What problem or need is the project addressing?
Over 80% of Kenyan tea farmers live in poverty. Because land in Kenya is subdivided by siblings when it is inherited, most tea farmers only have very small fields – too small to make a decent living from tea alone. They are also badly affected by fluctuating global tea prices.
What is the project doing?
This pilot project is working with Iriaini tea factory, 138km from the capital Nairobi, to help 120 tea farmers bring in additional household income by diversifying into other activities which can be carried out alongside tea cultivation, such as beekeeping and growing passion fruit and sunflowers.
Deriving their income from a variety of sources reduces the farmers’ dependence on a single commodity, making them much less vulnerable to the price fluctuations of tea.
The advantage of working with the tea factory is that infrastructure is already in place that can be used to collect and market other crops in addition to the farmers’ tea. Tea collection centres, for example, are now also being used to help bulk farmers’ honey for delivery to buyers in local and regional markets. The tea factories’ market connections are also being used to support the sale of passion fruit to a local processing plant.
Project activities include:
- Organising 120 farmers into four groups using the existing Iriaini tea factory infrastructure. This will put them in a stronger position to access business development services and credit, negotiate fairer prices for their honey, passion fruit and sunflowers, and help them comply with Fairtrade standards.
- Provision of training to farmers to improve their crop cultivation skills for passion fruit and sunflowers. Two training apiaries, containing 50 beehives, will be established to train farmers in beekeeping practices.
- Encouraging improved environmental management to protect natural resources, particularly plants that provide foraging for bees.
- Business/management capacity-building of farmers by training service providers to support them.
- Helping the farmers to access wider business support and services to further enhance the opportunities and profits to be made from their alternative crop production and sales.
- Achievement of Fairtrade honey certification for both the tea farmers and the tea factory.
What impact has the project had?
The project is still in its early stages but we anticipate 120 small-scale tea farmers will see increased incomes from selling additional cash crops. Including their families, approximately 480 people will benefit in total.
The project will also provide a valuable opportunity for women, as beekeeping, passion fruit and sunflower cultivation are relatively new in this area of Kenya, so they are not traditionally associated with exclusively male activities.
Although this pilot project will only benefit a relatively small number of tea farmers, it will provide essential learning which will inform the development of a larger scale, longer-term project to help thousands more in the future.
How is this project funded?
Our work with Iriaini tea factory is funded by grant-making trusts and generous individuals.
