Makaibari Tea Estate

This has been sent by Sir, Mr. Lobo, whose interest in Darjeeling remains unabated.


FROM ECONOMIC TIMES
KOLKATA: Surrounded by mountains and valleys, with a gentle breeze blowing across your face, quite oblivious to the fact that you are sharing the space with leopards and other wild creatures, imagine sipping a hot cup of the most expensive tea in the world in a picturesque setting . It will soon turn into a reality.
At $1600 a kilo, the most expensive tea variety on the planet, the makers of Silver Tips Imperial, Makaibari Tea, are now brewing plans to set up an exotic leisure resort right in the heart of the lush tea estate. Construction of the 150-room extravaganza, in collaboration with Ambuja Realty, is expected to get underway by mid-2010.
Established in 1859, Makaibari is the oldest tea garden in Darjeeling farmed by the original founding family. Rajah Banerjee, the current owner, is the 4th generation scion of this tea dynasty.
“We’ve teamed up with Ambuja Realty, a real estate developer that gives priority to ecology. The project was on hold for many reasons, the most important being the political agitation by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). But we are hoping things will settle down soon so that we can kick off work by the middle of the year. We are participating in the project by providing 22 acres. It’s likely that the Makaibari brand will be used to promote the project among both international and domestic tourists,” said Rajah Banerjee.
With a third of the 1,574 acres under tea cultivation and the rest comprising dense tropical forests, Makaibari is a huge draw with not only tourists but also academics keen to get a fix about sustainable farming.
“Our plans are ready. To begin with, we will require an investment of Rs 20-25 crore. We intend to replicate the leisure hotel concept in the form of ‘Kutir’ in other parts of the country as well. We have already developed ‘Ganga Kutir’ in Kolkata,” said Ambuja Realty Group chairman Harshavardhan Neotia. The realty group is yet to finalise the name of the proposed hotel at Makaibari.
At present, the Makaibari plantation — where tea growing is not only considered a trade, but a spiritual experience —offers homestays for tourists with estate workers, who earn revenue generated from tourism. Visitors can share meals with their hosts, join workers in plucking tea leaves, tour the factory where the finest varieties are processed and learn how cosmic energy is tapped to “heal earth” under the “biodynamic” way of farming.


Many of our boys would know Rajah whose enterprising projects and foresight has brought new life and a different dimension to the Tea industry