If everything goes as planned, Samchholing in Trongsa will be turned into an integrated green tea village spanning 250 acres in the next Five-Year Plan. The Trongsa district administration is planning this as an initiative to boost the local economy. According to the district administration, Samchholing is the only place that cultivates green tea plantations in the country.
At present, there are about 150,000 saplings planted in around 67 acres of land at Samchholing in Dragteng Gewog.
According to the district administration, they intend to expand the tea plantation area to about 250 acres by spending about Nu 33 million in the 13th Five-Year-Plan.
“Our main focus here is to improve the local economy and also to boost the tourism in the community. This integrated green tea village will serve as one of the tourist attraction points in the district. Moreover, we aim to provide an inclusive platform for our farmers to engage,” said Sonam Dema, Trongsa’s Economic Development and Marketing Officer.
To realize the integrated green tea village dream, the district administration plans to expand the plantation and enhance production, develop tourism infrastructure, and diversify green tea products.
“We are hoping to develop some of the infrastructure like road, electricity and water connection that are necessary. We hope to develop some kind of guided trail inside the green tea garden where visitors can enjoy the view and the landscape and also a small café to enjoy freshly brewed green tea. We are hoping that we could diversify the products into green tea blends, green tea scented candles and some kind of skin care products that meet the needs of the market,” added Sonam Dema.
“Firstly, it will benefit the 35 women members. Secondly, it will create a better opportunity for the youth in the future. It will also help develop our community. And with the use of machines, we will be able to complete processing within a day or two, which would otherwise take two to three days,” said Rinchen Lhamo, Chairperson of Samdrupcholing Green Tea Cooperative Sales Outlet.
For now, the cooperative produces only one product which is Samcholing Green tea. The two new brands, Olong tea and Black tea are expected to hit the market soon.
The cooperative members used to earn about Nu 20,000 to 600,000 in a year depending on their land size. But the members say they do face market issues.
According to the village elders, green tea was introduced in Dragteng after the Second Druk Gyalpo planted a few green tea plants near the Samchholing palace.
Sonam Tshering, Trongsa
Edited by Tshering Zam
