After all, he has combined the characteristics of a tea taster, a social worker and a Gandhian at heart, to set up and run Atma Nirbhar—Ek Challenge, a no-profit, no-loss project for the welfare of the disabled and less fortunate members of society.
The project, which deals with the blending, packaging and marketing of Assam tea, currently employs four deaf and mute people and a widow with four young children. The primary aim of Atma Nirbhar, says Das, is to give an opportunity to such persons to work with dignity and become self-reliant. "It's difficult enough for a normal person to earn a living in an over-populated, developing country like ours. For the less fortunate, it is doubly difficult," says Das.
Although founded as recently as May '96, Atma Nirbhar was always at the back of 48-year-old Das' mind, who worked with J. Thomas and Company, a leading tea brokering firm, for nearly half his 22-year career in tea. "During my days in the tea industry, I had everything going for me but the mental satisfaction was missing. Although I did work with the Rotary Club, I always wanted to do something practical which would actually benefit the less fortunate. Fortunately, by '96, I was financially secure enough to take the plunge," says Das.
Atma Nirbhar, which operates from the ground floor of Das' family home, is run as a tea blending and packaging unit, albeit on a small scale. Using his experience as a tea taster and buyer, Das buys tea from the Guwahati tea auction centre, blends it and packs it into 100 and 250 gm size polypacks. This tea, appropriately named Nav Jeevan, is marketed through various outlets. "We try and give the marketing function to disadvantaged people so that it becomes a means of livelihood for them," says Das. Quality, however, is never compromised. Of late he has also started marketing home-made masala packets and Sandha Guri, an indigenous breakfast cereal.
Simplicity and respect for dignity of labour are the other guiding principles of the project. "The best thing about Atma Nirbhar is that there's no ostentation and each worker's capable of doing all the jobs," says Maufuza Rehman, a close friend of Das who, like many others, tries to pitch in with whatever support she can. "My idea is not only to provide jobs to the less privileged but also give them opportunity to gain functional literacy like transacting business in banks and post offices, etc. In fact, the effort is to integrate the disadvantaged with normal society," says Das.
He's grateful to numerous friends, organisations and the state government for having lent support to the venture. "Some have helped through donations, others through purchase of tea while the government has granted tax concessions," he says. Das dreams of making Atma Nirbhar an organisation that will provide jobs to the largest number of disadvantaged nationwide. He's open to marketing tie-ups with any organisation working for the less privileged. One such outfit, Apang Udyog Kendra from Pune, has agreed to market Nav Jeevan tea through its members.
Das of course is not content with looking after Atma Nirbhar alone. Recently, he has taken the initiative to bring all welfare organisations working in Guwahati under one umbrella called Pragati—Confederation for the Disabled. "It's an informal arrangement aimed basically to bring together all such organisations and organise functions like drawing competitions, visits to the zoo and such activities for the disabled," Das explains.
It is, as Das is at pains to point out, a small beginning. But, as they say, well begun is half done and this diminutive man, who combines Gandhian simplicity with professional management needs all possible help. So if you're willing, write to Atma Nirbhar, Gopinath Nagar, Guwahati-781016 or call (0361)-510668.
