High Hill Tea Farmers Producer Company

Our group is based in Meeckery Village, which is part of the Balacola Manihatty area in the Nilgiris. We are located at house number 2/189. High Hill Tea Farmers is exactly what it sounds like—a group of us who grow tea on these hills and decided to work together. Growing tea is a lot of work and doing it alone is even harder. Here in the village, everyone knows each other, so it made sense to form this company. We don't have fancy marketing or a big headquarters. Most of our meetings happen sitting around on plastic chairs or standing out by the collection point. The air up here is fresh but the work is physically demanding. You’re out there in the sun and wind, picking the two leaves and a bud that everyone talks about. We have to be careful with the weather because a bad frost can ruin a lot of work. We handle everything from the initial planting to getting the green leaves to the factory. It is a humble operation, really. We just want to make sure the farmers get a decent price for their hard work. There’s no corporate ladder here, just neighbors helping each other out. Sometimes we argue about how things should be done, but at the end of the day, we’re all in the same boat. It's just a regular life here in the hills for us.