Economic Diversification for Women's Livelihoods in the Tea Supply Chain : insights from India and Thailand

Northeast India boasts a long history of large-scale tea estates dating back to the colonial era. Assam is India's largest tea production area and contributes over half of India's tea products. The backbone of this industry is the tea tribe women who are tea pluckers. Despite their crucial role, these women face significant economic, social, and political challenges that need greater empowerment. Meanwhile, tea production in Thailand has expanded significantly because of increasing domestic consumption. This research employs qualitative methods to explore economic diversification and tea supply chains in Northeast India and northern Thailand, with a focus on enhancing women's resilience. Data were collected via indepth interviews with 27 key informants in Assam, India, and 25 participants in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, Thailand, between May 2022 - December 2024. Open coding and manual categorization are employed to organize and interpret narrative analysis based on diversification concepts. The study found

that women workers in Assam rely solely on tea plucking, earning low wages due to a lack of educational opportunities and double-burden circumstances, compared to women in Thailand, who have more flexibility through diversified livelihoods. Assam requires multi-stakeholder collaboration in both vertical and horizontal diversification. [Publisher's text]