Will boost company’s exports.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) Co. Ltd., in Munnar, Kerala, has been certified by the international Rainforest Alliance (RA), a New York-based organization that has enforced rigorous standards for the maintenance of sustainable forestry in more than 100 countries around the world.
The coveted RA stamp of approval means that crops grown in and cultivated from the KDHP will now likely see an exponential rise in exports, which bodes well for both the local and national economies.
Founded in 1987, the RA has worked hand-in-hand with the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) to promote its cause. Both are non-profit and non-governmental organizations.
The RA bestows its seal upon places that grow things like coffee, tea, fruits, and even livestock like chicken and cattle; KDHP is known for being one of India’s largest and most thriving tea plantations. KDHP, also the largest tea manufacturer in south India, has seven estates and 16 factories, spread across 8,845 hectares worth of land in the south-western part of India.
Lush and green, the area has been carefully developed by the KDHP, and its management has expressed sheer joy at the approval of the RA.
“Becoming a Rainforest Alliance Certified company has further solidified KDHP’s objective of facilitating the production in a sustainable and equitable manner, while maintaining our responsibility towards the nature surrounding us and our employees who work relentlessly for this cause,” said Chacko P. Thomas, KDHP’s Managing Director.
KDHP produces Ripple brand tea; now, with the approval of the RA, all boxes of Ripple tea will come with the stamp of approval.
“We are delighted to be part of the Rainforest Alliance movement. In fact, what helped us achieve the RA certification in one go was that at KDHP, sustainability practices has always been a way of life,” Thomas said.
Thomas joined KDHP in 2012, becoming one of the heads of the 13,000-employee enterprise. He previously spent several years with Tata Tea, joining them in 1992 and staying well into the 2000s, over the course of which he even earned the Best Manager award from Ratan Tata himself, for the year 2009-10.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com