Spotlight | Sharing Ownership to Align Supply Chain Values

Raj Vable is committed to bridge the gap between tea farmers and tea drinkers, breaking a vicious cycle of urban migration and land degradation at a time when climate change is making things worse. He joins us today to explain THE TEA SOLUTION. “Tea creates rural jobs, revitalizes wastelands, and removes CO2 from the atmosphere." The first step was to share ownership of the tea trade with farmers by financing India’s first farmer-owned specialty tea factory in Kumaon, India. Vable says that now that the factory is built and US distribution deals are in place, “We are creating a pathway for customers to co-own Young Mountain Tea and become part of the same system as the farmers who grow and process the tea.

BIO -- The son of Indian immigrants in the US, Raj became intrigued by the people of the tea lands on his return to India as a Fullbright-Nehru Fellow. He has since spent 15 years connecting Himalayan farmers to American markets. Raj founded Oregon-based Young Mountain organic tea company in 2013. The company is a purpose-driven business praised for its high-grade, whole-leaf teas.

Young Mountain is currently engaged in an equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder that has generated over $200,000. The campaign requires a minimum investment of $250 and has a goal of $375,000. Raj says, “Sharing ownership aligns everyone’s values: if the farmers do well, so do the tea drinkers, and vice versa. And if we do it right, there will be plenty for everyone.”

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