Mindsets of tea planters have to change: Erstwhile owner of Makaibari estate

The author sits down with Rajah Banerjee — planter and erstwhile owner of the Makaibari tea estate in Kurseong, to discuss the environment and ecology of the Darjeeling hills, much of it in connection with the tea gardens

IFS AND BUDS: Tea planter Rajah Banerjee.

Vivek Chhetri, TT, 04.02.24 : All talk about Darjeeling tends to become about Gorkhaland. Here, Vivek Chhetri sits down with Swaraj Kumar Banerjee — better known as Rajah Banerjee — planter and erstwhile owner of the Makaibari tea estate in Kurseong, to discuss the environment and ecology of the hills, much of it in connection with the tea gardens, of course

Q. Tea planters have over the years cleared forests, commercialised

agriculture and introduced mono-culture, which to extent has destroyed the biodiversity of this region. You have been a tea planter for 53 years. As a planter, do you take the blame on behalf of your ilk for destroying the environment of Darjeeling?

I am not a tea planter; I am a tree planter. Unless tea is considered part of the whole ecosystem of Darjeeling, it is bound to collapse. The destruction of ecology started with the British. And after they left, we were happy to toe the line of the old system of colonial hierarchical management to force production.

Q. Did you do nothing by way of course correction?

Drive the Pankhabari way, from Siliguri to Darjeeling, and you will see how the road around Makaibari does not collapse. You know why? Because I planted five million indigenous trees. It was an expensive project. I had 13 private rangers to help me from day one. Each household (in the tea garden) was encouraged to grow saplings every year, which I bought for them. This is why every acre of the tea estate is ensconced with two acres of indigenous forest. The mulch we created with mixed grasses, legumes and herbs protected our soil from erosion, stymied weed growth and preserved moisture during water stress. No one is interested in creating mulch.

Q. Do you think that other gardens have failed the environment of Darjeeling?

They don’t care. They only pursue the flavour of the balance sheet. What we did in Makaibari was stakeholder participation, women’s empowerment with alternative energy... Outside India, yes, our tea sold at phenomenal prices and the money was recycled back into the community. (In 2014, a specialised Makaibari tea sold for Rs 1.12 lakh per kilogram.)

Q. Are you fine with the organic certification process?

Just removing chemicals from the soil does not make it organic. Where is the fertilisation plan? It took me 15 years to establish the plan. I had to provide cows, train up people to make compost and then I bought the compost from them. I needed 1,200 tonnes of manure to replace the 50-60 tonnes of chemical manure. You still have gardens situated on the fringe of wildlife sanctuaries using fertilisers.

Q. What is the way out?

Mindsets of tea planters have to change. You must have stakeholder partnerships with holistic content. Community involvement focusing on women’s empowerment is important. In Makaibari we had three NGOs to look after various aspects, we encouraged homestays among workers. The future of tea is not tea, it lies in jari-buti (herbs), indigenous plants, and it is going to be the next big business; tea will only be the icing on the cake.

Q. Talking about women’s empowerment, you had promised to transfer your 15 per cent share in Makaibari to women workers. But this never happened, why?

I waited for three years but there were no takers. One could investigate to find the real reasons why there were no takers. Yes, I do consider this to be one of my biggest failures.

Q. You are now talking about herbs as the next big thing only after selling all your Makaibari shares.

No, we were working on herbs through one of the NGOs we had formed in Makaibari. It was successful but yes, we did not take it forward as a separate company. Now we are doing it through Rimpocha (his company selling organic Darjeeling tea). I am sending my people to Italy to be trained on preserving the herb so that it can hit the markets.

Q. Was your tea business in Makaibari profitable when you sold off your shares?

Yes, it was. I sold it because there was no successor; my children do not want to come back here.

Q. You are talking about herbs, but it is the tea gardens and the forest department who have alienated local people from their ancestral forest. In such a situation can large-scale herb cultivation be a success?

The proof of the pudding is in its eating. The model we set up in Makaibari became profitable in three years. We are now working in four villages of Darjeeling hills rather successfully. When the tea gardens break down, we have a solution to replace them.

Q. Do you want the tea gardens to break down?

They will break down. The writing is on the wall. If someone wants to be an ostrich, then it is their call.