Anjali Pathak
Kurseong
WHAT does an enchanting forest have to do with
a cup of exquisite tea? Visit the Makaibari tea
estate in Kurseong on the way to Darjeeling
and find out. Giant bamboos, Himalayan oaks, ferns
and orchids envelope the estate. Over 70 per cent
of this amazing tea plantation is covered by dense
forest, a feat accomplished by dedicated local selfgovernance
and an enlightened tea garden management.
Out of 1,574 acres at Makaibari, 1,100 are forest
and the remainder is under tea cultivation.
Seven villages with a population of 1,731 are spread over the Makaibari terrain. Around 636
adults are fulltime employees at the Makaibari tea
estate. Rajah Banerjee, the owner of the estate,
understands the need to preserve the forest in
order to maintain the productivity of the tea garden
and protect water resources. Seven Himalayan
springs flow through Makaibari.
He inspired local villagers, who were also his
employees, to help Makaibari flourish. Rajah knew
that the forest belonged neither to the government
nor the proprietor, but to the people who lived in
surrounding villages. They were the beneficiaries of
the forest and their love for it had to be nurtured.
Each village has a panchayat called ‘samaj’ by the villagers who are mostly Nepalese.
In 1994 the General Body Meeting (GMB) was instituted by the Makaibari tea estate to regulate the activity of the samaj and take up developmental work. The GBM has its own corpus. The money came from premiums received under the Fair Trade Labelling Organisation (FTLO) from tea sales in Europe and the US. This fund and the GBM came into existence in 1994 when Makaibari joined the FTLO. Every village has an elected representative in the GBM. The villagers take their problems to the samaj and the elected representative takes it to the GBM. Women have played a very active role in local selfgovernance. Jamuni Devi, a supervisor at Makaibari, heads the GBM at present. The GBM usually meets every six weeks. The Makaibari forest, which attracts botanists, zoologists and tourists, thrives because of this local self-governance. To protect the forest against intruders and poachers, 18 fulltime community rangers patrol the forest area. Project Leopard was initiated 40 years ago and over time the population of leopards has increased fromtwo to 11. The community rangers meet every Monday and report animal sightings as well as changes they have observed over the past week.
Kurseong means “Land of the White Orchid”, and the villagers sell forest orchids as potted plants to tourists. Bamboo is used for making baskets and some village artists bring beautiful abstract figures to life from discarded tea bushes. Young villagers act as tourist guides for birdwatchers. A forest nursery has been set up to prepare saplings for afforestation of denuded patches. Villagers are also encouraged to plant 50 saplings of indigenous trees in their backyards. The management usually buys the saplings from the villagers and men are deputed to plant on bare patches for some money. Remuneration is perhaps the secret behind the success of Makaibari’s afforestation programme. Similarly, when villagers started making compost heaps after the introduction of bio-dynamic methods in 1990, the management bought the compost from them for use in the tea gardens. Some villagers use the compost to grow fresh fruits and vegetables, which supplemented their income. It was apparent that the success of local self-initiative was based on the healthy respect which the Makaibari tea estate management showed for the villagers. In Makaibari, vegetation is a six-tiered system. It’s forest has leguminous permanent shade trees (albizzias), temporary leguminous shade trees (crotolaria, indigofera, African medolia), indigenous fruit trees, big grasses such as citronella, napier grass and Guatemala grass, tea bushes, and weeds, creepers and ground vegetation.
Some of these plants were deliberately introduced, some imported from abroad. This form of integrated forest management is usually termed permaculture which is supposed to have four tiers. But with its six tiers, Makaibari has surpassed this model. About three hundred species of birds are found in the Makaibari forest. The villagers live in harmony with the birds and animals of the forest. The GBM has helped set up bio-gas plants as a source of domestic fuel. Initially, 20 bio-gas plants were set up by the garden management. New ones are being set up by the villagers with funds received from the GBM. The GBM also provides interest-free loans to the villagers and helps with marriages and unforeseen medical expenses. Eleven girls have been trained in primary health care at the Kurseong Civil Hospital. Computer training is being imparted to 78 children by two full-time teachers. There are three crèches for workers’ children till the age of two. A government-aided primary school from nursery to Class 4 has 150 students.
In 2005, it was decided that to accommodate the constant flow of visitors to Makaibari some villagers would open up their homes to them as paying guests. The 13 families who initiated the homestay programme formed a group called Hum Terah. The villagers took the decision to install western style toilets in their homes to facilitate the homestays. As many as 75 such toilets were installed in four months. The raw materials were provided by the GBM and the fitting was done by skilled masons. Each toilet cost about Rs 5,000-6,000. Hygiene improved dramatically. At present 21 families are offering home-stays at Rs 800 per day for a couple, all meals included. All seven villages have electricity which has been made possible through funds provided by the GBM. Each village has a dish antenna. Almost every home has a TV set. Micro-enterprises are flourishing in Makaibari with several villagers selling milk, eggs and vegetables in the Kurseong market and to visitors. Some have even set up tea and refreshment stalls in Makaibari. All this exudes a feeling of participation and belonging.
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