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India

Thousands of Indian families have worked and lived for more than a century behind the fences of tea estates. Today, driven by need and inspired by ideas, they are remaking a world too often governed by colonial strictures.

Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

In India as in many parts of the world, tradition and change exist side by side. This woman in the northeast Darjeeling region has plucked tea leaves from this steeply sloped estate for 25 years. Hauling massive baskets up the precipitous growing area makes for a grueling day’s work that yielded barely enough to live on. Now, Mercy Corps and Tazo Tea are creating a grassroots organisation in which workers are becoming self-sufficient. We’re teaching small-scale tea farmers sustainable ways to grow organic teas — and how to sell them for a fair price.

Special Report:  Reinterpreting Tea Leaves ›

Topics: Women's Empowerment, Peaceful Change, Marginalized Groups, Livelihoods, Economic Development, Agriculture

Mercy Corps and Tazo Tea Company are helping almost 13,000 people empower themselves and find opportunities to build better lives for themselves, their families and communities.

Blog Post:  Gearing up for the climate change concert ›

Topics: Climate Change

Ahead of the "Say It's Possible" Climate Change Concert in Srinagar, I thought I'd share the poster and radio spot that Terra Naomi recorded for us.

Say it's Possible ›

Topics: Climate Change
On Dec. 7, while the world’s leaders gather in Copenhagen, YouTube sensation Terra Naomi will perform a special concert in India's ecologically sensitive Kashmir Valley. Join Mercy Corps and Terra Naomi's efforts to fight climate change on behalf of the world's poor.

Blog Post:  Video: India's tea country hosts Peace Day football festival ›

Topics: Sports, Peaceful Change

As part of Mercy Corps' celebration of International Peace Day, as football festival was held at the Dhooteray Ground in Darjeeling, India, on September 21.

Helping Assamese Women Go Back to School ›

Topics: Women's Empowerment

With funding from the Western Union Foundation, Mercy Corps is helping Anami and more than 300 other Assamese women learn to read and write.

Promoting Fuel-Efficiency in Darjeeling ›

Topics: Climate Change, Economic Development, Environment, Rural

Mercy Corps is aiming to address poverty by helping poor communities use fuel more efficiently.

Blog Post:  The past three weeks ›

This post to Mercy Corps’ blog is three weeks overdue but, in my defence, it’s been a pretty incredible three weeks.

Video:  Teen Honored With Global Action Award ›

Topics: Health, Global Engagement

Mercy Corps' Global Action Awards honor young people who have taken outstanding actions to fight global poverty. In 2008, Sindhu Ravishankar was one of four Global Action Award recipients.

Video:  Creative Jobs Keep Teens Close to Home ›

Topics: Youth, Rural, Livelihoods

Darjeeling is in the foothills of the Himalayas in northeast India and is famous for producing fine teas. Tea estates are enormous and employ roughly 25% of the local population.

The Spirit of Social Responsibility ›

Tazo Tea's Keith Hutjens talks about the roots and philosophy of the Community Health and Advancement Initiative (CHAI) and the company's commitment to social responsibility.

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India Facts

  • Population (2008): 1.15 billion
  • Size: 7th largest country
  • Human Development Index rank: 132 (out of 179)
  • Mercy Corps has worked here since 2001
  • Number living on less than $1 a day: 381 million
  • Average tea plucker's daily wage: US$1-2
  • Literacy rate throughout India: 61 percent
  • Estimated literacy rate of tea estate workers: 30 percent

Program Details

Mercy Corps is working in India to build community collaboration and fulfill dire health and economic needs.

Read more ›

Related Posts

Recent posts on globalenvision.org, Mercy Corps' student-written blog that explores the confluence of markets and poverty alleviation through news, commentary and discussion.

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