Chiabari: The Tea Retreat - About Us

History

The family owned, professionally managed Chamong Group, now in its 6th generation, has been in the tea business for almost a century.

Since setting up our first tea garden in Assam in 1916 the group now owns four estates in Assam and fourteen in Darjeeling. All the Darjeeling estates are heritage gardens, more than 100 years old. We export to most of the major tea consuming countries in Europe as well as UK, Japan, USA and the Middle East. Currently, we are the world's largest producers of organic Assam and Darjeeling teas.

The Feel Good Factors

The Chamong Group prides itself on its fiercely loyal work force that has become the backbone of the group, supporting us as we go from strength to strength.

The group employs about 10,000 personnel 70% of which are women. We understand however that raising the socio-economic standards of a region requires more than steady employment; so education, social security and workers welfare have always been given high priority in all our gardens. Our workers have all the statutory benefits such as free housing, ration, medical and maternity benefits. In addition, our gardens have fully equipped hospitals, primary schools for workers' children and places of worship for various religious communities.

We are also deeply committed to environmental issues. Many of our gardens have been—or are in the process of being—converted to the Bio-Organic method of cultivation, as per EU Regulations, (together with Fair Trade Registered Teas (FLO) from both Districts).

Best of all, our conversion to organic production has provided a healthier working and living environment in our gardens and surrounding areas – as you can see for yourself when you visit us.