Producer Profiles
Chamraj - UNTEA - United Nilgiri Tea Estates Company
The living and working conditions of the laborers on remote tea plantations, such as Chamraj, were notoriously poor in its early days. In 1951, the Plantation Labor Act was one of the first initiatives to make estate companies responsible for the welfare of their workforce including the provision of housing, health care and education. Chamraj Estate changed hands in 1960 when the current owners, the Amalgamation Group, bought all businesses belonging to UNTEA from the Stanes family. Since then, Amalgamation has consistently invested in Chamraj and its laborers giving it a premier name in the industry.
Today, the factory at Chamraj is the largest in the Nilgiris and has the capacity to process up to 40,000 kilograms of tea every day for 6 days a week during peak production. While the trend of the domestic market was to switch to low quality tea due to surplus and drought, Chamraj maintained its high quality by reducing labor costs and upgrading its equipment.
Chamraj has positioned itself as a manufacturer of ethical tea, gaining Fair Trade, Rain Forest Alliance, and Kosher certification and is working on full organic certification. Nearly 10 percent of its sales are now Fair Trade, destined for the UK, Japan, Germany and the US. Chamraj hopes to eventually sell all of its teas as Fair Trade Certified™.
Fair Trade has improved the working and living conditions of laborers who come from all over the region to work at Chamraj. Educational funds have been a very important initiative for the development of the region. Fair Trade helps fund the higher education of laborers’ children and exposes them to new career opportunities while enabling them to support their retired parents. Retired workers are replaced by new migrant workers from the area, allowing other children the same access to education. This cycle has provided new opportunities for other poor families and children in the area. Projects like these are proposed and managed by a Joint Body or elected members, most of whom are women.
Quotable
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Rajagopal, 47, is a field supervisor and member of the Joint Body who has worked at Chamraj for 26 years. He has seen his mother benefit from the pension scheme and is reassured about his own retirement. He does not have to worry about his children taking care of him and is glad that they can pursue their education. ” Rajagopal
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We would love to sell all our tea as Fair Trade tea. That is not only good for the company as it yields higher prices but especially for the workers. Look what has been accomplished with the premium money and imagine what would happen if all our tea was sold as Fair Trade. Major changes could be achieved. ” Mr Pinto
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We have children who have become doctors and engineers, and some of them have gone to the U.S. to work in engineering and information technology. Knowing this gives us great pleasure. ” Mr. Pinto
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Programs
Male workers get Male Doctors
Because many male workers were uncomfortable with being treated by the female doctor it was agreed that the premium should also pay for a part-time male doctor who attends the hospital every morning, Monday to Saturday
Hospital Beds, Ultrasound Scanners, X-rays and Free Vaccination
The 60-bed hospital carries out urgent surgeries such as appendectomies and has a laboratory to analyze blood tests. Again, 60 percent of patients are non-estate people from surrounding villages who pay a small consultation fee. The premium has provided an ultrasound scanner for pregnant mothers and x-ray machines to diagnose fractures. All this reduces the need for patients to seek treatment at the hospital in Ooty, some 23km and an hour away by bus, except for estate people who are taken by ambulance. Waterborne diseases are endemic to the region so workers and their families have benefitted from free hepatitis B and typhoid vaccinations and children have blood tests every six months.
New School Buses for far away students
School buses have been purchased for each school to ensure that children who live up to 30km away can attend school every day. They are a great improvement from the unreliable and crowded government buses that were often late and are much safer for the smaller children than walking along the busy roads.