In the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas, Young Mountain Tea is working to create a new system for producing premium specialty tea that can improve the income of smallholder farmers. The company, founded by Raj Vable, is focused on helping Himalayan farmers raise the quality of their tea in order to improve their lives. The ultimate goal is to create systems change that breaks away from the colonial legacy of the tea industry.
Vable initially got connected to the region while working on solar electrification projects. He noticed that farmers in the area were facing challenges due to young people migrating to cities, leaving behind mostly women to manage the farmland. Seeing an opportunity to tap into the agricultural expertise of the farmers, Vable proposed starting a tea company with the co-op of farmers. In 2013, Young Mountain Tea was founded, with the aim of selling high-quality tea to improve farmers’ income.
After facing challenges with the tea crop failing, Vable learned about a government program to grow tea in another part of the state. He partnered with tea farmer Desmond Birkbeck to establish Kumaon Tea in 2022. By purchasing tea processed in a government-run factory, Vable was able to meet U.S. food-safety compliance regulations and begin selling tea in the U.S. The company aims to produce premium tea that appeals to health-conscious consumers.
Realizing the need for a new factory to produce the desired high-quality tea, Vable spent two-and-a-half years working on the legal structure for a farmer-owned factory. The factory, which will be owned by a company in India with Birkbeck as the CEO, aims to ensure that farmers have ownership in the profitable parts of the process. By involving multiple entities in the process, the company hopes to create a resilient system that can have a lasting impact on the tea industry.
Kumaon Tea’s farmers, most of whom are women, are expected to earn five times the normal commodity rates for their tea harvest. Through collective ownership in the factory and owning the land, farmers are also learning business skills and regenerative farming practices. Funding for the company, including the factory, has been raised from various sources, with support from organizations like Acumen and Frontier Co-op. Production is set to begin in mid-May, with plans to start selling in the U.S. in September.
The company’s ultimate goal is to upend the legacy of tea production that stems from British colonial rule by creating a new model for tea production and sales. With a vertically integrated system that involves farmers as owners and extends to sales in the U.S., Kumaon Tea aims to create a system that supports and nurtures the impact of its efforts in the long run. With the construction of the factory underway, the company is on track to start production and selling its premium specialty tea later this year.
