Brewing change in tea estates

The Community Agriculture Program (CAP) organizes Women Self-Help Groups to promote farming during the winter and monsoon seasons. Photo: HLDRC
The Community Agriculture Program (CAP) organizes Women Self-Help Groups to promote farming during the winter and monsoon seasons.
The Human Life Development & Research Centre (HLDRC) was established in 2013 to address the social and economic poverty of tea workers in North Bengal and the violation of their human rights.
India’s tea gardens are popular as scenic Northeast vacation destinations. But behind the serene facade of acres of gently rolling green hills is a culture that is exploitative and cruel to the workers, especially to young women and children who practically work as indentured labourers. Extremely low daily wages of 220 Indian rupees ($3.63 ) for eight hours of work in tea plantations push thousands of young people to migrate to other states where they can earn more.
HLDRC set out to address the root causes of this poverty and work towards long term solutions, focusing on accessing acquired legal rights. HLDRC’s Community Agriculture Program (CAP) organizes Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in remote villages to promote farming during the winter and monsoon seasons. We have explored ways to access large tracts of unutilized land around tea gardens and forest areas for livelihood activities. It was an opportunity to engage villagers in agricultural activities, increase food production and manage the economic crisis at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. SHGs in the Lankapara and Bamadanga Tea Estates have already started farming larger tracts of land, each cultivating eight acres and 20 acres, respectively.
Major challenges remain: the monsoon season continues to aff ect agriculture; elephants occasionally destroy crops; and there is a need to develop an irrigation system during the winter season for crops such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, and more. These winter crops have the potential to generate larger income for many villages.
Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) has supported HLDRC for nearly a decade. Its support is invaluable in building the capacity of leaders and strengthening organizations in tea plantation communities in North Bengal. HLDRC’s goal is to improve the lives of thousands of men, women and youth and children in this region through social transformation. We are one step closer to achieving that goal because of CJI and its supporters.