We're getting ready to share a few "Tales of Tea" with folks this spring,
but til then, check out our flavourful black & green teas, available at
Edible Island Whole Foods, 477-6th Street, in the heart of downtown Courtenay!
If your group or organization would like to sell or serve tea at an upcoming event,
let us know - with a little advance notice, we can also prepare
a flavourful chai blend for you to have on hand!
let us know - with a little advance notice, we can also prepare
a flavourful chai blend for you to have on hand!
....past presentations of stories, people and unique teas from the heart of Assam!
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Change is brewing in the tea industry in Assam, and the small tea co-operative is always happy to share information about the history of tea, tea culture in India,
and stories about the amazing people and places we visited over the years!
We have presentations designed for people of all ages and backgrounds, including Growers and Seed Savers Groups
- Elementary and secondary schools
- Colleges
- Fair Trade Organizations
- Multicultural Associations
- Church Groups, and
- Service Clubs
If you'd like to arrange a presentation, contact us at [email protected]!
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The small tea co-operative and our partners at Fertile Ground regularly take part in fair trade events here on Vancouver Island.
We also provide information about our work in Assam to various groups, schools and organizations. |
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The story behind the small tea co-operative...........
Control over the production and sale of tea has been in the hands of powerful business interests since it first became a commodity in the mid 1800’s. Established by the British East India Company after they lost their tea trade monopoly with China, Assam’s tea plantations have had a large influence over the culture and economy of the region. Aggressive land-use policies stripped the indigenous people of their land rights and encouraged European and non-Assamese entrepreneurs to develop an industry that has been an important foreign exchange earner for the country for the past century.
In 1998, when long-time social activists Kel Kelly and Peggy Carswell were asked by local fair-traders working with the World Community Development Education Society to track down a few small-scale growers who could provide a supply of organic tea, they jumped at the chance to return to Assam. They spent several months traveling throughout the state, riding on buses, in rickshaws and even on the backs of elephants to small villages where tea was, for the first time, being grown as a cash crop by local people. Early on, they discovered that most of the tea being grown at these family-owned gardens was destined for factories owned by some of the big players in tea who were happy to find a local source of green leaves.
Unfortunately, most of the new tea entrepreneurs had little or no training in cultivation of tea. The information they had picked up was strongly influenced by practices used in large-scale commercial tea plantations which relied on monoculture, heavy use of chemical inputs and a large under-paid and overworked work force. Without training and access to appropriately-sized processing equipment, it would be a challenge to locate independent growers who could supply the Canadian market with organic tea.
In 1998, when long-time social activists Kel Kelly and Peggy Carswell were asked by local fair-traders working with the World Community Development Education Society to track down a few small-scale growers who could provide a supply of organic tea, they jumped at the chance to return to Assam. They spent several months traveling throughout the state, riding on buses, in rickshaws and even on the backs of elephants to small villages where tea was, for the first time, being grown as a cash crop by local people. Early on, they discovered that most of the tea being grown at these family-owned gardens was destined for factories owned by some of the big players in tea who were happy to find a local source of green leaves.
Unfortunately, most of the new tea entrepreneurs had little or no training in cultivation of tea. The information they had picked up was strongly influenced by practices used in large-scale commercial tea plantations which relied on monoculture, heavy use of chemical inputs and a large under-paid and overworked work force. Without training and access to appropriately-sized processing equipment, it would be a challenge to locate independent growers who could supply the Canadian market with organic tea.
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Times have changed in Assam and other north east states in the past few years, and the number of small tea growers has increased significantly. Awareness of the high cost - both environmental and fiscally - of reying on chemical inputs is growing, as is the availability of fresh, locally-grown teas. For most small-scale producers, fnding markets - locally, domestically and internationally - is challenging, but the number of growers growing and making naturally-grown teas is increasing on an annual basis.
One of the significant changes we've seen take place in the past 20 years has been the creation of an informal network of men and women from many different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds who are sharing their knowledge, their experience and their time with growers from Assam, Tripura (see below), Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan!
One of the significant changes we've seen take place in the past 20 years has been the creation of an informal network of men and women from many different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds who are sharing their knowledge, their experience and their time with growers from Assam, Tripura (see below), Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan!
The small tea cooperative has worked closely with Level Ground Trading, a direct trade company based in Victoria, BC, Canada. Level Ground is now marketing teas made by independent growers and producers in north east India in stores across Canada and the United States.
While we are still the small tea cooperative - in name and in size - we are continuing our efforts to support the development and awareness of the small tea growers in Assam and the north east.
While we are still the small tea cooperative - in name and in size - we are continuing our efforts to support the development and awareness of the small tea growers in Assam and the north east.
