Producer Profiles
Singampatti Group
The Oothu Singampatti Tea Estates, located in the Manjolai/ Manimuttar hills of the Eastern mountain region of India, was founded in 1929. The Singampatti Group was later founded in 1965 to manage this estate. The Group manages three estates: Manjoali, Manimuttar & Oothu. Oothu is particularly interesting because it was the first tea garden to adopt bio-dynamic principles and the first in the country to become certified organic.
The Oothu estate is situated among the tropical evergreen forests of the Kalakkad and Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. These forests are some of the finest and best preserved in the world and are home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Local communities have been able to preserve the native flora and fauna extraordinarily well over the years. The Oothu estate practices 100% organic tea cultivation and production, while a percentage of tea from Manjolai and Manimuttar is certified organic. In fact, the Singampatti group of estates produces the largest amount of organic tea in the world. This level of sustainability made it easy for the organization to become Fair Trade certified in 1995.
Workers on the estate come from different parts of the country but live in the same community, irrespective of social class or religion. Many have been empowered to initiate self-driven projects beyond what the management provides. Some of the most empowering initiatives have focused on educating children to open up more opportunities for future advancement. Fair Trade has given workers room to grow along with their business.
Quotable
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I received $45USD from the Foundation. This amount was very helpful to meet the unexpected expenses due to the sudden death of my father. Otherwise I would have borrowed this amount from a money lender at high interest rates. I thank the Foundation for introducing such schemes to benefit the employees. ” Sri. Mathiyalagan
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"The Fair Trade has reassured the community members by providing schemes like issuing National Saving Certificate, which will be helpful after our retirement to meet the day to day expenses. Earlier there was no such financial guarantee for the future. I thank the Fair Trade and consumers who pay the extra premium for helping out the plantation community." ” Sri. Krishnaswamy
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I have received $240USD from the SBI Life policy after the death of my husband. This was very useful to clear my petty debts. ” Smt. Jebamani
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Programs
Environmentally Friendly Pressure Cookers Reduce Fuel Consumption
Pressure cookers were issued to each family in order to reduce the fuel consumption and preserve the environment. A total of 900 cookers have been issued.
Life Insurance Policies for Permanent Workers
The Foundation decided to issue Insurance Policies for all permanent workers. Accordingly, 1,155 SBI Sudarshan Life Insurance policies were issued to workers who were on the rolls on August 15, 1997.
Postal National Savings Certificate for Expired and Temporary Workers
The Singampatti Foundation issued Savings Certificates to all retired and resigned, workers and all temporary workers whose were employed since August 1997. About 1,253 employees have benefitted from this program.
