The ongoing third edition of Fairtrade week (until December 2), which has seen the participation of 16 brands across sectors, has an interesting debutante: fresh flavours from Happy Valley, a tea brand that declares its commitment to the welfare of the workers in its tea estates in Darjeeling and Assam.
Organic and fair-trade certified earlier this week, its latest products comprise premium Assam black tea, and ‘Mystique Darjeeling’ white tea grown on its estates. “We ensure you know exactly where your tea is coming from, which is not the case if you buy run-of-the-mill packs from the supermarket. With the fairtrade promise, you can be sure that your purchase benefits the workers at our farms,” says Indroneel Goho, CEO, Darjeeling Organic Tea Estates, which owns the brand, and has 14 tea gardens in Darjeeling and another three in Assam.
At the tea estates, apart from ensuring fair wages, there is also a push towards providing better living conditions, sanitation and education. “We see results — for instance, the child of a peon who studied at our school has now joined the company at a managerial level,” he explains, adding that there has been a steady demand for fairtrade goods internationally.
Happy Valley is also part of the Ambootia Tea Group, among the first tea producers to sign on to the fairtrade promise over 20 years ago. “In India, people have always been receptive to such products and by telling them more about how their consumer choices affect workers, demand is growing,” says Goho.
Launching on December 5. ₹650 for 25 gms of white tea and ₹275 for 250 gms of black tea. Details: happyvalleytea.com
