts of the American Civil Rights movement have profoundly changed our society. However, look how long it has taken.
I do know that as the world gets smaller and people travel to the impoverished areas, they feel more deeply the need to affect change. If more people visited the tea producing areas, they would see for themselves the work that needs to be done and be more likely to contribute their resources.
Ok, I have a lot more I could say but I’m getting ready to leave for Japan and China - leading people to the tea producing areas on the China Tea Tour.
Take care,
Dan
August 24th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
hi dan,
thanks for your positive approach towards the problem - highly appreciated.
problems :
the first problem as mentioned is marketing, the second being the type of tea being produced - at the moment all these gardens are making ordinary quality CTC tea. the management - the owners have given up hope due to the fact that they see that the tea they are producing is selling below cost of production. the reason for this is their lack of proper marketing, lack of efforts and distress selling, lack of proper finances causes them to sell at levels below the cost of prodcution thus making them unprofitable. we have to change the way the people of the area look at tea. like today what the labourers do is pluck tea leaves in quantity and then the leaves of the whole tea estate are taken to the factory and the leaves are treated as waste material people running on tea leaves, spitting around, using shovels to change the position of the tea leaves - firstly the quality that has been plucked is pathetic, secondly the way it is handled is even worse. these reasons cause the CTC tea to be harsh and bad in taste. what we will do is change the way the gardens produce tea, firstly we will stop CTC production fully as there is a low demand for CTC tea world wide. we will experiment with the bushes and divide the estate into 5 parts making 5 small factories where we shall produce hand made type teas of best quality. we will tie up with the labour on the quality of leaves subject to a minimum quantity. our target will be instead of making 1.3 USD per kilo teas - we will produce teas starting from 4 to 5 USD per kilo onwards and some teas like white teas will help us push averages real high although they will be small in quantiyty. this is the change that has to be incorporated in these estates.
humanitarian aid is a good way to help but temporary, the only way to make these people live a good life is to establish a good work for them and then make them responsible for their deeds.
the bad condition is not only due to bad marketing - this is obviously a major reason but there are other reasons too as mentioned earlier like unavailability of funds, lack of skilled labourers, lack of pace - the garden owners wont change with time - they are still stuck with the way the teas was produced earlier - CTC tea is not an answer to our tea industry - this is the main lesson that has to be taught.
there is nothing wrong with these tea estates as far as quality is concerned. it is not a sinking ship, the missing element are two - firstly the captain who has to steer it the right way, secondly the financers who have to invest and establish the facilities where the labourers can work in peace and deliver the best results.
for funds - we cannot depend on one company to shell in all the money, we have to form a group of people and make them belive that yes we can turn the table around. personally i have a deep desire to run this show and i can go the extent to take liability of everyones money invested in this venture.i am confident that if i can get my finances straight i can turn this property around in a year and it will give good benefits soon. the day these gardens are certified organic and fair trade, they will start reaping results - all we need is a will to drive us through the first stages - things will fall in line after that automatically because the labour is dying to start work, they will do anything for getting employment, they dont want to starve to death. if we can show them the right way this venture will not only help thousands but will be an example in itself unto which people can look upto.
i agree with you that people have a limit to how much they can donate - they have to draw a line somewhere - in our venture we are not asking donations - we are placing a buisness proposal where every tea shop owner or tea house person can become the proud owner of a tea estate and his investment is in safe hands - we are ready to take responsibility of the funds - all we require is some time after which we can start giving returns. a person after 3 years will be free to withdraw his capital if he wishes to. all we require is to get started - these poor people need support - just the right path ……..
regarding change - it is not possible with the curent owners as they are already in a tight spot and they do not wish to run the property anymore. they do not have funds for changing the model and are not prepared for experiments. they have lost all hopes of profitability and they wish to be released of liabilities. i agree with you that we should make all people equal in the gardens and for that i have plans - we will try and enact that and see what best we can do.
we will establish a tea resort and a tea culture park in all these tea estates that someday we will be able to take over. we shall rent out bunglows to visitors, we will encourage tourism and find more ways by which revenue can be earned for the garden and the people associated with us.
thank you once again for all your support and views - i want to do this venture seriously and am ready to work with a group of people to make it a success. i am looking for ward to your help and support.
best of luck for your china tea tour - i am sure it will go very well.
have a nice day!
August 24th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
There are corrections everywhere, in all the industries. Death of tea gardens is one such correction in India tea industry.
Marginal tea gardens are dying while the younger tea industry of Dinajpur area is prospering.
The norm of 50 years tea bush age was not adhered to in these marginal dying tea estates, which never uprooted and replanted their 100 years plus old tea areas.
There are tea areas in Fujian where 5 year planting and uprooting cycle is followed, 25 years is followed in many areas and 50 years is considered a threshold. But prolonging them to 100 years plus is stretching too far.
This happened due to a very heavy leaning on Russian market since 1960s. Everybody slept in convenience till 1990s and the breakdown of earstwhile USSR was a rude awakening. By then Sri Lanka and Kenya had taken over Indian teas in virtually every other markets, except local Indian markets, where newly opened up tea area started producing additional teas and created a glut, thereby forcing the marginal tea estates to become sick due to bad economics.
Tea garden owners of good and progressive companies kept updating their tea bushes and factories with newer varities and machineries and were competitive and made excellent teas.
Change is a way of life and death is a natural occurence. But a poor labourer is at the punishing end of these cycles. And it is our duty to look after them. Instead of pity they look forward to support from responsible and capable quarters.
Let us do that as consious consumers and producers if others are failing. Long live the Tea.
August 31st, 2007 at 8:11 am
Ankit,
Thank you for contacting me to make me aware that this conversation was even happening. That I wasn’t aware of it prior speaks to my general lack of awareness to important issues like the one at hand. I should make more time in my days, weeks, etc to keep up with discussions and happenings via websites like T-Ching, but the reality of the situation for me and many like me with small teahouses is that I run myself ragged with 70 to 90 hours a week of just trying to keep my little part of the tea industry alive. That being said I’m not unsympathetic to the issue and I’m just as moved and excited to be involved with the solutions as those of you who are obviously more aware and wiser than myself.
I loved the idea of buying a tea garden or two as part of a cooperative. I see that poor marketing is being mentioned as one of the problems. As a person attempting to make a living selling and serving tea, yet not being aware of this issue, I’m practically a poster child for the general unawareness of the lazy American businessman… shame on me.
What do I have to offer? No deep pockets here, but perhaps my customer base can be of assistance. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I’d be willing to promote the idea of buying a garden to them, if this is even a direction you’re willing to explore. I’m not sure that this would work, or even that you would want to have customers of a small teahouse in Newburyport, Massachusetts as part of the owners of this tea garden. I can also market the teas to my customers, carry the teas in my teahouse, perhaps keep an ongoing fundraiser where 50% of profit from any pot of tea or any bulk tea purchased from the tea(s) from this theoretic garden are given directly back to the garden.
What else can I do? I’m willing to donate some of my time and I’m open to suggestions as to how I can be part of all of this. I’m not the answer man… but I’d like to help.
September 3rd, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I’m also open to helping in whatever way makes the most sense. I like Bil’s idea of opening shares to tea shop customers, and also marketing the resulting teas to customers and using that to raise funds as well. My husband is in the process of opening a retail tea shop and I know he’s going to be interested in getting involved in some way.
September 4th, 2007 at 4:45 am
hi bil,
thank you very much for showing your willingness to support the closed tea estates. we do not wish that someone comes forward and purchases the tea estate - we want to form a cooperative and have many people invest in it and then all the people involved will automatically help in selling the tea - this will help us have a long term solution.
we will then go on to apply more ideas like reinvestment of profits etc.
if some of your clients are interested in joining us - it would be real nice. we are open to discussions.
i have been able to convince my company to invest about 30% of the funds that we would require - looking for more help now.
September 4th, 2007 at 4:48 am
hi lisa,
we are open to the idea of having partners as this would give us all a reason to work for the estate thus making the garden healthy.
we are really interested to have more and more people join us.
how about organising a meeting at the WTE in las vegas and throwing open an offer where people could invest in a cooperative that would take over estates that were in trouble.
looking forward to more ideas and views.