Happy Bengali New Year-Pohela Boishakh

On a clear night  you can see Darjeeling and the Himalayas

Standing on the border between India and Bangladesh

Bengali New Year off to an auspicious start with a cyclone

Linda and Chris have now left and Elizabeth and I have until the  24th to continue exploring Bangladesh. We are  just now getting a chance to decompress after visiting our very unique tea garden in the northernmost portion of the country at Tetulia in the Panchagarh District. The Tetulia garden in Bangladesh is only recently planted in 2000 and something amazing is happening there. It is the first organic garden in the entire country and its cattle lending program and other social programs for the workers are revolutionary.  "Highest Quality" and "Best Practices" would be two ways I would characterize what's going on at the garden. There is a very big story here which I will elaborate in future posts. Suffice it to say for now,  IMHO, the natural farming practices and care for the people who do the work in the garden represent a Quiet Revolution that  provides hope for all mankind.  As we took our first real walk through section #7 of our garden we were blown away with the fact that just years before this area was in dire straits economically and the land that is now lush and alive with birds and wildlife was just a few short years before  nothing but sand and clump grass. Walking further we got to the end of this section of the garden where Bangladesh and India meet. On a clear night the you can see Darjeeling and the Himalayas. We also visited the established  tea area  in Sri Mongol. Now that I am going through all the video/pics of  this incredible journey its clear that there are many wonderful stories to tell.  On April 14th the day before Linda left  we got to experience the start of the Bengali year. It was a very colorful celebration with traditional dance and song. More to come