Assam’s tea entrepreneur launches tea in plantable seed packet to combat climate change

Assam's tea entrepreneur, Ranjit Baruah, launched tea packed in a plantable seed packet with an aim to combat threatened biodiversity and climate change.

As the world’s forests continue to shrink, an Assam tea entrepreneur on Thursday launched tea packed in a plantable seed packet with an aim to combat threatened biodiversity and climate change.

The tea packet can be planted in the soil to grow a plant.According to the entrepreneur, Ranjit Baruah, the packet is made of plantable paper, which is a biodegradable eco-paper, embedded with seeds. When the paper is planted in the soil, the seeds grow and the paper composts away. All that is left behind is a plant and no waste.

Till now, plantable paper has been used to make wedding invitations, memorial products or baby shower invitations and it is probably the first time that someone has made a tea packet with eco-paper in the country.

The tea, named Rongali-the spring tea, was launched on Thursday, the first day of Assam’s biggest festival, Rongali Bihu.

Climate change is affecting every country on every continent, disrupting national economies and affecting lives. With the weather patterns changing, sea levels are rising and weather events are becoming more extreme. 15 billion trees are cut down across the globe every year. Our planet is being deforested at a rate of 18 million acres a year. According to the World Health Organization, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.

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