Elephant Friendly: a label for biodiversity
Preserving biodiversity in tea gardens has always been one of our fundamental concerns. This is one of the reasons why we are such strong supporters of biodynamic agriculture, which we believe is an agriculture of the future, since it preserves the long-term health of the tea workers, the soil and the environment in which the tea bushes flourish.
The aim is always to maintain a balance between what is harvested and what is returned to the earth.
In 2021, we take this approach a step further with the appearance of the Elephant Friendly™ label in our Indian tea range, which now covers several teas from the Putharjhora gardens in the Dooars and Snowview in Darjeeling.
Two tea gardens in the heart of forests
The Snowview and Putharjhora plantations, with which we have been working for many years, are surrounded by forests, and the latter are the crossing points for large herds of migrating elephants. Given the scale and impact of this phenomenon, measures had to be taken both to protect the elephants and to create better relations between them and the human communities living in the nearby tea gardens.
The Snowview tea gardens are crossed by elephants on their way to one of the three forest reserves surrounding the plantation, renowned for their exceptional flora and fauna: Gorumara Forest, Jaldakah Forest and Chapramari Forest.
At the Putharjhora plantation, the tea gardens are criss-crossed by elephants that have travelled from the hills of Bhutan to the thick forests of Nepal.
The latter plantation, close to the famous Brahmaputra River, is renowned for its expertise in biodynamic farming, which it has been practicing since 2005.
What actions are in place?
Thanks to the American NGO Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network™, committed since 2007 to the protection of biodiversity and in particular animal conservation, our Indian partner now benefits from expert advice and in 2020 obtained Elephant Friendly™ certification for these two plantations.
In concrete terms, this certification has enabled the following measures to be taken:
- All deep ditches and drains have been filled in to prevent baby elephants from falling and injuring themselves ;
- All low-lying electric cables and poles have been removed to prevent elephant electrocution;
- Safer paths away from housing clusters have been created so that herds can pass through tea gardens, avoiding encounters with local people;
- The use of firecrackers to ward off elephants is now banned, and training in the use of non-harmful methods to hunt herds is provided;
- Solar-powered lighting has been installed along all garden paths to avoid surprise elephant attacks at night.
Concrete positive effects in the field
Signs of improvement were seen immediately, with a sharp drop in injuries and deaths in both elephant populations and garden communities, whose members are now more aware of the need to protect these emblematic animals.
How can you support elephant protection?
By buying one of these certified teas, part of the price of which finances the program, you are contributing to the conservation of Asian elephants, victims of human activity and today, according to the WWF®, occupying only 15% of their original habitat (https://wwf.be/fr/espece-menacee/elephant/elephant-dasie/).
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Pierre Rabhi, pioneer of agroecology and partner of Les Jardins de Gaïa
A simple man with a rich background and concrete actions, with whom the terms agroecology, consciousness-raising, sobriety and humanism take on their full meaning.
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