Short Summary
DARJEELING, a region known for its fine teas and producer of one of the world's most expensive teas, is also one of the most under-developed regions in India where an average tea garden worker earns less than a £1 a day. Despite their meager existence they live in hope, and dream of a better future for their children. However many of the children do not have access to even basic educational facilities and infrastructure. These workers and children have stories of their own - stories of their struggle, their dreams, their hopes and their aspirations. And these stories need to be told!
Numerous films have been made on the history or journey of tea, but none till date about the people who work tirelessly on such low wages to bring that sunshine in to our cups. They are why we are making this film. Help us tell the story of the PEOPLE of tea- their aspirations, their struggle and their connection to each and every one of us.
Background
This project was an initiative of Tea People, a UK based social enterprise co-founded by the husband wife duo Neeraj and Vishaka along with their Scottish friend Gillian. Tea People sells a wide variety of tea and accessories and donates half of its profits to New Leaf Trust, its sister charity to help educate children in the tea growing regions. The co-founders of Tea People long knew of the amazing work of Dylan Drummond and Michal Zagorski, two passionate and extremely community minded film-makers, and approached them to discuss Tea People and New Leaf Trust. They spoke about their passion for bringing about a positive social change, the work they were doing in Darjeeling and the stories of the tea garden workers and the children they were supporting.
Here are a couple:
Pooja and her siblings
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Pooja is a 15 year old girl (far right in the above pic) who lives alone with her younger brother and sister. Wanting to escape extreme poverty, her mother left the three children and their father for another man (a common social problem in that region). Pooja was just 7 and her youngest sibling 2. They haven't seen their mother since then. Their father, a local priest serving the tea growing community looked after them with his meager earnings and also sent them to the local school. But about a year ago, he suddenly passed away leaving behind his three children as orphans. The local community provide them with some basic support, but their future is in jeopardy. At such a young age, Pooja has now become the sole guardian to her brother and sister. She will soon have to drop out of school and start looking for work, which could be some kind of a menial job in the tea garden, unless there is some help from outside. (New Leaf Trust is currently raising funds to help her stay in school)
Dipti's mother
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Dipti (extreme left in the above pic) is a 12 year old girl who lives with her mother, step-father, two step-sisters and a step-brother. Her step-father is a daily wage earner, but spends most of his earnings to fuel his addiction for alcohol. leaving her mother to look after the needs of the family. Her mother struggles to make ends meet through the extremely low wages that she earns as a part-time cook in a local school. But she is the only real support that the family has. She is however a very strong woman and also nurtures entrepreneurial ambitions. "If only I had some savings or some kind of financial support, I would open a small convenience store which would enable me to look after the needs of my four children far better", says Dipti's mother.
Tea People - The Film
When Dylan and Michal heard the stories, they were extremely moved and felt that these stories needed to be captured in camera and told to the world through the medium of film. The team agreed that it would be a fantastic way to raise awareness about their situation and use it as a means to raise further support and funds for the betterment of their children's future.
Both Dylan and Michal offered to make the film on a pro-bono basis, giving up not only their own valuable time and resources but subsequently they also brought along with them a team of highly accomplished professionals including Kyle, Jillian, Arek, Fraser and many others all of whom are contributing their own time and effort worth thousands of pounds.
What We Need
Despite their invaluable support, the team however needs funds to take this project forward. Three of the team members (Kyle- the Director, Michal - the Cinematographer and Vishaka - the Producer) are due to travel to Darjeeling from the 13th to 27th of March 2014 for the filming. We know that time is very short, but if we missed this window in March, then we would have to wait until October as it would be very difficult to do any filming during the monsoons. Hence all three of them have initially put in their own money for the flights, etc. It would however be unfair on them if they're not reimbursed the expenses as they have already made huge contributions and sacrifices in terms of their own time and lost income, which is why we need your support. Here's the breakup of the funds required:
- International & domestic flights for 3 people (£700x3) : £2100
- Food and accommodation for 2 people, as Vishaka will be staying with her family there (£500x2): £1000
- Local travel in Darjeeling : £500
- Insurance and Visa : £370
- Venue hiring charges for film premiere in London & Dundee: £600
- Cost of producing rewards : £1000 (All physical rewards such as tea are being supplied to us at cost price. All the time and services such as photo shoots are being done voluntarily.)
- Indiegogo & Paypal fees : £430
- TOTAL: £6000
What You Get
We would be extremely grateful for your support and any donation that you are able to make. However, in order to show our gratitude we have put together a very attractive list of rewards based on your contributions.
Tea People has created a collection of some of the finest whole leaf Darjeeling tea packs, accessories, tea hampers and many other attractive rewards exclusively for this campaign.
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(Please note that the above pic is for illustration purposes only and does not reflect the actual rewards being offered.)
In addition, our exceptionally talented film team has committed to offer photo shoots and put together their creative skills to make some fabulous promotional videos for your business.
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Please take a moment to look down the right hand column at our amazing rewards on offer.
The Impact
Of course, the biggest reward however would be the satisfaction you would get from the knowledge that you have been able to make a difference to the lives of at least a few children from those impoverished backgrounds. And hopefully they will grow up to be responsible citizens and make a positive contribution to the society making our world a much better place to live in.
You can read about our work we have already done in Darjeeling by clicking here
Meet the Team
Here's a brief profile of our Film crew:
Vishaka Chhetri Agarwal - PRODUCER
Vishaka is a co-founder of Tea People and a founding-trustee of New Leaf Trust. She is a microbiologist cum educationist by training, is passionate about bringing reform in the field of education and providing equal opportunities to all. She is native to the Himalayan tea growing region of Darjeeling and has been living with her husband and two lovely daughters in the UK for the last 8 years. She has recently been nominated for fellowship at the RSA in recognition of her achievements in improving the lives of the underprivileged communities in and around the tea growing regions.
Dylan Drummond - SCRIPT SUPERVISOR/ CO-PRODUCER
Dylan is an extremely passionate documentary film-maker and photographer based out of Dundee in Scotland. Some of the films that he has directed or co-directed have been shown at film festivals around the world including Edinburgh, London, Milan, Hungary, Toronto & New York and many of them have won awards. Dylan was part of the crew that worked on MA BAR which won a Scottish B.A.F.T.A. in 2008. He was also the official photographer for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, during his visit to Scotland in 2012.
Kyle Wilson - DIRECTOR
Based deep in the tropical jungles of Far North Queensland, Australia, filmmaker Kyle Wilson has found a deep connection with the realm of cinema and the spiritual process it takes to interpret an authentic experience. Kyle hopes Tea People: The Film will be a directing process that merges the mechanics of human movement with the essence of nature and spirituality. Co-founder of Little Earth Productions, Kyle is an award-winning music video and short film director with an authentic yet accessible approach to storytelling.
Michal Zagórski - CINEMATOGRAPHER
Michał is a cinematographer of Polish origin living in Scotland for the last 7 years. He is studying Time Based Art and Digital Film at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee. He is the recipient of Scottish Royal Television Award (2014) and KCA Creative Student Award (2013). He has worked as a Cinematographer on a series of BBC documentaries related to education. His lust for life and insatiable curiosity has allowed him to conquer many goals and challenges.
Jillian Mannion - SCREENWRITER
Jillian is a Scottish screenwriter and journalist. She
received a Donald Dewar Arts Award to attend Vancouver Film School to study
Writing for Film and Television, was a quarterfinalist in the Page
Screenwriting Awards and was nominated for a LEO Award in 2013 for her
screenplay Random Acts Of Romance.
Arkadiusz Dziurzynski - SOUND TECHNICIAN
Fraser Murdoch - ANIMATOR
Fraser gained his masters in Animation from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2013. Having vast generalist skills within animation related fields acquired during previous studies, his masters consisted of specialising in the post-production visual effects area of compositing. It was there where he worked on a project with a popular visual effects company based in London and ventured into directing his first live action short film, Conjure. His motivation is to achieve high quality visual storytelling. His animation film My City (2012) starred Hollywood actor Brian Cox and was screened at film festivals in Scotland.
Organisational profiles
TEA PEOPLE
Tea People is a UK based speciality tea company that sells a wide variety of finest whole leaf teas ranging from traditional teas to a collection of unique blends, flavoured teas, herbal infusions and tea accessories. It was founded to address the issue of educational development in and around the under-served tea growing region of Darjeeling and is hence set up as a social enterprise. They have pledged to donate 50% of their net profits to New Leaf Trust for this cause that they so strongly believe in and use the rest to further grow the business and increase their internal capacity so that they can increase the impact of their social commitment.
Click here to meet the Tea People team
NEW LEAF TRUST
New Leaf Trust is the sister charity of Tea People. Led by Tea People co-founder Vishaka Chhetri Agarwal, it has been founded by a group of women, all of whom attribute their personal/professional success to the education and the opportunities they received in their lives. Their mission is therefore to provide this very opportunity to many others who are deprived of these privileges. They intend to achieve this by developing educational capacity and helping empower women in the under-developed parts of Asia, starting out with Darjeeling in India. They are supported by Tea People.
New Leaf Trust Team
Vishaka Chhetri Agarwal - FOUNDING TRUSTEE
(please see above)
Sopna Thomas - FOUNDING TRUSTEE
Sopna is an educationist who graduated from the
University of St Andrews with a degree in English and French. Teaching posts in
Japan and Hong Kong followed. On her return to the UK, Sopna completed a
postgraduate Law degree and began teaching A-Level Law. She invests much time in teaching and
furthering the prospects of her young students. Sopna has seen the liberating
potential of education first hand and believes that every child should have
access to a better life. She is happily married to Julian and lives in London.
Nikki Yolmo - FOUNDING TRUSTEE
Other Ways You Can Help
We will be grateful for any contribution however small, but if not there are other ways you can help too:
Thank you for supporting us!
