Changing World - climate change and our producers

Edward explains: "Changing weather patterns are having a huge negative impact on small-scale farmers in Kenya and these changes are different year on year. This unpredictability has caused the biggest problems for the communities that I work with. It means that the natural balance of the land and climate have worked against each other, leaving farmers facing a tough year ahead. All of us here at Traidcraft want to help farmers and that means supporting them to find other means of income generation."

Traidcraft Exchange works with small scale producers in Kenya, and across the developing world, helping them to diversify their crops and identify other sources of income.

Until recently, smallholder farmers at Iriaini Tea Factory in Kenya – one of Traidcraft’s newest tea suppliers - relied solely on tea grown on their small plots of land. With limited space and some ground unsuitable for cultivation, many struggled to earn a living.

While tea remains at the heart of all Iriaini does, training carried out by Edward Wambugu has opened new doors and helped the farmers to embrace new ways of making the most of the farmers’ limited land.

The tea growers have become beekeepers. They are also planting passion fruit – providing extra income for them and nectar for the bees. Some farmers have begun water harvesting and their small plots of land are flourishing, providing food for families and with surplus to sell.