There is a sound of revolution in the hills of east Nepal and it comes from the small engine mounted on the back of farmer(s).
Unlike violent revolutionaries who invariably seem to turn venal, this radical literally put his money where his mouth is and is conducting a bloodless revolution. Bloody revolutions promise a lot but deliver nothing but sorrow and pain but this revolution will enhance the income and dignity of many tea farmers and in process improve the quality of tea.
Gyani Katuwal, a farmer of meager means and little education took a great gamble and spent a substantial portion of his income to buy a mechanical tea plucker so that he could counter the very low labour productivity and the constant humiliation at the hands of tea plucking labourers.
He even faced ridicule amongst his peers but stuck to his guns. He is the first farmer in Nepal to use a mechanical tea plucker and is better off for it. His plucking standard has gone up; his expenses has gone down (by 96%); the plucking productivity has gone through the stratosphere (by 4,500%) and he has more free time and most importantly he does not suffer constant indignity at the hands of highly politicised, unproductive and capricious tea pluckers.
I salute you Gyani. May there be others like you in Nepal. You have shown that you do not need a Ph.d or an MBA to make intelligent and wise choice. You are a true hero and an inspiration.