Saras Subbha (meaning "chief or leader" in Nepali), is the manager and initiator of this tea cooperative nestled amidst tea plantations on the rugged road that leads to the sacred lake of Maipokhari, near Ilam Bazar, the provincial caravanserrai. He is giving employment for fair wages, comparing to the region's standards, to a number of young fellows from nearby villages. Saras has organized his activity after a cooperative model, which he admires because, as he says, "if everyone feels part of the same project, if everyone feels part of a family, everyone works well together, and in harmony". After a few initial years of struggle, because he couldn't reach consistent levels of quality in his teas, he became to host japanese and chinese friends, travelers, and businessmen, and let them guide his activities, share some feedbacks, and so on. In a few years, thanks to their suggestions, the small factory and the workers' skills have been steadily improving, and now green tea, red (black) tea, and white tea produced there are among the best we tried in Ilam. 

Future is prosperous in Saras' hamlet, and we are happy to go back there every year, to source their pristine teas. We also hope, in accord with the Cooperative, to organize volunteer camps there for tea enthusiast and learners of traditional agriculture or travellers eager to immerse themselves in Limbu and Kirati people culture.