Missoulians tailor a tea for the protection of Indian elephants

Just south of the border between India and Bhutan, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a man named Tenzing grows black Assam tea. The plants grow about waist-high, but their value lies in just a few inches: the tip of the plant and two leaves, which are harvested, shipped, and brewed at the Lake Missoula Tea Company or in the homes of Montanans.

Tenzing is the first farmer to produce Elephant Friendly Tea, certified by the University of Montana's Broader Impacts Group and the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network. For the last month, Lake Missoula Tea Company's shelves have been home to Bodo Black Assam tea, straight from Tenzing's farms and named for his ethnic group, the Bodos.

While Tenzing's two farms in India's Assam region are well suited for growing tea, they're also in Asian elephant habitat. As that habitat is lost to human development, elephants often become a nuisance and a danger, damaging fields, trees, fences and houses.

Tenzing is in his early thirties and has been farming since he was a teenager. He was already working toward making his farm organic and wildlife-friendly when he found Lisa Mills on Facebook in 2015. Mills, who now works for the Broader Impacts Group, had been doing grant-funded elephant conservation in India since 2011, and Tenzing reached out to her for advice on dealing with elephants.

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