Palampur in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is considered the tea capital of northwest India. Since small tea growers lack the financial capacity to set up their own factories, they are encouraged to supply the green leaf to the cooperative factories. The Palampur Co-operative Tea Factory Limited is a modest little factory. It produces between 400,000 and 500,000 kilos of tea annually, all of it harvested and processed between April and October. Since 2002, the Palampur Co-operative Tea Factory Limited became the only active cooperative in the city, while the others shut down as operations became economically unviable.
