Mamuni is a 3rd generation tea plucker at Ghograjan Tea Estate. She's the one featured in our Intro Video that you can find here.

What does the daily routine for Mamuni (a tea plucker) looks like?

• Life starts very early on the tea farms in Assam, as sunrise is around 430/5am
• Wake up around 530am
• Prepare snacks / cook lunch - for the kids, herself and her husband (Don)
• Get ready for work - shower and pray
• Make sure the kids are all set for school - food, books and bicycles
• Her husband, Don - works at the Ghograjan Workshop so they leave together for work
• At work by 730am
• Mini Tea Break around 930/10 am
• Lunch at 11 along with fellow tea pluckers
• Back to plucking around Noon
• Mini Tea Break around 2pm
• Final tea leaf weighment at 4pm
• Done for the day - home by 430pm - make sure the kids are back
• Rest for a bit / Go shopping for groceries or firewood
• Cook dinner for the family around 530pm
• Dinner with everyone around 6/630pm
• Family time - watch TV, visit friends and family, making sure the kids are set for school the next day
• Bed time by 8pm

Q&A with Mamuni

What sustainability/community means to you?

Sustainability means everything to us, as our lives are intertwined with nature and the tea trees. The tea trees have given us EVERYTHING to date, not just me - but to my parents and ancestors too. So we really have to take good care of the plants or else our future generations will not be able to enjoy what I had growing up. If we don’t take care of it - who will?

All the workers here at GTE are a very strong community. Everyone knows each other - our parents and grandparents knew each other and our kids will grow up knowing each other. We’re all of the same religion, we speak the same language and eat the same food. We’re a Strong Community together!

What's your favorite way to drink tea?

I prefer strong hot black tea with a pinch of salt. Chai (milk tea) is my second preference.

What's your favorite season on the tea farm?

I love winters in Assam. There is something special about waking up in December/January and it being very very foggy. I love the feeling of lighting up a bonfire with the family on a chilly winter evening - brings happy memories and thoughts.

Monsoons make the electricity fluctuate a lot and the summers are way too hot - so not my favorite. I’ll take the Winters - specially January. You'll should come visit us in the Winters - we would love to show you around and give a sneak peak into our lives! 

Mamuni's husband - Don. Who works in the Ghograjan Workshop.  

Mamuni and friends enjoying their lunch break on a hot summer day in Assam, India