The woman with two fistfuls of tea leaves below lives in Makaibari, India, just south of Darjeeling, in the middle of India’s world-famous tea-growing region. Makaibari is home to one of the only organic tea gardens in the area, and produces some of the best tea in the world. It’s so good, in fact, that they sell all of their product before it’s even produced.
This lady gets paid 120 rupees, or about $2, per day. That may not sound like much, but it’s a decent wage in this part of India, especially considering that unlike many tea pickers at other gardens, she works in a chemical-free environment (because Makaibari is all bio-organic), and works in the same place where she lives.
The whole region looks like this; endless shrubberies dotted with colorfully-dressed women picking leaves. Chances are, if you drink black tea, it came from somewhere around here.
Our tea guide explains something or other about tea growing. It was all really interesting, but beyond me, and not likely to be useful information for the near future, so I immediately forgot everything I learned.
Not being a big tea drinker myself, I was mostly just taken aback by the intense beauty of the whole area. The steep rugged hillsides, the way that, interspersed with the tea plants fruit trees and herbal plants had also been planted, to provide shade and resistance to pests, not to mention provide food for the locals!
Our guide, Mr. Sherpa, is from the area has been working here for years. He just got engaged and hopes to keep this tea growing sustainable so that his children might also be able to live and work here.
Roots of what I think is a Banyan tree. These things are always amazing.
The way I came upon Makaibari was really serendipitous. From Siliguri, Mike and I were hoofing it up the incredibly steep road, aptly named the “Cart Path,” when my aging chain suddenly snapped, and unable to unclip fast enough, I simply fell over in the road. I was fine, and the fix wouldn’t take too long, but it was already getting pretty dark and I knew it would be quite a while before I made it to our destination. Just as I was pondering what to do, a man stepped out of the shadows and said “Hey, do you need some help?” Well as it turns out, I did! To make a long story short, if the chain hadn’t snapped, I would’ve just passed through here and never gotten to know the place. Instead, because of what at first seemed like a semi-dire situation, I spent three days at a wonderful homestay eating incredible food, drinking great tea and moonshine, and touring this incredible organic tea plantation. Serendipity is one of my favorite things about travel, and especially bicycle travel. It doesn’t come automatically, however. To take advantage of serendipitous opportunities, you have to keep your mind open, your plans indecisive, your heart trusting, and your soul unhurried. I think being on the bike, I’ve learned to nurture this ability pretty well, and I hope that in the years to come I won’t forget this very important skill.
While at Makaibari, I ran into a nice lady named Lucy who works for Twinings, the tea company. They sent her here all the way from England to research organic tea growing! Check out her blog if you get a chance – lucetea.tumblr.com
This lady gets paid 120 rupees, or about $2, per day. That may not sound like much, but it’s a decent wage in this part of India, especially considering that unlike many tea pickers at other gardens, she works in a chemical-free environment (because Makaibari is all bio-organic), and works in the same place where she lives.
The whole region looks like this; endless shrubberies dotted with colorfully-dressed women picking leaves. Chances are, if you drink black tea, it came from somewhere around here.
Our tea guide explains something or other about tea growing. It was all really interesting, but beyond me, and not likely to be useful information for the near future, so I immediately forgot everything I learned.
Not being a big tea drinker myself, I was mostly just taken aback by the intense beauty of the whole area. The steep rugged hillsides, the way that, interspersed with the tea plants fruit trees and herbal plants had also been planted, to provide shade and resistance to pests, not to mention provide food for the locals!
Our guide, Mr. Sherpa, is from the area has been working here for years. He just got engaged and hopes to keep this tea growing sustainable so that his children might also be able to live and work here.
Roots of what I think is a Banyan tree. These things are always amazing.
The way I came upon Makaibari was really serendipitous. From Siliguri, Mike and I were hoofing it up the incredibly steep road, aptly named the “Cart Path,” when my aging chain suddenly snapped, and unable to unclip fast enough, I simply fell over in the road. I was fine, and the fix wouldn’t take too long, but it was already getting pretty dark and I knew it would be quite a while before I made it to our destination. Just as I was pondering what to do, a man stepped out of the shadows and said “Hey, do you need some help?” Well as it turns out, I did! To make a long story short, if the chain hadn’t snapped, I would’ve just passed through here and never gotten to know the place. Instead, because of what at first seemed like a semi-dire situation, I spent three days at a wonderful homestay eating incredible food, drinking great tea and moonshine, and touring this incredible organic tea plantation. Serendipity is one of my favorite things about travel, and especially bicycle travel. It doesn’t come automatically, however. To take advantage of serendipitous opportunities, you have to keep your mind open, your plans indecisive, your heart trusting, and your soul unhurried. I think being on the bike, I’ve learned to nurture this ability pretty well, and I hope that in the years to come I won’t forget this very important skill.
While at Makaibari, I ran into a nice lady named Lucy who works for Twinings, the tea company. They sent her here all the way from England to research organic tea growing! Check out her blog if you get a chance – lucetea.tumblr.com
