Our Green Tea Fair Harvest program in Nepal is an amazing opportunity to trek, learn and volunteer in an alternative, socially responsible and just way into beautiful natural settings in eastern Nepal. Global Exchange is sponsoring several highly motivated individuals to travel to Nepal during the tea harvest season and work with a tea cooperative, SODEC Tea.

SODEC Tea is a grassroots NGO project supporting ~250 families in a rapidly-changing area of rural Nepal. Started in 2001, the project has formed farmer-owned collectives and planted nearly 44 hectares. 2009 will be the first year that the tea is mature enough for a large-scale harvest, and therefore the first year that farmers can see financial benefit from the program.

Fair Harvesters will live with a cooperative's member family and work alongside the farmers to harvest tea. You will, by participating in the daily lives of small-scale farming families, begin to understand the meaning of Fair Trade producers. This is a unique opportunity to experience the other side of the struggle for social and economic justice.

Join us and experience an example of development done right! Learn about the Nepalese culture of tea,and explore the political, economic and colonial context as we meet with fair trade farmers and work alongside tea cooperatives. Our delegation will spotlight grassroots projects that support independent and sustainable farming communities, and participants will witness the transformation of Nepal's rural landscape and its economic promise. While "development" falters in much of Nepal, many Nepalese families are facing the future with renewed hope

Overview and statistics by Deana Zabaldo

Program Highlights:

• visiting different ethnic minority communities
• see and understand each step of tea production
• tea tasting class
• city tour including the finest UN World Heritage sites
• pilgrimage sites, pagoda palaces, street markets and more
• a "supported" easy to moderate trek with porters and kitchen team
• taste of local food, flavors, art, architecture, and temples

Cost: 2,650 $

Price Includes:

• all meals
• accommodations
• domestic transportation
• preparatory reading material
• guides and translators

How to Register:

This trip will be as diverse as possible in terms of race, age and life experiences. In some cases, a limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.

Make your reservation online now!

Contact Alessandro with any questions about this trip, or call toll-free 1-800-497-1994 ext. 225.