I N A quiet lane off Chembur's Diamond Garden, at Sevadaan Special School, a feast is on. Children ranging from a tender three years to a mature 18 are making the most of a spread of crisp dosas and sugary sheera. It is the last day of school before the summer vacation and some of the children are still dressed in the finery they had donned for a Rajasthani dance that they had performed earlier in the day .

Those under 18 will return to school in June. A possibility that had almost been ruled out by the Redemptorists priests who run the school, because they simply didn't have the funds to run it any more. But an innovative bit of thinking has infused funds into the cash-strapped institution at the proverbial last minute.

The story of this turnaround starts with something as commonplace as a cup of tea. Only, the tea comes from a small estate tucked away in the blue mountains or Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. Of the 30,000 acres of tea estate in Kotagiri, the picturesque hill station in the Nilgiris, the Longwood Tea Estate covers only 30.

But the tiny estate is changing lives in Mumbai some 1,000 kms away. The tea grown in Longwood Estate is now packaged in Powai and sold as Moun tain Brew all over Mumbai. No, Longwood is not trying to com pete with the tea-kings of the Tata group; it aims to keep the 44 underprivileged students of Sevadaan, with various learning disorders, from leading a life less fortunate.

Mountain Brew was commercially launched last week in the city and will be available across the city "from Colaba to Virar and Victoria Terminus to Thane in the next two months," says school rector Father Gregory Noronha.

"But for this project, we would have been forced to shut down the school. We were on the verge of doing so last year too. I knew that would be a crime, but there seemed no option," says Father Noronha. The school charges a monthly fee of Rs 250 to Rs 500 as against its expenditure of around Rs 4,500 per student. Being a non-government aided school, it had to rely on donations. And those petered out one day .

It was time to wake up and smell the coffee, or tea as in this case.

But blessings come in many ways. Pius D'souza, 65, a friend of Father Noronha's, suggested that instead of looking for donations, the school should try and generate funds on its own. Especially since he knew the priests owned the Longwood Tea Estate, a substantial asset. The priests, clearly not of a commercial bent of mind, were selling the tea leaves plucked from the garden to processing units in Kotagiri for measly sums.

D'souza, who has a marketing background and had worked with electronics company Keltron once, suggested that instead of selling the leaves, the priests should get the leaves processed, pack aged and sell it them sleves. The difference would be a mind-bog gling 250 to 300 per cent rise in income. "Fortunately, Father Noronha un derstood what I was saying. We started selling Moun tain Brew in Mumbai parishes and within three months of its launch in 2007, sold a whopping 21 tonnes of tea in the first three months after its launch in October 2007," says D'souza, who now serves as the managing director of Misty Mountain Incorporation, the company that markets the tea. By March 2008 sales had escalated to 26 tonnes.

At Rs 180 a kilo for Mountain Brew premium (a blend of Nilgiri tea and Assam tea) and Rs 140 a kilo for Mountain Brew Special (a light aromatic tea), the product is competitively priced and D'souza hopes to sell 30 tonnes a month by July this year. He is now building a network of distributors who will reach out to the retailers and hopes to push sales up to 40 to 50 tonnes a month once the network is established.

The Longwood Estate can supply nearly 1,000 tonnes a day and more tea can be sourced if necessary from other tea estates, says D'souza. Says a pleased Fr Noronha, "Now I can continue to run this school. I can also dream of setting up a six-storeyed structure on our vacant land nearby where mentally handicapped children can get the best training and education." As for Mountain Brew, word-ofmouth publicity in the parishes has worked wonders and, says D'souza, "We have a quality product with a mission. I am sure people will prefer this tea." mini.zachariah@hindustantimes.com 40 The number of students in Sevadaan 4,500 Rs What it costs the school per student per month 250-500 Rs What the school charges as fee from each student per month 140 Rs a kilo The cost of Mountain Brew Special (a light, aro matic tea). Mountain Brew premium (a blend of Nilgiri and Assam teas) is sold for Rs 180 a kilo.

URL: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/artMailDisp.aspx?article=27_04_2008_011_002&typ=0&pub=264