Makaibari was delighted to welcome @USAmbIndia. We hope you enjoyed the tea, a beverage that helped brew America’s freedom. In India too, tea served freedom: @MakaibariTea was among Darjeeling’s first Indian-owned estates, and @LuxmiTea was founded in 1912 in defiance of the British Raj

Today, at our Rugabano Board meeting, I shared a small tribute to Sir Ian Wood, my partner and mentor, who passed away last month. In 2016, we stood together looking across the largely barren hills of Rugabano. Sir Ian saw possibility. He believed tea could transform these hills and, more importantly, give thousands of smallholder farmers the opportunity to build secure and independent livelihoods. Ten years later, that hope has become a reality. Rugabano is today one of Rwanda’s leading tea-growing areas, supporting thousands of farmers through Rwanda Outgrowers Services. Its tea has taken the top spot at the Mombasa auction, and this month we will launch a cable system to transport green leaf from the hills. Among Sir Ian’s many accomplishments, I believe the hope he gave to the farmers of Rugabano will be an enduring part of his legacy. I will deeply miss his presence, counsel and friendship. I pledge to continue the work we began together and his belief in the farmers of Rugabano and the future they are building for themselves.

Fantastic!

The India–US Trade Deal strengthens economic ties by easing tariffs, reducing regulatory barriers, and improving supply chain access. For India, it creates an opportunity to integrate deeper into US value chains. In tea, furniture and carpets, the focus is higher value addition through design, compliance, branding, and premium manufacturing at home @ficci_india

The India–US trade deal is critical for labour-intensive sectors that employ nearly 80 million Indians in textiles, apparel, carpets, furniture, gems, tea and pharma. The US is India’s most important export market, while US VC and PE are among the largest backers of India’s start-up ecosystem. Together, India and the US are among the biggest contributors to global economic growth

India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, can partner with Europe’s technology, brands, and heritage to build a new, win-win trade story This trade deal will open global markets for tea, textiles, carpets, and design, and reaffirming the case for free trade @ficci_india

A discussion with Rana Dasgupta on his new and ambitious book “After Nations” youtube.com/live/NbokeGH-v7Y… via @YouTube @byranadasgupta

Pleasure meeting Hon’ble Finance Minister Yusuf Murangwa via @RwandaFinance to discuss Rwanda’s remarkable growth journey — focused on business, execution, and opportunity ⁦

Every carpet is a witness. In Threads of Empire, historian Dorothy Armstrong, Beattie Fellow in Carpet Studies at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, unravels twelve that saw empires rise, faiths converge, and peace negotiated. Personally, it is a treasure - design history scholarship meets the living traditions we carry at Obeetee @SoDesignHistory @obeeteecarpets

My article explores the economic challenges and opportunities of craft industries epaper.telegraphindia.com/ca…

“We passed from the hand to the machine… we began to miss something in our cheap but ugly products. Efficiency was not enough. Machines did not satisfy the soul.” The answer was to introduce beauty into consumer objects. — The Invention of Design, p.26, Maggie Gram A brilliant history of how design became both a commercial tool and a cultural language

100 years ago today - these patriots were involved in the Kakori Train Heist - Jogesh Chatterjee is seventh in the list