India
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Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Improve life in the country's most isolated, vulnerable regions by supporting education and entrepreneurship, and enhancing the leadership skills of women and youth.
The context
India’s northern regions are home to some of the poorest and neglected communities in the country. Health, education and income levels are among the lowest in India’s two prime tea-growing regions — Darjeeling and Assam — and in Kashmir. Both areas have long struggled with conflict and are fragmented by social and political unrest that leave the economy faltering.
Our work
- Women & Gender: Support the literacy of female tea workers and improve graduation rates for their children
- Agriculture & Food: Providing training and links to markets so spice farmers can make more from their crops
- Health: Bringing basic medical services and education about common diseases and maternal and child health to remote tea villages
- Economic opportunity: Connecting youth in Kashmir with technical training and incentives to start business ventures
- Children & Youth: Fostering conflict resolution skills and community engagement among young people in Kashmir
All stories about India
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India: Change Brewing in the Tea Lands April 10, 2008
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India: Styling a better future April 10, 2008
The eight kilometers that Sonia and Rima bike each day from their homes on the Maud Tea Estate might seem like a short ride, especially to seasoned cyclists.
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India: Pay Dirt April 10, 2008
Moni Das's village has no name. It's simply referred to as Line 10, Deohall Division, Deohall Tea Estate, Assam. It is a microcosm of life inside Assam's estate fences: anonymous, hidden among acre upon acre of tea bushes and existing solely to serve the needs of the estate.
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India: A Different Kind of Teatime April 10, 2008
Dibrugarh is called India's tea city. But for some people, teatime is about hardship and inequality rather than a pause for relaxation.
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India: Buzzing with Cosmic Energy April 10, 2008
I sensed, right away, that Rajah Banerjee had something to tell us. It was in the measured way he carried himself, the arch of his eyebrows and the calculating glance he cast across the room. What's more, I immediately got the feeling that he would test me to see what I knew.
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India: A Skilled Trade to Last a Lifetime April 10, 2008
The word "manokamana" holds a special place in the hearts of the Nepali people who populate the Himalayan foothills around Darjeeling, India. It signifies one of the culture's most sacred places — a holy site in Nepal — and literally translates as "good wish of the mind."
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India: Unity takes root in Darjeeling April 10, 2008
Life isn't easy for tea pickers in northeast India's Darjeeling District. Workers scale the unbelievably steep slopes of famed tea estates for eight hours a day, hauling massive baskets brimming with plucked tea leaves.
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India: A New Harvest March 5, 2007
Darjeeling tea is one of the world's most enjoyable beverages — but it doesn't come easily to your cup. Tea-growing families in the villages that dot Darjeeling's hillsides work hard just to make ends meet.
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India: A Wellspring of Opportunity January 18, 2007
Sava Gaon, India — The wells under the village's green hillsides are losing water by the day. A massive hydroelectric project is draining the water from under Sava Gaon and its surrounding villages to supply a nearby dam, much to the outrage of local citizens.
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India: Changing Lives in Kalej Valley January 19, 2006
In a remote area of West Bengal on the road to Darjeeling bazaar, down a steep, rocky two-track road, the Kalej Valley tea plantation operates as it has since colonial times.