| The purpose of the study was to describe and explain the impacts of tea plantations on the geo-ecological and socio-economic conditions of the communities in the Darjeeling District in India. Two contrasting tea estates, Mineral Spring and Singell, were selected for case studies with an aim of obtaining the lour objectives, including a brief history of the tea plantations in the Darjeeling District, its geo-ecological and socio-economic impacts on the place and the people and strategies to deal with these problems. Qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation, transect walks, story narration, informal discussion and document reviews were employed for data collection.;After early expansion and growth of tea plantations. Darjeeling tea plantations experienced major set backs in the Post-Independence period; ownership changes, entry of trade union, labour problem and decline in tea yield due to over-aged tea bushes, eventually resulted in acute financial crises and closure of many tea estates. Mineral Spring and Singell Tea Estates are illustrative of Post-Independence plantation crises that faced either temporary or complete closure. However, both areas reinvented themselves in late 1990s with the creation of an effective community strategy in Mineral Spring and an institutional strategy in Singell T.E. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
