Chris & Peter Merg are intrepid trekkers. They've covered impressive ground in Nepal and Tibet and before heading to Sikkim/Bhutan, they had stopped at Makaibari. I met them and we got talking and what an interesting tale they have! They come from Germany and had heard about Makaibari through The Lonely Planet and, now retired, they were focused on enriching their lives through new adventures. Their special interest, apart from hiking and trekking through the vast acres of Makaibari tea bushes and forests, was in bamboo. This is found in abundance at Makaibari in prolific quantities and species. Their focus was to offer a specific type of bamboo for eco-friendly housing and use in Germany. While at Makaibari, they were fleshing out their plan - how to identify the most suitable species, develop it for export and then ship it to Germany. They are most certainly following their bliss. I was privileged to meet them. Makaibari is also planning on putting bamboo to a novel use - more on this in a later story.
