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Adhiraj Vable
Founder of Young Mountain Tea
Adhiraj Vable is a dedicated individual with a passion for creating sustainable livelihoods in the Himalayas of India and Nepal, transitioning from renewable energy to specialty tea.
His academic background includes a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
Adhiraj's professional journey has seen him hold various roles, such as being a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar at the U.S. Department of State, Founder of Young Mountain Tea, Global Partner at Avani, Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon, Intern at GE Power, and Research Assistant at the Tribal Climate Change Project as well as the National Science Foundation.
He strongly believes in fostering cultural exchange between the Western and non-Western worlds to tackle global challenges effectively.
To learn more about Adhiraj Vable and his work, visit rajvable.com.
Highlights
Another milestone in launching the Kumaon Tea Factory -- the ribbon cutting ceremony! We had the pleasure of hosting two of our project partners, Frontier Co-op and USAID, at the site in Kumaon. The main event was the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new factory, and Tony Bedard did the honors with Alicia Simmons, Abegail Anderson, Desmond, women farmers, the construction crew, and other local supporters all lined up to cheer him on. The talented film crew Paralelo from Guatemala captured this event and much more, and will soon release a top-notch video that we can’t wait to share with you.
The celebrations continued into the withering room, just days before the space got filled up with machinery. It was a truly beautiful occasion for many reasons, especially because it was the first time that all 50 of our inaugural farmers gathered in one location! 🙌 🎉 We cut the ribbon, sang songs, danced, ate samosas, and of course, had plenty of chai. ☕️ First production runs are looking to be early August, with samples available in September. Onwards and upwards! 🏔️
I’m beyond excited to share that today, we launched zero-waste, organic tea bags! For the last year, we’ve been working to develop these pyramid shaped tea bags, whose roomy interiors allow the tea leaf to fully expand and release its flavors. Available on our site now in seven different varieties (youngmountaintea.com), and made entirely of compostable materials, this new line is the culmination of many, many people's hard work.
I’m so proud of our team for navigating our most complicated product launch. We researched international manufacturers to find compostable materials we could stand behind; designed multiple layers of packaging that all require organic certification; secured funding necessary to meet intimidatingly high MOQs; and conducted interviews and surveys with tea drinkers to make sure we got it all just right. It’s been a journey, and at last, we finally get to share with you what we’ve been working on.
When I reflect on the 9 years we've been working on our mission to empower Himalayan farmers by creating market access to quality organic tea, it’s moments like this that feel so, so good. Hope you’ll join us as we enter this new chapter of our work by scoring some for yourself and a friend.
Cheers to a brighter future for us all!
