South Asia PhoNographic Mornings #15/20
Each Morning of the World #07
Makaibari Tea Estate ~ Makaibari ~ Darjeeling ~ India
26.860204, 88.260934 latitude, longitude
« Sounds of a Tea Factory »
Jochen Cholin / Piet Schen
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Makaibari Tea Estate is one of the oldest tea plantations in Darjeeling, India, and the first to be farmed in a biodynamic style.
These recordings were taken during the production of a social clip for a project to support the construction of a new village school in Makaibari.
In this context, we have also portrayed the old tea factory, as the vast majority of the parents of the students is employed.
However, the sound of the old tea factory, which still relies heavily on manual work processes, was fascinating. What you hear are the steps from harvesting the tea on the plantation to weighing in front of the factory, first desiccation and machine rolling up the leaves to drying in the oven, sorting and then packaging including the factory carpenter manufactures the tea boxes.
The material also shows the working conditions in the tea factory - which areas are reserved for men (monitoring the machines) and where women are busy - the tea-picking and sorting before packing, a dusty and noisy affair.
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Jochen Cholin and Piet Schen
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Jochen Cholin and Piet Schen both come from the media with the same interest in documentaries on social issues. Jochen is now coach for project management and book author, Piet has left the industry and is mainly a father.
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soundcloud.com/fields_on_the_way
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