On the road to Iyerpadi. Don't be fooled, if you have food and don't hand it over, these monkeys will know
Tea Pictures
Meadowfruit Pictures
A last look back to the heat drenched plains. With every hairpin curve the air becomes cooler.
Time for a tea break
There is no pinker pink than that of a bougainvillea
Sunset over the Anamalai mountains
The tea is processed in the factory in the tea estate
No littering - in the organic garden or otherwise
Shade trees provide exactly the right kind of protection to the young shoots on the tea bushes
Tea workers live on the estate and of course there is a temple, too
Good pluckers create a level 'plucking table'. From afar the bushes look like a thick, green carpet.
Two leaves and a bud
Organic tea gardens are home to many birds and wild animals
Plucking needs skill and concentration
Lower grade tea is ocaccasionally harvested with shears
Keeping hydrated is essential
Regualr morning visitor in Iyerpadi
Quality control: samples are being brewed and tasted
For the quality of the tea, colour and consistency of the leaf matters as well as taste
Wild animals, including tigers, are safe in the Anamalai mountains
In Iyerpadi, a whole team is busy identifying and breeding beneficial insects
Organic sprays make tea leaves taste bad for sucking and biting pests
Good bacteria and fungi can be tested for and bred in the lab
No escape! Insect trap
On their way to the weighing station
Watching closely as the plucked leaves get weighed and the weight is entered electronically against her name
Members of the 'Joint Body' (Fair Trade) are elected; the electon campaing is serious business
The headband helps distribute the weight, both hands remain free to pluck
Weighing station
The Lines - where tea workers and their families live
Some of the things the 'Joint Body' decided to buy for every family with FairTrade money
Being an elected member of the Joint Body is a prestigious job and merrits wearing one's best sari
The fresh leaves are ready to be collected and delivered to the factory
Of course visitors will be served some tea!
Where do they take the energy from at the end of the day?
Next stop Bollywood
The temple on the plantation in the evening sun
Volleyball training is serious business
Withering is the first step of processing
In the roller the leaves are crushed, the cell walls break open and oxidation begins
The oxidisation is stopped through the heat of 'firing'. The timing is essential for the quality.
In the Anamalai mountains they have the right of way.
Meadowfruit Pictures
Tea Pictures
MeadowFruit orchard on the slopes of the Swabian Alb mountains in southern Germany
Joy unleashed
Late afternoon
Looking for accomodation?
Summer
The kid is coming along
Independent control visit for the MeadowFruit association
To steep for growing corn, but ideal for grass and fruit trees
There are many ways to help and protect the environment
MeadowFruit pear trees can grow into 100ft giants
The home town of the Manufaktur has apples and secondary users already in the coat of arms
Nope, not happening (office of the Manufaktur Geiger in the background)
Compared to modern fruit orchards MeadowFruit trees are loners
Pollinator food a plenty, after the bloom of the fruit trees come the meadow flowers
There is room for everyone
Can we have some privacy here!?'
Meadow orchard with a view
Fear of heights isn't an option
Scouting out a new pasture
Nothing improves soil quality more than grazing animals
Apple delivery at the Manufaktur Jörg Geiger
All sorted
No place for bad apples
Water is used to flush the fruit from the collection tank into the processing facility
A net helps with fruit collection
Credits are given for putting up bird boxes
Castle Hohenneuffen
Some dead wood means nothing for a MeadowFruit tree
Small holder delivering fruit at Manufaktur Jörg Geiger
The fruit are washed and hand selected
