STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 43 Kangra's largest garden, the 182-hectare Wah Tea Estate, offers tea tours and lodging. Past turbulence Kangra's tea history goes back to the East India Company. The valley became part of British India in 1849, following the second Anglo-Sikh war after which the British annexed Punjab. That same year, William Jameson, superintendent of the Botanical Gardens at Saharanpur, visited the valley, pronounced it suitable for tea cultivation, and sent saplings to be plant- ed. The chinary tea cultivar was planted here and it took root well. A small but thriving plantation community emerged, and the tea made here found favor in Eu- ropean markets. Good times lasted for about half a century. In 1905, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude — one of the most severe earthquakes ever recorded in the Hima- layas — hit the valley, destroying most buildings and killing some 20,000 people. Overnight, the valley lost its industries. British tea planters closed up shop and left, selling their land and ruined facto- ries to local people. The tea sector was crippled. The first half of the 20th century was tumultuous, with two world wars, and the movement that led to India's indepen- dence and partition in 1947. In the early years of independence, Kangra was part of Punjab State, and its tea sector lan- guished. Then in the 1960s Kangra was made part of Himachal Pradesh State. This proved beneficial. The government set up four coopera- tive tea factories between 1964 and 1983, in Palampur, Bir, Sidbari, and Baijnath. In 1994, an auction center was set up in Amritsar to facilitate trade. Despite these measures, however, Kangra struggled to develop its tea economy. Three of the four cooperative factories shut down, and the auction center closed in 2005 due to poor sales. Wars with Pakistan and troubles in West Asia throttled Kangra tea's nearby markets. Un-cooperative India's cooperative movement began in the early 20th century, gained pace after independence, and has been extensively embraced in agriculture. A cooperative functions well if members work together effectively to meet a common need. In tea, the priority is typically establishing a factory, which small farmers cannot af- ford to develop on their own. In Kangra, each of the four coops set up factories.

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