Ma Jie benefits the people of a region with a single leaf
A locally well-known builder who switched to the tea industry because of a personal interest, becoming a main force and guardian of the Shimen Yinfeng brand;
The head of a city-level leading enterprise who opened up wasteland to plant tea because of an emotional attachment, leading the people in the mountains onto a road out of poverty toward prosperity.
His name is Ma Jie, legal representative of the China Tea · Wuling Green Shimen Tea Industrial Park, chairman of the city-level leading enterprise Hunan Chuyun Tea Co., Ltd., chairman of the Longchi River Tea Cooperative, a provincial science popularization demonstration base, and a council member of the China Tea Marketing Association, the Hunan Provincial Tea Association and the Hunan Provincial Tea Society, and one of the 2014 Top Ten Emerging Figures in Hunan Tea.
He wears many hats, yet calls himself simply a tea man; he is not good with words, but when the talk turns to tea he speaks with great fluency. He says tea is his dream and the "golden leaf" that enriches the people of Shimen. As a Shimen tea man, his mission is to make good use of this leaf and benefit the people of the region.
Seeking a Dream in the Tea Mountains
"This is the place of my dreams"
Unlike ordinary "tea bosses" who make a living from tea, Ma Jie grows tea more out of interest and idealism.
In 2003, having already made something of a name for himself in the construction industry, he switched to the tea industry out of interest and founded Chuyun Company. Although not "formally trained," he carved out a place for himself through diligence, love of learning and honest business dealings, earning a good reputation in the industry, and "Chuyun Tea" sales kept rising.
"If only I could have my own organic tea base and sell my own products in the shop." Ma Jie was determined to go further. For the broader horizons in his heart, he traveled all over 7 tea-producing townships in Shimen County, comparing and investigating many options, and finally chose to set up a cooperative base in Longchi River Village in the core area of the Huping Mountain National Nature Reserve. He purchased fresh leaves from local large-scale growers on an order basis and actively sought new "tea sources."
When the village party secretary learned of his idea, he said to him: "You are a doer. Are you willing to take on the mountain?"
The "mountain" the village party secretary referred to is the higher-elevation spot on Bafeng Mountain. It was originally the birthplace of the Taihehe "Shimen Yihong" black tea famed at home and abroad, but later, with the decline of the tea industry, it had basically fallen into disuse. Infrastructure on the mountain was poor, and the only way up was a narrow, steep dirt road. A single trip up took two hours. When Ma Jie heard this, he was moved and immediately brought experts up the mountain to investigate.
"Right at 30 degrees north latitude, at an average elevation of about 900 m, with fertile soil, tea bushes interspersed with forest, and an excellent ecology. It is extremely suitable for growing organic tea. This is the place of my dreams!" Ma Jie was especially excited.
On the other hand, however, the hardship of the mountain people's living conditions also shook him: "I never imagined there could be such a poor place!" Because of poor transportation and no cash crops being grown, most families on Bafeng Mountain had no stable source of income and could only rely on young and middle-aged people going out to work. The people lived in old wooden-board houses, and getting down the mountain depended on their own two legs. The village had four mules, and daily supplies were carried up the mountain by them.
At that moment, Ma Jie made up his mind that he must build an organic tea garden: "This is not just my own affair; it also concerns improving the living environment of the local people." A Hunan merchant's feeling of "when prosperous, benefit the whole world" surged quietly in Ma Jie's heart.
Pouring In Heart and Blood
"Growing tea is not for me alone"
As for how to build the tea garden, Ma Jie's thinking was very clear: establish a cooperative and invite the people to buy shares. This would both ensure planting quality and lead the people to prosperity together. But at the first village meeting, this idea met with everyone's doubts.
"Planting corn and sweet potatoes still earns a little every year. If we plant tea, what do we do about the first three years with only input and no income?"
"Setting up a cooperative is good, but we cannot come up with that much money to buy shares."
……
Faced with these doubts, Ma Jie patiently reasoned with them and did the work. He held meetings with villagers many times, and once a meeting started it ran from morning until two or three in the afternoon. "At that time I also felt a bit like giving up," Ma Jie said. But seeing this poor tea mountain, he strengthened his resolve again: "Someone has to change this place."
Hard work pays off. Through Ma Jie's efforts, in May 2013 the Longchi River Tea Cooperative was established, with 107 tea farmers joining in the first batch. As chairman, Ma Jie rushed about in many directions, inviting experts to investigate and guide, asking the government to support road construction, and raising funds to expand the tea factory... When villagers reported lacking funds and skills for growing tea, he paid for everyone to go out and visit and study free of charge; he invited experts from the county agriculture bureau and tea office to come in for training and guidance; and he provided tea seedlings and organic fertilizer to everyone free of charge.
In the winter of 2013, the first batch of tea seedlings of the Longchi River Tea Cooperative was planted on Bafeng Mountain. To care for these young seedlings, Ma Jie went up the mountain every day to lead the villagers in planting tea. Sometimes it was already dark before he felt his way down the mountain with a stick. On Bafeng Mountain in December, the cold wind rose and the temperature was low, yet when Ma Jie came down from the mountain his clothes were soaked through with sweat from exhaustion and fear. During that period, because he walked so much on the mountain roads, all of Ma Jie's toes became congested, swollen and festering.
His family was heartbroken: "Who told you to go and mess with the tea garden!" But Ma Jie felt all this hardship and exhaustion was worth it.
Helping Farmers Get Rich
"Blazing a new path by combining tea and tourism"
In Longchi River Village today, because Ma Jie led everyone in setting up the cooperative, everything is changing.
800 mu of new tea gardens have been established, the tea factory's office space and production line have been renovated, and infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads is gradually catching up, giving the people new hope in life.
Xu Yuanzhi, who lives at an elevation of more than 900 m and is over sixty, never expected that after a lifetime of walking mountain roads, his daughter-in-law could now, after giving birth, have someone drive an off-road vehicle to bring the baby home;
Yang Shenxue, in his forties, used to take nothing seriously, but now he not only grows 7 to 8 mu of tea himself, he also rides a motorcycle to haul fertilizer for his fellow villagers, with his wages paid uniformly by the cooperative...
The villagers' thinking has become more open, their planting skills have improved, and they have more to look forward to in what they do. The cooperative keeps expanding. With the support of the Bank of China Hunan Branch after it stationed a poverty alleviation support unit in Longchi River Village, the whole village has now been brought on board. The village's tea planting area has grown from 2,500 mu in the past to more than 4,000 mu now, and average household income has risen from 2,000 yuan/year/household to 5,000 yuan/year/household. The Longchi River Village tea garden has become a raw material supply base for China Tea Company's "China Tea · Wuling Green" brand. At present, it is applying for EU organic certification.
"The real benefits cannot be seen yet," Ma Jie told us. "The new tea garden planted in 2013 will not begin to yield benefits until next year, and output per mu is expected to reach around 6,000-8,000 yuan. We are planning to build a new production line for famous premium tea, and hope to catch next year's spring tea picking."
With the "rear" well handled, the "front" was also prepared early. In recent years, Ma Jie has actively developed products and connected with the market. Chuyun Tea has grown into an enterprise integrating planting, processing, research and sales, developing more than ten products including craft black tea cakes, white tea cakes and zen tea. It has 8 chain stores in Changsha, Changde and Zhuzhou, 6 agents outside the province, and annual tea sales of more than 10 million yuan. The company works closely with China Tea Company, and its products are exported through China Tea to Africa and the EU.
"Good products need not worry about having no market. I believe that once the tea garden in Longchi River Village starts yielding benefits, sales will not be a problem," Ma Jie said with full confidence.
Now he is planning another "big plan": to win the support of the Bank of China Hunan Branch and jointly implement a "tea-tourism integration, industry-based poverty alleviation" project in Longchi River.
"Longchi River has beautiful mountains and waters and lovely scenery. We hope to step up construction and develop this place into a demonstration village integrating organic tea planting, tourism and leisure."
On Bafeng Mountain, Ma Jie's dream is like the new tea in the garden, striving to grow, quietly waiting for the harvest.