Women tea workers in the Terai belt have created self-managed micro-crèche collectives called Didi Shishu Care to fix major childcare and healthcare gaps. The initiative serves workers in the Phansidewa and Matigara blocks who faced poor infrastructure in plantation facilities. This forced mothers to carry babies on their backs near pesticide-sprayed bushes.
Women have repurposed vacant tea-garden worker quarters and shaded verandas to run childcare operations. Older women in the community take turns supervising the children. This helps active tea pluckers finish their daily leaf harvest quotas safely.
The collectives created nutrition plots on uncultivated estate bunds to grow iron-rich greens, moringa, and tubers. This project works to solve high rates of maternal anemia among the workers. The entire network currently operates independently without any help from NGOs or corporate aid to improve safety in the region.
