Our Story

We make great-tasting fruit and herbal teas from the strengths around us in Manipur and Northeast India, bringing a little joy to the everyday.

Dweller is our way of creating opportunities at home and growing together.

The place I came from wasn't short of strengths. It was short of opportunities built around those strengths.

I'm Eli. I started Dweller Teas. 

I grew up in Manipur, where leaving home was almost part of the plan. People left to study, to work, to build a better life elsewhere. I did too. I was fortunate to have that choice.

Coming home

I had just qualified as a CA and was working in Singapore.

But I kept thinking about home. I'd always wanted to do something there. I just didn't know what.

Coming home meant starting from scratch again. I wasn't sure I was making the right choice.

There were so many strengths around us

There were fruits and herbs growing around us, ingredients with wonderful flavour, and people with so much to offer.

I believed people would genuinely enjoy fruit and herbal teas made from these ingredients and taste the difference too.

I just wanted to give it a chance. So I came home. That became Dweller.

Growing together

There was joy in working with Dweller Nenes, experimenting with the fruits and herbs growing around us, and sharing what we made with others.

We kept making more, and people came back for more. More Dweller Nenes joined us, and that's still what we're doing today.

Dearest Nene

Coming home also meant I got to spend time with my Nene. In Manipuri, Nene means aunt, but to me, she is home.

She had always been there. Now I got to be there too. We lived together, laughed, sang, and shared many ordinary days.

She would wait for me. If I was late, she'd walk towards me so we could walk home together. 

After she left this world, I began to see how much of her lives on in me, and in Dweller. She never taught me business, but she showed me how to find joy in simple things, care for people, and appreciate the little moments.

Moreh Blanket

Nene spread the big Moreh blanket on the terrace, the light brown one with faded flowers. She washed it in the sun.

My brother and I climbed onto the soapy blanket and slid across it again and again. We pushed ourselves along the wet surface, laughing until our bellies hurt. 

Nene sat nearby, pretending to scold us, but her eyes were already smiling.

The wet blanket shone in the sunlight. We were all children that afternoon.

(Moreh, a town on the India-Myanmar border)

I hope Dweller can bring a little of that joy and love into your everyday, one sip at a time.

Building from home

Our purpose is to make life better.

It starts with great-tasting fruit and herbal teas people genuinely love.

But it's about more than what's in the cup. It's about growing together and creating more opportunities from home.