Nepal – Page 7 – Discovering Tea

An amusing combination

6 February 2015

The beliefs of some do not prohibit the humour of others. While I’m often attracted to religious places because of their emotional force or architectural beauty, I generally don’t have too much time for religion. While I was out walking somewhere in the Himalayas, I spotted these Buddhist prayer flags (on the top line) alongside some laundry hung out to dry (bottom line). This juxtaposition caught my eye and I instantly took out my camera in order to record this amusing combination. A local woman watched me from her doorstep, bemused, as I took photos of her underwear.

A good year starts with a good bed

16 January 2015

Travelling to far-away places introduces me to unknown occupations. It’s said we should air our beds from time to time, and that’s probably because we don’t have a mattress shaker. The man knocks at your door and you give him your bedding. He begins by unpicking the stitching; then, using a stick, he mixes up all the stuffing – raw cotton in this case – before placing it back in the mattress, which he stitches up again. All ready for a good night’s sleep.

Best wishes for 2015

2 January 2015

Seeing in the new year can be an opportunity to celebrate, but also to take a look at oneself, to review the past year and make some resolutions. It can be good, sometimes, to look at the world with fresh eyes, to try and see the positive in things. It can be good to think how lucky we are, and to consider what we could do to make the world a better place tomorrow than it is today. I wish you a very Happy New Year, I hope you travel along some rewarding paths, and do some interesting and enjoyable things. I hope, whatever your age, that you have a good life ahead of you.

A characteristic of Nepal

12 December 2014

In Nepal, many tea factories have no land. They must buy fresh tea leaves from local farmers. This often allows for greater equity. On the other hand, traceability is not as easy, and the factory manager must spend time with each farmer to ensure his production methods are clean.

Yaad Bahadur Limbu, “tea father” of Soyam

5 December 2014

In his village of Soyam, Yaad Bahadur Limbu is known as the “tea father”. He was the first to plant tea in the village, and today, tea is its main source of income. Everyone is involved. To reach Soyam, you must cross a suspension bridge and then climb for several hours. You pass terraced rice paddies and fields of millet, and cross farmyards. When Soyam’s villagers harvest the tea leaves, they are transported on horseback. This requires four or five horses. They take the same path as the one that had me huffing and puffing, and they cross the same suspension bridge. Each horse wears a pack saddle allowing it to carry a load of 100 kilos. The caravan takes five hours to reach the factory, and must return to the village the same evening. It is a long expedition.

Labour shortage in Nepal

21 November 2014

Nowadays, the main problem facing Nepalese tea producers is a labour shortage. A significant portion of the population has left to find work in the Gulf countries or in Malaysia. This means the tea is only plucked once a fortnight on some mountains, which compromises its quality. Luckily, the plantations that produce the best teas are less affected. This problem does not only concern tea. The whole of the country’s manufacturing and farming sectors have been hit too.

Andrew Gardner: passionate about supporting Nepalese teas

14 November 2014

I have just returned from Nepal, where I had the opportunity to spend several days with my friend Andrew Gardner, who came to join me in Ilam valley. He had planned a four-hour walk for me, to reach a village of small producers. Andrew has worked on several plantations, but you could say he was the first to make very good teas in Nepal. We owe the renaissance of tea in the country to him. He started by working at Jun Chiyabari, and he is now applying his talents at Guranse. He’s passionate about what he does.

Nepal: exceptional teas and scenery

7 November 2014

Nepal produces some very fine teas, but so few people know about them! You have to travel for hours, and sometimes walk, to reach the mountains where the tea is grown. On the way I admire the scenery, with the paddy fields carved into terraces. The farmers work using the old methods, with the help of a buffalo. Life passes slowly. You listen to the birds sing. They announce the harvest time.

An isolated farm at the end of the world

26 September 2014

During my childhood, I spent every summer in Brittany, on a small island without running water or electricity. I learnt to economise on resources. So I don’t feel out of place when I find myself at the end of the world, on a fairly isolated farm with no mod cons. I feel good. I don’t miss anything, other than what is superfluous.

Manual skills are still essential in tea production

12 September 2014

In most tea-producing countries, the best teas are plucked by hand. This means that growing high quality tea often requires the participation of many men and women. Not only is harvesting the leaves a meticulous task, but sorting them just before they are packed and dispatched is also done by hand. The work demands incredible patience.

After rice, tea is the agricultural resource that employs the greatest number of people around the world.