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: Brewing change for ten years October 2, 2012
In Darjeeling, deep in the foothills of the Himalayas, and in Assam, nourished by a tropical river basin, the world's most favored teas are hand-planted, plucked and processed.
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India: Chipping in to help India's farmers grow potatoes June 28, 2011
When you mention potatoes, most Americans would think “Idaho.” Few would think the Kashmir Valley in the Himalaya Mountains. But Mercy Corps did. In 2010, Mercy Corps supported an experiment growing seed potatoes in the upper regions of the Kashmir Valley.
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India: Shubina, the bee-keeper of Kashmir June 16, 2011
The upper Kashmir Valley, lined by the foothills of the Himalayas, is an idyllic spot for raising honeybees. Saffron and mustard flowers, apple blossoms and acacia blanket the valley.
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India: The beginning of learning more October 26, 2010
When I was in Assam last month visiting with women in our literacy programs, I heard the same sentiment over and over again: the women want to learn more now. Some want to learn English or develop their abilities in their native Assamese — but mostly they have gained confidence in their ab
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India: One in ninety-eight October 21, 2010
Ninety-eight. That's the number of kids in Rajan Tiru's class. He's in class nine — the equivalent of ninth grade in the U.S. Next year he'll be in class 10 and will need to pass a big exam so he can continue his studies.
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India: What's wrong with this picture? October 20, 2010
I took this photo almost exactly three years ago, while I was on assignment writing about our programs in northeastern India's Assam state.
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India: A future of reading on India’s tea estates October 18, 2010
On the tea estates in northeastern India, generations of girls and women have grown up without learning how to read — they spend their days in the field, just as their parents did, and there is no access or time to attend school.
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India: Catching up with old friends October 2, 2010
I should clarify that before a few weeks ago, I had never met Sonia and Rima. But when we met, I felt like I was catching up with old friends. I knew about the challenges they faced growing up on Assam's tea estates — and their aspirations to own their own successful beauty salon.
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India: Cheers for soccer ring across the Himalayan hillsides September 29, 2010
The kickoff for this year's One Day One Goal soccer tournament in northeastern India took place on a freshly-developed playing field in the village of Upper Kolbong. This playfield can currently accommodate two teams at a time, playing seven players to a side.
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India: You're invited... September 27, 2010
This morning I woke up thinking about the Motadhura Community near the Tumsong Tea Estate in Darjeeling. Really. Because today they are officially celebrating the construction of their new Community Learning Center — thanks to the help of Mercy Corps and TAZO Tea's CHAI program.