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ssam is the

largest producer

of tea in India.

The tea industry has

become the largest

industry,

generating

livelihood, revenue and

employment in the

state.

One of the most crucial components of the tea estates in

Assam are the people of the Tea Tribe. Historically, these

are the tea garden workers who were not local people from

Assam, but were brought in from nearby states like

Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra

Pradesh and Bihar. Over the years, with the amalgamation

of culture and tradition among them, the tea workers form

a distinct community called the “Tea Tribe” representing

around 22% of the total population of the state. i.e.

amounting to nearly 70 lakh in number.

The Tea Tribe is one of the most vital resources of every

tea estate in

Assam.To

improve the standard of life of this

community it is pertinent to improve the community

character of the Tea Tribe.

An intervention to this effect must include education

along with good health practices and community

awareness building.There has to be a baseline assessment

of the situation on specific parameters including physical

and mental health of the children and factors affecting

them. Efforts to make the community recognize the

shortcomings and find ways to overcome them are very

necessary.

The process of implementation of these interventions will

play a pivotal role in bringing about a sustainable change

in the community. A key aspect of this intervention is that

it must incorporate teacher training and evaluation in

giving psycho-social support and activity based learning

to the Tea Tribe children.

There has to be regular monitoring on the level of learning

and development in children so that an early recourse may

be taken to overcome any lag. The community has to be

made responsible for the improvement of the living

conditions of the locality. Children’s groups, School

Management Committees, Parents’Committees,Mothers’

Club etc have to be formed with defined roles and

responsibilities.

There has to be a feedback mechanism reporting on the

functioning and impact of an intervention. There have to

be rewards and recognition of the ‘change makers’ from the

community to keep them motivated towards a sustainable

impact.

Correction and improvement of community character may

not be considered a contractual job. Awareness building

campaigns in the community must be performed for a

holistic approach involving government machineries, tea

management and other stake holders of the community.

Tea is one of the major exports of the country. Its

production depends on a fragile situation of a community

which warrants urgent attention. A complete resolution

may require substantial time and effort but a miss would

result in a multiplier effect of disastrous consequence on

the socio-economic condition of the entire nation.

An intervention to alleviate community health conditions

depends on the community acceptance of its needs. Its

impact will be sustainable only if the intervention can

bring in behavioral change in the community. There are

numerous attempts made to educate the community on

health practices. I have initiated many of them. These

efforts however could not make any significant change in

the community because of their inherent belief that their

health is the Company’s responsibility, not theirs.

The Angandwadi Centre, ASHA worker, Angandwadi

worker, ANM and the full-fledged Medical System will

not be able to make a difference to the community till they

take ownership of their own lives.

Community Healthcare

on the Tea Estates

Dr Bhaben Talukdar, who recently

retired from the Company, shares his

thoughts and experiences about the

welfare of our workers.

– Dr Bhaben Talukdar

44 July 2014

Van Linh

Factory

– Sakina Hussain

Phu Ben, Vietnam

Sakina Hussain , who keeps us abreast with the happenings in

our Vietnam operations, writes about The Van Linh factory, one

of the Company’s new acquisitions.

ust off National Highway 2, past a gate with the Indian Tricolour

and the National Flag of Vietnam fluttering, is Van Linh

(pronounced Vun Ling), built in 2008 by Mr Ta Xuan Thai.

Unfortunately, lack of expertise in the tea business coupled with

financial difficulties resulted in the shutting down of this Black CTC

factory, then known as Binh Minh (Sunrise) just a few months into

production. On 28 December 2009 the property was bought over by

PhuBen. Manufacture was resumed after some restructuring,

on 20 July 2010. Mr Thai now runs a motorcycle shop in the

neighbouring town of Viet Tri.

The first pilot tea project in Vietnam was called Van Linh. At the time

of the MRIL takeover, no plantation was attached to any factory and

leaf was sent on an ad hoc basis causing a reasonable degree of

confusion. Working on a suggestion made by Mr A Khaitan to

streamline operations, it was decided to assign plantations near each

factory with the same name for operational convenience and

discipline.Thus the erstwhile Van Linh Plantation came to be known

as Phu Tho Plantation and supplied leaf to Phu Tho factory. Not

wanting to lose the use of a name so widely recognized and associated

with tea throughout the country, it was decided to use the name Van

Linh for the new acquisition.

The Directors at Van Linh Factory

July 2014 45