Our Nepali Tea Growers
Kanchanjangha Tea Estate
1960's - A Dream Inspired.
Deepak Baskota grew up in the impoverished village of Phidim in eastern Nepal during the 1960’s. When Deepak was 15, he travelled to the renowned tea growing region of nearby Darjeeling, India. Inspired by the beauty of the tea gardens and surprised by the high standard of living of the tea farmers, Deepak thought tea farming could help improve the living conditions in his village.
Georgia probably isn’t on your short list of countries that produce world-class teas. You’ve probably never had Georgian tea—or even knew it was grown there. And we’re not talking the U.S. state of Georgia, but rather the Republic of Georgia that sits on the far-eastern boarder of Europe. nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
But tea from Georgia? Here’s how it happened.
Georgia probably isn’t on your short list of countries that produce world-class teas. You’ve probably never had Georgian tea—or even knew it was grown there. And we’re not talking the U.S. state of Georgia, but rather the Republic of Georgia that sits on the far-eastern boarder of Europe. nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
But tea from Georgia? Here’s how it happened.
1970's - A Dream Persists.
Deepak’s vision would marinate for several years before he presented his idea to his village elders and neighbors. When he did, it was promptly rejected by everyone.
Undaunted by the lack of support from his fellow villagers, Deepak decided he would do this on his own and started by testing the soil in the village. Carrying two large sacks filled with soil, he travelled on foot to the nearest testing lab, which was a three day journey.
When he finally arrived, an exhausted Deepak handed the two large sacks to the lab technician, who matter-of-factly said he actually only needed a small handful for the soil test.
It turned out the soil was perfect for growing tea.
1984 - A Dream Realized.
Unfortunately, Deepak knew nothing about growing tea, so he sought help from tea specialists in Darjeeling, learning as much as could about orthodox tea production. One of the techniques he learned about was very exciting to Deepak, it was something new called “organic farming”.
Armed with this new knowledge, Deepak again approached his neighbors and friends in the village about using their land to plant tea. They again said, “No”. So, he planted the tea on his own land and within three years he was successfully producing and selling tea.
Seeing Deepak’s success, the villagers began asking him about doing the same on their land. Eventually, a group of more than 100 farmers pooled their marginal land holdings and created a 95 hectares tea estate called Kanchanjangha Tea Estate (KTE). They would go on to eventually build a factory to process their tea and become the first Certified Organic Tea Estate in Nepal .
Georgia probably isn’t on your short list of countries that produce world-class teas. You’ve probably never had Georgian tea—or even knew it was grown there. And we’re not talking the U.S. state of Georgia, but rather the Republic of Georgia that sits on the far-eastern boarder of Europe. nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
But tea from Georgia? Here’s how it happened.
Georgia probably isn’t on your short list of countries that produce world-class teas. You’ve probably never had Georgian tea—or even knew it was grown there. And we’re not talking the U.S. state of Georgia, but rather the Republic of Georgia that sits on the far-eastern boarder of Europe. nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
But tea from Georgia? Here’s how it happened.
Today - KTE is Changing Lives.
This group of 100+ farmers has come a long way since that day in 1984. Today, the lives of the people living in the remote village of Phidim have been changed for the better because of a young boy’s dream. Houses are being built, scholarships are being funded, schools are being opened (pictured on left) cows are being provided to supplement incomes, and the adverse effects of the COVID pandemic are alleviated with financial assistance programs.
Chai House is proud to work with partners like KTE to help make the world a better place.
KTE Family
Phidim, Pantchar District, Eastern Nepal
Deepak Baskota
A boy with a dream and now, the founder and chairman of KTE.
Dambar Kumari Baskota
The mother of Deepak Baskota. She planted the first tea bush in their backyard in 1984. Dambar has been a mother to all of the tea farmers and their families who make up the KTE cooperative.
Ratna Rai
KTE's oldest employee. Ratna laid the foundation for the factory building that still produces tea. He assisted in the construction of the building and was employed later to run the oven for the drying machine.
Dhan Bahadur
Dhan has been KTE factory truck driver for more than 20 years. He enjoys driving the truck up the dangerously steep, winding, dusty roads on the plantation that others find intimidating.
Rita Baskota
As the first and the youngest supervisor at KTE, Rita is blazing the trail as a role model for Nepali women to enter the tea industry at the managerial level.