ASIA/INDIA - Bosco Tea Project for more than 700 tea laborers

Dimapur (Agenzia Fides) - India is one of the largest tea producers in the world. The districts of Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia in the Indian state of Assam, in the northeastern region of the country, have a large number of tea estates. The tea gardens are tended to by laborers who despite working long hours, often do not make enough wages to meet their basic needs or escape poverty. According to a note sent to Fides Agency by Ans, The Bosco Tea Project was financed by the Dimapur Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco to help tea garden laborers. Many tea laborers own their own small parcels of land but, for various reasons, leave the land uncultivated while they leave home to work at larger tea estates. In times of financial crisis, they are often forced to mortgage their land for small loans and when they are unable to repay the loans, the land is forfeited.
The Project was developed in 2008 to help tea garden laborers in Assam. Beginning with just one sponsor, the project was able to help 50 families. Today, with the support of five sponsors, the project is helping more than 700 families. The goal of the project is to help tea laborers begin to cultivate their own land, giving them an opportunity to become owners of their own small tea gardens and develop a long-term sustainable income. Through the project, tea laborers are provided start-up assistance either through financial resources or through the donation of tea saplings. Laborers are also taught business and technical skills relating to the tea market and, capitalizing on their years of working on larger tea estates, they are able to develop a sustainable income to help them escape poverty. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 10/10/2014)