Pashok Tea Cooperative

Traditionally, tea has been grown on the steep slopes of the Himalayan foothills near Darjeeling, a city in northern India near the border with Nepal. The Nepali immigrants living in that area supported their families by picking tea on large plantations.When the tea plantations closed in the 1950's due to mismanagement, the workers lost their main source of income. Attempts at subsistence farming were unsuccessful because of the high altitude and poor soil quality. Tea cultivation was what they knew. With management, marketing, and technical assistance from a group of tea promoters in Darjeeling, the persistent group of small farmers have organized themselves into the Pashok Tea Cooperative and have initiated several community development projects. Sales of certified-organic English Breakfast, Green, Masala Chai, Earl Grey, and Darjeeling teas in Europe and the U.S. are offering hope to the 448 families which belong to the cooperative.

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“In the cooperative we work together, everyone supports each other. When SERRV places an order with us we are happy because there is work. It is a source of hope.' - Margarita Torres - ACOOPRAC, El Salvador

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