Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, second only to water. It comes in many varieties: black, green, white, oolong, and herbal. Tea is celebrated for its health benefits, from antioxidants to its calming effects, and it continues to play a major role in global culture and commerce.
In recent decades, tea has experienced a revival in interest, with a growing market for specialty teas, such as artisanal blends, organic teas, and matcha. The modern-day global tea market is vast, and tea continues to evolve as both a daily beverage and a symbol of tradition, health, and innovation. It can solve 3 key problems, particularly in the Himalayas:
Urban migration - young folks are moving to megacities in search of work which fragments the family and drives unsustainable urban growth
Land degradation - abandoned farmland due to the fragmented family deteriorates into unusable dirt
Climate change - increased droughts and floods trigger catastrophic landslides
Tea is one clear solution:
Tea creates rural jobs and reverses urban migration
Tea revitalizes wasted farmland and is an anchor crop for biodiversity
Tea leaves drink CO2 which gets stored in their roots and removed from the atmosphere
Tea is a gender economic equalizer -
And the outcome of what my guest has started is aligned with many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Young Mountain Tea partners with farmers in North India to get a new factory up and running. Tea farmers, 90% being women, will launch their region's first community-owned tea factory. This factory will be a blueprint for a model of sustainable change in the tea industry, eventually throughout the Himalayas and the world.
Building A Sustainable Future For Himalayan Farmers And Their Families is truly a social enterprise.
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