Our team

Anjan Bordoloi

Programme Manager

Anjan.Bordoloi@ethicalteapartnership.org

Anjan draws on his vast experience of working directly with tea workers in India to drive forward our Plantation Community Empowerment Programme in Assam. Our grassroots initiative empowers communities to identify and resolve the challenges they face every day.

Anjan has a thorough understanding of the impact of rural development projects in Assam, having worked for close to 20 years on community-led programmes within tea estates and with other vulnerable groups in the state. This includes government flagship projects, as well as working with international organisations such as ActionAid and Mercy Corps.

He draws on his experience of delivering programmes focused on gender equality and livelihoods, among other impact areas, to ensure that our work in Assam remains pertinent to tea workers’ needs. Tapping in to his extensive network, Anjan also works to strengthen our strategic partnerships in the region.

Ulalo (‘Bridge’): community lending & savings schemes project

Our programme’s goal is to build tea workers in Malawi’s economic resilience, and to address gender issues through economic empowerment.

We aim to reach 10,000 workers (60 percent of which would be women) by establishing 555 community lending and savings schemes. These help workers, who are largely cut off from the banking sector, have access to credit. Not only does this then cover pressing household needs, the loans and savings can also create new, entrepreneurial opportunities for workers to diversify their incomes.

We run additional training alongside implementation of the schemes, which include record-keeping, financial management, and entrepreneurship and business idea training.

The project is helping to empower women by enhancing their economic resilience – breaking down barriers to finance, building confidence and encouraging decision making.

This three-year programme started in September 2021, and is co-funded by ETP and our member Taylors of Harrogate, as well as Lujeri Tea Estates.

Evangelyn Perera

Programme Manager

Evangelyn.Perera@ethicalteapartnership.org

Based in Sri Lanka, Evangelyn supports our projects in the country – ensuring our work has real impact for tea communities. Evangelyn has strong experience in working in the tea sector, including managing relationships with tea communities, estate management, government stakeholders and local and international NGOs.

She joins with stakeholder management experience from her seven year tenure at World Vision Sri Lanka. Whilst there, Evangelyn spent time living on a tea estate, where she gained a deep understanding of residents’ needs. She also developed relationships with key government stakeholders, including the Plantation Human Development Trust, as well as civil society partners.

Evangelyn drives forward our work on the ground in Sri Lanka, and ensures it is meaningful by drawing on her extensive experience of delivering community-led programmes.

Peter Kang’acha

Programme Manager

Peter.Kangacha@ethicalteapartnership.org

Drawing on his extensive experience of delivering development projects in supply chains, Peter drives forward our programmes in Kenya. Specifically, Peter has a thorough understanding of the impact of livelihood programmes in commodity value chains, having previously worked on such projects in tea, coffee and horticulture. This is complemented by his knowledge of trade policies.

Peter has strong experience in agricultural development, including gender empowerment work, and previously led programmes for international organisations such as Christian Aid and Farm Africa. He draws on his robust project management experience to ensure that our programmes in Kenya appropriately respond to tea communities’ needs.

Irene Zhang

Senior Programme Officer

Irene.Zhang@ethicalteapartnership.org

With over 15 years’ experience in ethical trade, spanning brands, suppliers and consultancies, Irene has a thorough understanding of supply chains. This is complemented by her knowledge of Chinese labour laws and industry standards.

Drawing on her extensive experience of delivering training and projects, Irene drives forward our work on the ground in China and focuses on equality for women and young people in tea.

Jane Nyambura

Stakeholder & Partnerships Manager

Jane.Nyambura@ethicalteapartnership.org

Tea farmer Jane brings first-hand insights to her role in Kenya. Having worked for the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) for seven years, she has extensive experience of working directly with farmers.

A MBA in Strategic Management graduate, Jane also worked as Regional Manager for Ethical Business Services at Africa Now before joining ETP. Her thorough understanding of the tea industry and passion for change ensures that ETP’s activity in Kenya has real impact.

UNICEF's Family-Friendly policies

For the first time, we are working to address equality issues in the Indonesian tea sector. As an initial step for this new activity, we’re exploring the potential of adapting UNICEF’s Family-Friendly Policies for tea. These policies are based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant principles from the UN Global Compact (UNGC).

We’re speaking directly with over 50 workers across nine tea estates. Our aim is to build a better understanding of the gender and equality issues they face, and so determine the most effective next steps to address these.

Our initial research is being delivered in partnership with UNICEF Indonesia in 2021, and the results will feed into the UNGC’s working group for shared learning. This project is funded by in-kind contributions from ETP and UNICEF.

Discover more about our work in Indonesia here: https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/country/indonesia/

Women Win

In Kenya, we’re working with non-profit organisation Women Win. This is part of a broader ‘Building Bridges for Women’s Economic Empowerment’ initiative – a five-year programme implemented by Win-Win Strategies, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands.

Through this partnership, we aim to address issues faced by female tea workers with innovative solutions. We’re working with local women’s rights organisations to identify the most pressing issues women face. We are determining the most appropriate ways to address these through collaborations between the women’s rights organisations and tea factories. Strategies to support women into leadership positions will also be developed.

We’re collaborating with three local organisations: Women’s Empowerment Link; The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness; and The Community Initiative for Change and Development. As part of this project, these organisations’ capacity will be strengthened via a corporate engagement course.

Discover more about our work in Kenya here: https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/country/kenya/

Improving safety and opportunities for female workers

Around 300,000 workers are hired by small-scale farmers in Kenya. Most of these workers are women, and the majority live in poverty. We work directly with workers to improve their opportunities and safety, and particularly focus on supporting vulnerable women.

Together with national farmer organisation the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), we are strengthening gender committees and reporting structures in tea communities. We helped establish these committees at all KTDA’s factories – recognising their value in giving workers a seat at the table to voice their issues to management. ETP continues to provide training across the community on gender issues (including prevention of Gender-Based Violence) and to highlight available reporting structures.

We’re also building workers’ economic resilience by developing community lending and savings schemes. These give workers much needed access to credit for pressing household needs. We help workers to best use this opportunity to invest in new, entrepreneurial ways to add to their incomes. We also support them to better manage their own household finances.

This programme began in 2019 and was supported and funded until June 2021 by ETP, KTDA and their Foundation as well as IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative. Find out more here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/improved-safety-and-opportunities-for-female-workers-in-kenya/

Jenny Costelloe

Executive Director

Jenny.Costelloe@ethicalteapartnership.org

Jenny leads the operational and strategic direction of the organisation, including overseeing the delivery of programmes, business pilots and policy work in the seven tea sourcing origins in Africa and Asia. Since joining ETP, Jenny has introduced our Strategy2030 – aimed at driving forward long-term, systemic change across three thematic areas in tea (economics, equality and environment).

With a specialist focus on the food and agriculture sector, Jenny has built a varied and extensive career in delivering sustainable development through multi-stakeholder partnerships. Before Joining ETP she led the Business and SDGs portfolio at Wasafiri Consulting, with clients including the World Economic Forum and the Global Agribusiness Alliance (a project within the World Business Council for Sustainable Development). She also held the position as Director, Country Partnerships at Grow Asia.

She has spent a substantial part of her career living and working in Southeast Asia.

Xing Ma

Regional Manager

Xing.Ma@ethicalteapartnership.org

Leading our team in China, Xing Ma works directly with tea communities to ensure ETP’s programmes have real impact in the country. Until we recruit the Indonesia Regional Manager, she also oversees our activity in Indonesia.

Prior to joining ETP, Xing worked as a Research Scientist at Unilever. She draws upon her strong experience of global tea supply chains and sustainable agronomy to ensure that our work in Asia is pertinent to the tea sector.

Cecilia Chidothi

VSLA Intern

cecilia.chidothi@ethicalteapartnership.org

Cecilia works directly with tea workers in Malawi as part of our Ulalo programme. She focuses on our Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) project – a community saving scheme that supports livelihoods and improves economic resilience.

With a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Enterprise Development and Microfinance, Cecilia’s theoretical knowledge is supported by her practical experience of working on VSLA projects with local development agency the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi. Cecilia has experience of mentoring women to develop their business acumen, and is well versed in the VSLA methodology.

David Meek

Chair

david.meek@ethicalteapartnership.org

David Meek is an experienced, innovative and growth orientated board chair and non-executive director with a proven track record of leadership and strategic execution across multiple global and regional businesses and charity organisations.

Having chosen a career in global finance more than 30 years ago, David successfully expanded into other areas of interest including technology, real estate, conservation and sustainability, bringing a unique range of expertise. David has operated at the highest level across the UK, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the US and the Middle East, embracing cultural differences to strengthen organisations for the benefit of stakeholders and wider society.

David is Chair of the regulated financial services company, Equiti Capital, and a non executive director of sustainable real estate developer, This Land, where he also chairs the Investment Committee. In the third sector he is Chair of Getting on Board, a trustee of the British Liver trust and chair of their Audit & Risk committee, a trustee of Twycross Zoo and a mentor at Cambridge University’s Enterprise programme.

A strong believer in the importance of lifelong learning, David most recently completed his MSc in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Birkbeck, University of London. When not travelling David is based in London and also enjoys the fresh sea air on the South coast with his partner and two dogs, with interests ranging from painting to motor sport and many things in between.

Jie Wang

Programme Officer

Wang.Jie@ethicalteapartnership.org

By delivering our programmes to farmers on the ground, Jie has a true understanding of the issues Chinese tea farmers face. She has strong experience of training small-scale farmers in the field: Jie worked as a farmer trainer for UTZ, creating training materials during her time there. Her Masters from the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences further complements her knowledge of the sector.

Hear from tea farmer Rodgers

Rodgers is a 43 year old tea farmer in Malawi. As well as farming, he is a volunteer trainer of small-scale tea farmers, teaching them the best farming methods of tea and nutrition.

“These participants were being trained on how they could prepare nutritious food at home. I taught them about the six food groups and gave examples of each. I was teaching them so that when they go back to their respective homes they could prepare and eat these foods in order to be healthy. As farmers with physical jobs, they need to be healthy, or it poses a threat to their income and business in general.”

The nutrition training is not just aimed at improving tea farmers diets and health, but also reaches their families.

“When parents are taught about nutrition, not only do they benefit, but their children and future generations become healthy as well.” 

As well as nutrition training, farmers also receive sanitation training that outlines basic hygiene and hand-washing protocols. The COVID-19 pandemic makes this training all the more important.

“When we talk of fighting COVID-19, we need to emphasise that although we are eating all the required food groups, we need to also follow all the hygiene protocols. If we go against these measures, no matter how nutritious our diet is, we will not win the battle against COVID-19, if we do not wash our hands with soap, mask up and maintain social distance.” 

Hear from tea farmer Esinala

Esinala is a 42 year old married, tea farmer in Malawi with responsibility for three children, two of whom are orphans. Through the programme, she has been taking part in training sessions that are teaching tea farmers about the best foods for a healthy diet.

Esinala has been growing a small kitchen garden of cabbages, vegetables and other crops. Before the training she did not enjoy a wide and varied diet with her family, and most of the foods they consumed were “whatever was available”.

During the training sessions Esinala learnt about the best foods to eat and now says that her and her family are consuming a diet of at least six food groups.

“I attended a nutrition workshop where we were taught about the six food groups. These are energy-giving foods, such as vegetables, oils, fruits and proteins. This has been helpful because most of the children in the village do not like eating vegetables, but the workshop taught us how to mix them in with our foods. 
 
“Before learning all this, we used to buy groceries from marketplaces. Initially, we would eat whatever was available, but after the training, we now ensure that we eat the six food groups.” 

Charles Kambale

VSLA Officer

Charles.Kambale@ethicalteapartnership.org

Charles works directly with tea communities in Malawi, supporting their livelihoods and improving economic resilience as part of our Ulalo programme. His focus is on supporting Village Savings and Loans (VSLAs) – a community saving scheme.

With a background in monitoring and facilitating economic and environment projects on the ground, Charles recognises the needs of Malawian tea communities. He has an excellent understanding of implementing meaningful programmes to support livelihoods.

Eston Sichali

Monitoring Officer

Eston.Sichali@ethicalteapartnership.org

Eston’s remit is focused on our Healthy Diets for Tea Communities programme with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Working hand-in-hand with farmers, workers, estates and project partners, he supports project implementation – capturing robust monitoring and evaluation data.

Eston joins from a range of project implementation and monitoring roles with international institutions, including agricultural research organisation International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. He is well versed in data collection and monitoring, and experienced at working directly with farming communities.

Kuwala (‘Shine’): economic empowerment programme

Our programme aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of tea estate workers in Malawi, and to support progress towards a Living Wage in the country. Named after the Chichewa word for ‘shine’, as part of this programme we are distributing solar lights to workers. We’re ensuring the lights’ longevity by delivering training on their repair and proper use.

We’re also supporting workers to develop community lending and savings schemes. These help workers, who are largely cut off from the banking sector, have access to badly needed credit. Not only does this cover pressing household needs, the loans and savings can also be invested in different, entrepreneurial opportunities to make money.

This three-year project started in 2020, and is funded by ETP member Tata Consumer Products Limited. Learn more about our far-reaching programme here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/kuwala-shine-economic-empowerment-programme/

Solar technology helping tea workers and their families

The Kuwala programme is supporting tea workers and their families to access solar light technology and to take part in community savings groups.

John has worked on a tea estate for 35 years. His work on the estate is his main source of income, and he supplements this income with farming work in his village. Access to solar technology has made a real difference to workers like John and his family.

“Before receiving this solar lamp, I used to buy batteries to light my house. It was expensive. But when I got this solar lamp, it was a relief. Now, we can just charge the solar lamp in the day, so we no longer have the expense of batteries.

“This solar lamp is helping us in many ways. When it is dark, we use it to light the house, but more importantly, the children use this solar lamp for their homework until late in the night.”

John’s children are also looking forward to the benefits of the solar lamp. His 14-year-old daughter Efelo is in Standard 5 at her school.

The solar lamp is providing light in the evenings so that she can complete her studies and succeed at her exams.

“This solar lamp has helped me because, unlike in the past, I am now able to read and study after school every night. Before the solar lamp, studying was impossible in the evenings. Now I can study whenever I want, and I am confident that I will pass the examinations.”

Community savings groups

Through the Kuwala programme, community savings groups are supporting workers to supplement their incomes. The groups help workers save money and access loans, which they use to invest in businesses or to cover household expenses.

Tea worker Bertha, 48 years old, is married with one child. Taking part in her local savings group has helped Bertha invest in her food stall business, which is providing her with an additional income. “Before joining the group, my business was literally collapsing, but I have managed to revamp it when I got the shares (from the group).”

The community savings group has also had a significant impact on her family’s life. She was able to build her house, and is looking forward to completing it with her next loan. Most importantly, she was able to use a loan when her family needed it most.

“The group has changed my family’s life. At first, we used to lack most of our household needs. The cash that I used to earn was not enough at all. For example, last December, my daughter got sick and I used the loan to pay all the hospital bills.”

Humphrey Munthali

VSLA Officer

Humphrey.Munthali@ethicalteapartnership.org

As part of our Ulalo programme in Malawi, Humphrey work directly with tea communities. His focus is on our Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) project – a community saving scheme that supports livelihoods and improves economic resilience.

With a background in agribusiness, Humphrey has previously worked on community development activities in Malawi with international organisations, including the US African Development Foundation. He is well versed in training and mentoring groups and individuals in business and partnerships.

Ambition

ETP’s vision is for a thriving tea industry that is socially just and environmentally sustainable.

Impact domains and key results

Economics: Improving the economic sustainability of the industry so that everyone involved in producing tea in our supply chains has good livelihoods, workers earn a living wage and farmers earn a living income.

Environment: Achieving a carbon neutral tea sector that does not contribute to deforestation, and where estates and farmers are resilient to climate change.

Equality: Developing empowered, safe tea communities with good opportunities for women and children.

Projects

ETP projects, business pilots and policy work.

Activities

Business innovation.
Fund pilots, project and policy work.
Mobilise stakeholders for action.
Generate data and conduct research.
Advance knowledge.
Create accountability.
Educate and influence.

Ethical Tea Partnership is a multistakeholder platform.

Platform Foundations

Leadership; Trust; Commitment; Financial sustainability; Shared vision; Representation; Accountability and transparency; Community engagement.

Payal Sirsat

Programme Officer

Payal.Sirsat@ethicalteapartnership.org

Supporting those working and living in tea communities in India, Payal witnesses first-hand the challenges they face. She works closely with ETP’s global teams to help tea producers and farmers to meet internationally recognised social and environmental standards, and evaluate the impact of our on-the-ground programmes. A Masters graduate in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London, Payal completed her BA in Sociology at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

Liberal Seburikoko

Interim Regional Director (Africa)

Liberal.Seburikoko@ethicalteapartnership.org

Based in Kigali, Rwanda, and overseeing our activity across Africa, Liberal supports our regional teams in Kenya, Malawi and Rwanda to further ETP’s mission. An advocate for the power of business to have a positive impact, Liberal has a strong experience in leadership for development, advising on climate finance and strategy, leading NGOs and working with donors. He joins with strategic management experience from his time at Grow Africa, an organisation that works to increase responsible private sector investment in agriculture, as well as at the Green Climate Fund – among others.

Liberal draws upon his strong experience of systemic, transformational change and agriculture to ensure that our work across Africa has real impact for tea communities.

Climate and economic resilience for women in tea

Working directly with female farmers in Kenya, we are building their resilience to the climatic changes that have negatively impacted tea production. As part of this programme, farmers replant moribund teas with drought-tolerant tea seedlings. This increases their yields, and so improves farmers’ incomes.

Going further, we support these farmers to develop community lending and savings schemes. As well as providing for pressing household needs, this access to credit offers a chance to invest in new, entrepreneurial opportunities to make money.

Launched in 2020, this initiative is funded by Unilever’s Enhancing Livelihoods Fund, with additional support from the Ford Foundation and with Oxfam GB’s oversight. ETP and national farmer organisation the Kenya Tea Development Agency are implementing partners.

Discover more about our work in Kenya here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/country/kenya/

Better farming practices

In China, we support small-scale tea farmers with training programmes to improve their agricultural and farm management practices, resulting in the reduced use of agrochemicals and optimised profitability. Our aim is to foster a thriving smallholder tea sector with healthy farmers, earning decent livelihoods and producing good quality, safe tea.

This programme is funded by ETP, and you can find out more here: https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/supporting-farmers-and-the-environment-to-thrive/

UNICEF-ETP Improving Lives Programme

Our €2.4 million public-private partnership with UNICEF is directly and indirectly improving the lives of an estimated 250,000 women, girls and boys living in Assam, India. Its reach spans more than a quarter of all tea estates in Assam, and it is the biggest programme of its kind there. Launched in 2014, the programme was significantly scaled up in June 2018 to build on its successes with women and girls to now include adolescent boys.

The programme works to reduce child marriage and unsafe migration, to help young people stay in education and to decrease the risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. The partnership also addresses health, child development and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and responsible business practices. The programme includes field level activities with tea communities, and works with estate management and government.

As COVID-19 spread, the programme innovatively adapted to disruptions. For example, when school closures affected planned programme activities, UNICEF successfully advocated for alternative, inventive measures to minimise the impact on children’s education. This included using take-home self-learning materials and community radio to enable continued learning.

As well as ETP, the programme is supported and funded by IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative, and ETP members OTG, Tata Consumer Products, Taylors of Harrogate, Tesco and Typhoo. As of June 2018, ETP members JDE, Starbucks Foundation and Tata Trusts also contributed to funding.

Learn more about this far-reaching programme here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/improving-the-lives-of-women-and-children-in-assams-tea-communities/

Plantation Community Empowerment Programme

In Assam, India, we are leading a ground-breaking community empowerment programme with ETP member Taylors of Harrogate. Our initiative brings communities and estate management together to jointly resolve issues, and so improve living and working conditions.

Our grassroots programme gives tea communities a forum to voice their own concerns, alongside estate managers. Forums are made up of people from across the estate – spanning workers, young people and anyone who live or works in the estate, to management. We support these groups to create and deliver their own action plans to tackle the challenges that they themselves have identified in the communities they live in.

Funded by ETP together with Taylors of Harrogate and IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative, the programme was launched in 2016. Find out more about this work here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/community-empowerment-programme/

Improving factories’ health and safety

In Indonesia, we’re working with workers and management to improve occupational health and safety across tea factories. Following initial training in October 2019, we’ve rolled out a practical training programme and continue to support workers to develop and implement action plans to improve conditions. This work is funded by ETP.

Discover more about our work in Indonesia here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/country/indonesia/

Supporting workers of small-scale farmers

In Kenya, many small-scale farmers hire workers to help with tea production. These workers’ rights are often overlooked, and they represent the most vulnerable group of people in the supply chain. Together with national farmer organisation the Kenya Tea Development Agency and ETP member Taylors of Harrogate, since 2020 we have run several, wide-ranging hotspot projects to support these workers.

Our financial literacy projects help to build workers’ economic resilience. We aim to support 1,780 workers to improve their budgeting, financial management and entrepreneurship skills. Together, we’re also establishing a revolving fund for workers to install fuel-efficient cookstoves and solar lights in their homes. In order to address sanitation issues, we’ve set up several projects to improve community access to water.

We recognise the need for government engagement to ensure that the impact of our projects continue in the long-term. We’re working with local county government to improve access to healthcare. Collaboratively, we have established a health centre in the community. This safe space for women includes a maternity wing and family planning services.

These hotspot projects are funded by ETP together with our member Taylors of Harrogate. Discover more about our work in Kenya here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/country/kenya/

Improving livelihoods for tea workers and farmers

We have a long history of working with partners to best support tea farmers. In Malawi and Rwanda we are part of a Strategic Alliance with German development agency GIZ. Collectively, we aim to improve the economic resilience and livelihoods of 8,000 farmers across both countries.

We help farmers to earn as much as they can from their land by developing their understanding of Good Agricultural Practices. Additionally, we build their business acumen to manage their farms as profitable businesses. We also support opportunities for farmers to diversify their incomes, and increase access to credit via community lending and savings schemes.

Going further, we are looking to develop Living Wage and Living Income benchmarks in Rwanda, and exploring appropriate strategies to reach them.

This current three-year Strategic Alliance runs until summer 2022, and is funded by GIZ, Marks & Spencer and ETP members JDE, Lavazza, OTG, Tata Consumer Products Limited and Taylors of Harrogate. Learn about the impact of the previous Strategic Alliance here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/improving-incomes-for-farmers/

Women of Tea

Funded by ETP member The Republic of Tea, this holistic programme improves the nutrition and health of women, men and children on tea estates in Sri Lanka. Activities span improving access to nutritious food for estate households, nutrition awareness, hygiene and sanitation practices and financial management strategies.

The programme runs until the end of 2021, and is in its final phase. Our focus now is on strengthening the estates’ community kitchens, which are operated by women from the community. The kitchens were established to provide nutritious, affordable meals to estate residents, and cook produce grown in the kitchen gardens across their estates.

You can learn more about the programme here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/women-of-tea/

Healthy diets for tea communities

In partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, we’re working to address poor nutrition in tea communities through better access to, and demand for, nutritious foods. The programme aims to improve the diets of tea workers, farmers and their families in Kenya, Malawi and Assam State in India.

This three-years programme kicked off in 2020, and is co-funded by ETP together with our members Unilever, Taylors of Harrogate, the Republic of Tea, Bigelow, Reginald Ames, JDE, Wollenhaupt and Ringtons, as well as the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Learn more here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/healthy-diets-for-tea-communities/

COVID-19 relief work

In response to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re supporting tea famers, workers and their families globally to adapt to – and address – this unprecedented disruption and uncertainty. To date, our work has focused on three pillars of activity: prevention, protection and provision. Going beyond our front-line response, we are also working on longer-term measures to protect vulnerable communities.

Find out more about our response here:
https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/our-covid-19-response/

Innocent Ntenjera

Livelihoods Coordinator

innocent.ntenjera@ethicalteapartnership.org

Supporting tea farmers in Malawi, Innocent works with them to improve the quality and productivity of the tea they produce and in turn improve household incomes. He has a wealth of experience in sustainable agriculture, natural resource management and economic empowerment interventions, having worked with Malawi’s Centre for Development Management and LTS International. Innocent has Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Malawi as well as a Masters in Environmental Studies obtained from the Catholic University of Malawi.

Lickson Mchepa

Programme Coordinator

Lickson.Mchepa@ethicalteapartnership.org

Working on the ground with tea farmers in Malawi, Lickson supports them with our lending and saving scheme as well as environmental programmes. In the final stages of a postgraduate degree in Transformative Community Development at Mzuzu University, Lickson has worked on a number of climate change and economic resilience programmes with international development organisations.

Karishma Gogoi

Project Coordinator

karishma.gogoi@ethicalteapartnership.org

Karishma works directly with tea workers in Assam to support our life-changing projects. She holds a Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Guwahati and has been working with NGOs in Assam for the past six years. Karishma has a longstanding and earnest passion to uplift tea communities through our projects.

Probin Baruah

Field Officer

probin.baruah@ethicalteapartnership.org

Based in Assam, Probin works directly with tea workers in the region across our projects. With 30 years experience of working within tea estates, he has a thorough, practical understanding of tea communities and their needs.

Limbani Ngalauka

Village Savings and Loans Support Officer

Limbani.Ngalauka@ethicalteapartnership.org

Limbani works with smallholder tea farmers on the ground, teaching them entrepreneurial skills and supporting economic empowerment through our community saving scheme. Limbani’s work on building, developing and strengthening the skills, abilities, and resources that farmers need to adapt to industry and environmental changes is critical. Alongside his work at ETP, he is currently pursuing an MA in behaviour change at the University of Malawi.

Provision

We work to build tea farmers and workers’ economic resilience, meaning that they are better able to adapt to future shocks. We also address the heightened lack of access to basic necessities, such as food.

Sri Lankan tea plucker Mummorothy works on her family’s kitchen garden, which ETP helped her to establish

Some examples of our work include:

> Our programmes across India, Kenya, Malawi and Sri Lanka promote better nutrition and tackle food scarcity by supporting kitchen gardens. Expanding our reach, in Malawi we’ve provided more than 4,000 farmers with extra vegetable seeds to enrich their kitchen gardens. We worked in partnership with IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative and ETP member Tata Consumer Products, with funding available as part of the Malawi Tea 2020 programme.

Distributing food aid via our Community Empowerment Programme in Assam

> In Assam, India, tea estate management and local government are issuing essential provisions to tea communities. We are also distributing food aid to 700 of the most vulnerable families in two of the estates involved in our Community Empowerment Programme. We’re making sure that those most in need across the estates are aware of the support available to them. We have been closely monitoring access to the government’s Covid-19 cash benefit scheme aimed at women and have been supporting those eligible to open bank accounts.

> In Kenya, an estimated 4,000 farmers and 20,000 workers are using the 550 water tanks we’ve installed. Aside from handwashing, the water will also help irrigate their vegetable gardens.

Malawian tea farmer Efelo with the strong box that stores the savings made by her community group

> In Malawi we have been working with farmers for many years to develop and support community savings schemes. It helps farmers access credit, as well as functioning as a savings deposit. Often farmers will invest their credit in new, entrepreneurial businesses to add to their income. These groups are vital – now, more than ever. They help farmers to keep their businesses running, and allow those most in need to access crisis funds. We’ve issued PPE and implemented safety measures across all our savings groups, so that farmers can continue to tap in to this essential resource. We’re working in partnership with IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative and ETP member Tata Consumer Products, with funding available as part of the Malawi Tea 2020 programme.

> One of the ways we help farmers in Rwanda to increase their yields, incomes and savings is by working together in our Farmer Field Schools. While current guidelines mean that these groups cannot meet, our trainers are supporting farmers to continue with the good agricultural practices they’ve learnt via one-on-one, distanced visits. The visits are also an opportunity to inform farmers about the latest health and sanitation advice.

> Women involved in our Community Empowerment Programme in Assam have taken up mask-making as an additional income source. So far, 18,200 masks have been made across four estates and will be distributed to tea workers in key plucking areas.

> To minimise any disruption of education on estates in Assam, ETP staff have introduced precautionary measures in learning centres, including more frequent ‘pocket classes’ of ten students. Additional exams have been launched to monitor progress and extra-curricular activities have also been encouraged. Young people have also been able to access online career counselling sessions.

Protection

Not only does protective equipment limit the spread of the virus, it is critical in enabling tea farmers and workers to continue making a living from tea.

Some examples of our work include:

> In Assam, India we’ve organised hand washing demonstrations in line with national guidelines, across the tea estates and factories involved in our Community Empowerment Programme.

Tea pluckers in Assam, India wearing face masks distributed by our Community Empowerment Programme

> Over 35,000 masks have been issued to workers by tea estate management in Assam. Members of our Community Empowerment Programme have supported this by hand making some face masks to give to workers on their estates.

> As part of our pilot project in Sri Lanka, so far we’ve supplied 550 face shields to tea leaf collectors, meaning that more than 30,000 farmers can safely continue to sell the tea they grow.

ETP Programme Manager Jane Nyambura donates reusable protective masks to Kenyan smallholder farmers

> In Kenya, we distributed a total of 112,500 reusable face masks for workers and smallholder farmers through our work with local partners.

> Our community savings schemes with IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative in Kenya help farmers and workers of farmers to save money, and learn new, entrepreneurial skills like soap making – which is particularly critical at this time. Group members and their families now have better to access to soap. Some worker groups have also gone on to sell 1,200 excess soap bars and 990 litres of liquid soap to tea factories.

> To enable our programmes to operate in Malawi, we’ve issued PPE for 40 lead trainer farmers and five ETP field team members meaning farmers can continue to be trained.

> We’ve distributed hand washing equipment for 800 farming families in Malawi.

> For both these initiatives in Malawi, we worked in partnership with IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative and ETP member Tata Consumer Products, with funding available as part of the Malawi Tea 2020 programme.

> In Rwanda, we’ve supplied 42,000 face masks for farmers and workers so far. Not only does this limit the virus’ spread, it also means they can adhere to local authorities’ guidelines and safely continue to make their living from tea.

> Across Rwanda, we’ve distributed soap to the 356 tea buying centres that needed it, meaning that all the country’s farmers can wash their hands.

ETP team member Charles Kambale issues Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) to a health centre in Malawi

Our work also supports wider community needs, responding to a lack of government funding. Examples include:

> In Malawi, we’ve distributed PPE, hand washing and cleaning equipment to seven health centres, which serve up to 170,000 people in tea growing areas. This includes surgical gloves, aprons, goggles and face masks. The health centres are now also stocked with infrared thermometers, disinfectant and paracetamol.

> In Assam, India, we’ve provided PPE to three estate hospitals, as well as dispensing sanitation items to the communities they serve.

Prevention

By raising awareness in tea communities, we can help prevent the virus from spreading.

In Malawi, our work informs tea communities how best to protect themselves and others

Some examples of our work include:

> In Malawi, our radio broadcasts are running for three weeks to alert tea communities to the latest government advice. Many families, particularly in rural areas, rely on radio news broadcasts. We’ve also shared guidance via strategically placed posters – such as in health centres. We worked in partnership with IDH – Sustainable Trade Initiative and ETP member Tata Consumer Products, with funding available as part of the Malawi Tea 2020 programme.

> Our posters and banners in health centres, schools and tea buying centres across all of Rwanda’s tea communities share the latest hygiene and sanitation guidance.

> In Assam, India, our Community Empowerment Programme brings together the estate community, management and the District health department. We’re working closely with doctors from the Assam state health service, the National Health Mission, to alert tea workers and their families to the latest guidance and safety protocols. We’ve set up awareness camps and distributed pamphlets across the estates, sharing details of COVID-19 causes, symptoms and preventive measures.

> For those returning to work on the estates in Assam, we’ve organised training to share the latest health and safety protocols– including advice on social distancing. The training has been a success, with measures being followed and young people raising awareness among their peers in accordance with government guidelines.

> By facilitating a webinar series with the Colombo Tea Trade Association Roadmap 2030 Committee in Sri Lanka, we’ve created an effective platform for the sector to discuss ways to best protect communities during the pandemic.

> In Kenya, our radio broadcasts were picked up by 1,055,000 devices, with the number of listeners expected to be far greater. This has informed rural communities on how to reduce the spread of the virus and stay safe during the pandemic and helped to combat the spread of any false information about the virus.

Kamini Gohain

Project Officer

Kamini.Gohain@ethicalteapartnership.org

Working closely on the ground with tea communities in Assam, Kamini has a well-developed understanding of their needs. Graduating with an MA from Tezpur Central University and beginning his career in the development sector in 2009, Kamini brings a broad range of expertise to ETP. He has worked with both international agencies and state-level platforms on projects relating to farmers’ livelihoods, children’s education and rights and Disaster Risk Reduction.

Gaurav Sarma

Project Officer

Gaurav.sarma@ethicalteapartnership.org

As Project Officer, Gaurav works directly with tea communities in Assam to deliver our projects. Having obtained a Masters in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Science (where he focused his research on the socio-economic status of plantation communities), Gaurav has a sound understanding of how to assess programme impact within the tea sector.

Nirbhay Singh

Programme Manager

Nirbhay.Singh@ethicalteapartnership.org

As Programme Manager, Nirbhay works directly with tea communities in India, providing on the ground support and managing the delivery of our life-changing projects in Assam. Having worked in the tea industry across multiple regions for over 30 years, Nirbhay brings invaluable insight and knowledge of the tea sector to the role. Thanks to his extensive experience in the industry, he has a comprehensive understanding of tea communities and their needs.

Ian Midgley

Chairman

ian.midgley@ethicalteapartnership.org

Appointed in 2011, Ian has extensive experience of the consumer products industry and development of sustainable supply chains. Having held several senior supply chain roles at Unilever, his 30-year executive career there culminated in his appointment as the company’s first Chief Supply Chain Officer. Ian Chaired the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Board, and led transformational aspects of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme. Drawing on this experience, Ian ensures our work is pertinent to the challenges faced by the communities within tea supply chains around the world.

Wanja Michuki

Africa Strategy Lead

Wanja.Michuki@ethicalteapartnership.org

Wanja is responsible for developing high-level, strategic relationships with businesses, governments and development partners in Africa to enable us to go further, faster in tea-growing regions. She has hands-on experience of the tea sector, having founded her own speciality tea business. Wanja also worked closely with farmers during her time as a Trade and Investment Diplomat in the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and was part of the tea farming community in Central Kenya. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Wanja also travels to Malawi and Rwanda to support these regions. Her role is key to driving forward the longer-term sustainability of tea across Africa.

Hear from Nabanita

Nabanita is 25 years old and now a facilitator for her Girls Group. She wants to see young people think beyond life in their tea community.

Nabanita was a tomboy growing up and won awards for being a good all-round student. When Ritamoni, a Unicef coordinator, set up the Girls Group on her estate, she realised her potential and that it wasn’t limited to the community: “she allowed us to hope for opportunities”.

The opportunities offered through the Group, such as football and creative arts workshops, were life-changing for Nabanita as they showcased how her talents could be harnessed. They saw her progress to playing sport at the district level and winning awards, “the exposure I have had to all these different platforms has been fantastic”.

Inspired by Ritamoni, Nabanita thought about becoming a social worker too and is now facilitating her Girls Group, “the most important thing for me is to instill good thoughts, to get them to think positively and change their outlook on their lives”.

Some people living in tea communities can struggle to see beyond life in the community. Nabanita wants the girls in her group to show their talents and participate in wider society: “I want to give the girls the opportunity to think that there is a wider world outside”.

Child marriage has reduced and school attendance increased since the Girls Groups have been introduced. One girl in Nabanita’s group stopped going to school, so Nabanita encouraged conversations about how fun school was, especially sports, “that girl really likes sports so we kind of enticed her with the idea that school is really fun, you should go!” She had a chance to think about it and when she went back home, told her parents she’d like to re-enroll and went back to school.

The younger the girls are when they join the group, the more positive impact the groups can have: “if we can start giving them those positive feelings and that positive reinforcement from an early age, they will grow up with those feelings and be so much more capable of accessing and using this platform really well”.

Hear from Bhagyawati

Bhagyawati is 19 years old. She has taken part in the ETP-UNICEF Improving Lives programme and through her involvement in her local adolescent girls’ group has learnt about the importance of nutritious diet to improve her health.

She explains that “before joining the group, I had no idea of what a proper nutritious diet was. I would eat anything that came my way. After joining the group, I learned about the benefits of locally grown vegetables and developed a taste for them!”.

“Since I was growing these vegetables fresh in my own garden, this gave me confidence and improved my health. I used to face problems with anaemia – (I was) fatigued, didn’t feel like working and always felt sleepy the whole day. After my diet changed, these small steps have led to big improvements. I have much more energy”.

Bhagyawati has also been an inspiration for her friends in her community and her friend Sangeeta has not only been inspired to set up her own kitchen garden to grow fresh vegetables but has been big plans for her future. “I would like to be a chef, like Sanjeev Kapoor. I just love cooking!”.

Hear from Beno, Malawi

Beno Winesi is a smallholder tea farmer and father to six children. He has purchased two solar lamps through a credit scheme funded by the Ethical Tea Partnership.

“This lamp is very good. I don’t need to buy batteries anymore. Once it is charged, it lasts for five days. The air is so nice and clean now. None of us are coughing any more. And it’s so bright!

I have two, a small one just for light and a big one that has a radio and a USB charger so I can charge my phone.

I listen to the news on the radio. I love the news. I get news from Malawi and nearby countries like Mozambique. My wife and I listen to music on the radio and we dance together.

I also listen to football matches. My favourite team is Nassau Big Bullets. They are very popular in Malawi. My favourite international team is Manchester United”.

Hear from Martha, Malawi

Martha Khembo is an extension worker, liaising between the Lujeri Tea Estate and smallholder farmers represented by the Sukambizi Association Trust, one of four trusts in Malawi that represent smallholder farmers.

“My job is to connect smallholder farmers to the estate, to provide them with extension services such as credit and access to GAP (good agricultural practice) training.

We have been providing solar lamps for about two years. Now at night you will see almost every house has a light on. Two years ago the place would look dark. Some families were using firewood to light a small area of the house or using paraffin lamps, but these don’t have a very wide range.

The best thing about these lamps is what they do for kids. They can do their homework at night which means they can play when they come home from school. Play is an important part of a child’s development and now they know their homework can wait until it is dark.

Cooking outside is hard when it is raining. Now families can cook inside with this light.

What I’d love to see for this community is more green and less deforestation. I want to see a solar light in every house. I’d like to see healthier people and better houses”.

Hear from Jones, Malawi

“I am councillor for this ward. I encourage people to work hard in this area. This is a tea-growing area. I’m encouraging people to grow more tea.

I understand the importance of trees in tea. They provide shade and they help mitigate against climate change. Deforestation has affected this community. Heavy rains are associated with high winds which blow roofs off houses. The rivers dry up. This didn’t happen before.

Slowly but surely we will increase the production of seedlings along the riverbanks and on the mountains. Next time you come you will not see bare mountains.

I grew up in this area. There was a thick forest which has gone now. The rivers had water all year round. We used to have rains even in June but those rains have completely gone.

As a leader in this community, the mere fact that I come here to encourage them supports the initiative”.

Hear from Veronica, Malawi

Veronica, has been part of her farmer field school group in Malawi and taken part in cookstove production. Through the group Veronica makes and sells cookstoves that help her earn an additional income.

She has earned 37, 000 Kwacha in four months from the cookstove production, which helps her pay her children’s school fees. She’s hoping that the additional income will mean that her daughter, who has graduated from secondary school, will be able to go on to further education.

Veronica has a small tea farm and her husband works on a tea estate, but this income wasn’t fully able to meet her family’s needs. She explained that “when my children didn’t have school books or school uniform, I felt sad whenever they asked for something and I couldn’t give it to them. Now I can help my husband to provide all these things”.

She is now also using less fuelwood as the cookstove has reduced the amount of wood Veronica needs to cook. She says that the wood she would have previously used over a month now lasts many more months.

Hear from Gervais, Rwanda

42-year-old tea farmer, Gervais, is married with seven children. By being part of one of ETP’s community savings group, he’s been able to achieve his long-term ambition of owning a dairy cow. He had managed to save 150,000 RWF and was able to borrow 100,000 RWF from the VSLA group. This topped up his savings, meaning he could buy his dream cow.

Gervais has been successful with his cow business. The cow produces eight litres a day, five of which sells for 800 RFW a day. So far, he has been able to make around 220,000 RWF (£190). The rest of the milk is used at home, improving his family’s diets.

The cow gave birth to a female calf five months ago, and he plans to sell her next August for 250,000 RWF (£216). With the money, Gervais plans to renovate his house and bring electricity to his home. Gervais is one of more than two thousand farmers in Rwanda who ETP supported to have better incomes.

Hear from Thebronia, Malawi

Thebronia, a tea farmer in Malawi, has become the secretary of her local tea nursery. She hopes to be able to make a profit from the tea she grows in the nursery.

She explains, “Our main cash crop is tea and our children depend on it. Because of climate change, the rains are not falling at they used to. We were depending on pineapple as an extra cash crop but that is failing. So we are really dependent on tea. There is hidden treasure in tea”.

As well as planting tea crops, her nursery group are also planting crops like sweet potato which help to protect the soil and are an important nutritious food.

Thebronia has high hopes for the project and hopes that the nursery will continue to grow and help her to support her children and grandchildren. She is ever more reliant on improving her tea growing in order to better her financial circumstances and hopes to use the skills she has learnt through the FFS group to open her own nursery and further increase her production (with tea clones resistant to the impacts of climate change).

Mavuto Kambocholabanda

Programme Coordinator

mavuto.kambocholabanda@ethicalteapartnership.org

Mavuto works directly with tea farmers in Malawi, supporting them with our lending and saving scheme as well as environmental efforts. A Natural Resources Management graduate from the University of Malawi, he oversaw projects while at the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi and worked on a community energy development project at The Malawi Polytechnic before joining ETP.

Thwango Ndalama

Country Manager

Thwango.Ndalama@ethicalteapartnership.org

Thwango leads our team in Malawi, overseeing the delivery of all our activity in this African country. She is passionate about developing tea workers and small-scale farmers’ skills in collaboration with our key partners in Malawi. Drawing upon her extensive experience of community-based programmes to increase incomes, Thwango ensures that ETP’s support makes a real difference to tea communities.

Diya Kharwadkar

Programme Manager

Diya.Kharwadkar@ethicalteapartnership.org

Diya works directly with tea communities in India to support our life-changing projects. She initially joined ETP while gaining her Masters in Anthropology of Food at SOAS, University of London. She’s also worked with London-based organic food collective Riverford and India-based NGO Navdanya, focusing on biodiversity and farmers’ rights.

Hear from Veronica

Veronica has been a member of one of ETP’s cookstove production groups for a year. She really appreciates that the cookstoves use less fuelwood as she now has “more free time that I can spend with family and friends” rather than collecting wood.

Being part of the cookstove group has been life-changing for the tea farmer and her five children. Veronica says, “before the cook stoves production, I didn’t have enough income to support the family. The programme has helped because now I can contribute to school fees. Once they have finished secondary school, I would like them to go on to college”.

Veronica also took part in Farmer Field School training, run by ETP, where she “learnt about good agricultural practices and environmental management”. Since being able to apply what she learnt, Veronica’s “yield has really increased as a result” – increasing her income.

Reflecting on her situation, Veronica says “with all these initiatives, my family life is better”.

Hear from Angela

Keen to add to her income, tea farmer Angela joined ETP’s cookstove programme where she makes and sells stoves. She invests the extra money she makes in to a community savings scheme.

She says, “I can see that my life is changing for the better. Now that I am able to do things independently because of this new income, other women in the community look to me as an example, they want to learn from me. Even my husband gives me the respect I deserve, much more respect than a wife traditionally gets”.

A graduate from ETP’s agricultural training programme, Farmer Field School, Angela is “getting a much better yield. I have more money now. I am no longer struggling to send my children to school”. Her other priority is “that the food I buy is balanced in the ways I learnt in Farmer Field School. The extra money allows me to do this”.

Hear from Asuwema

What first attracted tea farmer Asuwema to the beekeeping club was “how well the women were doing. They’ve got extra money and have TVs and bikes”. A single mother of one, she is keen to be self-sufficient: “besides the money, the women in the group encourage each other and give each other advice… they can help me with life in general”.

She says that “women are not respected here as much as men. Single mothers have a tough time as they are not respected. When I have money and I am self-reliant, for sure I will be respected”.

Asuwema puts some of the extra money she makes from the beekeeping group in to a community savings scheme, set up by ETP. She wants to use the savings to help her mother invest in building work as “her house isn’t good, and I’m worried about how it will cope when the rains come”.

Hear from Walter

Tea farmer Walter is a member of one ETP’s tree nursery groups in Malawi. He’s aware that “most of the indigenous forest has gone” and has so far planted 200 trees himself. He will “sell about 150 and keep the stump and roots” so that they sprout again.

Walter uses the extra income he makes from his trees to support him and his family. He can “sell a full-grown tree for firewood” and “a younger tree for poles for construction”. As well as spending the extra money he makes on essential like food, Walter also invests in school fees for his six children and seven grandchildren.

Hear from Esnart

Grandmother Esnart is part of her local tree nursery group, planting trees to combat deforestation. The tea farmer witnessed first-hand the changes to the landscape, and she notes “when I was a child, the mountains were so beautiful. There was a blanket of forest, so thick that if you went up with another person, you couldn’t see each other. It was full of wild animals, but they have all gone now”.

It’s not just her generation that’s seen the effects of deforestation. He grandson Matthew is 22, and is all too aware of the impact of these changes: “there were some trees on the mountain when I was a child, though I was told then that it was nothing like it used to be. But now even they have gone. I can only imagine wild animals on the mountains from stories my grandmother has told me.”

Matthew knows that now is the time for action: “I fear it will be very bad when I have children. They will be very angry with our generation for allowing this to happen. But I hope it won’t come to that and we will choose to reforest the mountain instead.”

Hear from Patricia

Tea farmer Patricia notes that having a solar lamp “only brings joy and happiness” to her and her family. She used to worry when using paraffin lamps in the home as “they are a great danger. Children can forget it is on and fall asleep. They can also lead to chest infections”.

Having a solar light means Patricia’s four children can all read by it at night. This has been transformational for her family, and Patricia’s “seen a great improvement in their schoolwork”. One of her sons is reaping the benefits of the extra study time. He went from being “number 20 in the class for results, but since we’ve had the lamp, he’s moved up to number three”.

Hear from Ramaya

Ramaya grows organic vegetables in his family’s kitchen garden. He says that as it is “very healthy they prefer it. I knew about the importance of nutritious food before but not to this extent”.

Hear from Devadasan

Tea worker Devadasan has been taking part in the ‘out grower’ model and with the extra income from his plot of land has been able to send his son to university.

He says, “I use the money from our plot for my son’s university education. He is studying an arts degree. He wants to become a teacher and I think he might come to work in our area. I hope that some of my daughters will go to university too. I’d like my daughters to become engineers and lawyers”.

Hear from Selvamerry

Selvamerry is a tea worker, she has been taking part in the ‘out grower’ model. She says that she is now hoping to use the extra income to save for her children’s education:

“I will use the extra money for my kids’ education. When I had some spare recently, I bought gold jewellery. We have a tradition here of ‘saving’ money in jewellery. If we put it in the bank, we might treat it like cash and spend it quickly. But if we buy jewellery, we will definitely think twice before selling it”.

Hear from Patricia

The backbone of ETP’s business and entrepreneurship training in Rwanda is Patricia. An inspiring lady, she is the first woman to become a Master Trainer. A Malawian, she travelled to Rwanda specially to ensure the success of the project when it launched and is confident about its future:

“We are going to have a big impact in Rwanda… we will help farmers in terms of the record keeping, planning, knowing the size of their land enhancing their entrepreneurial skills, and better farm management, which will lead to improved incomes”.

Having a woman as a trainer and role model for business has had a remarkable impression on the females being trained. Patricia notes that “most women open up when they are talking with fellow women… because when they see a fellow woman doing it, they believe that they, too, can do it”.

Hear from Speciose

Tea farmer Speciose leads one of ETP’s Farmer Field Schools in Rwanda, where nearly half the members are women. The group learnt how to grow mushrooms through the programme, and Speciose says “this will be a very good income-generating activity for us”. The extra money can be saved in one of ETP’s lending and savings schemes, which she also heads.

Aside from the financial benefits, Speciose says “we appreciate this because mushrooms are rich in nutrients and minerals and will contribute to the good health of our families”.

Hear from Emily

Taking part in ETP’s Farmer Field School has transformed not just tea farmer Emily’s life, but also her five children’s too. Thanks to the training, she’s seen a big increase in her income and “tea cultivation is giving me enough money now to send them all to school”.

Enterprising tea farmer Emily not only grows tea, but also runs a shop. She notes that “the school taught me business skills. I wanted to start a business already, but I didn’t know where to begin”.

Inspired by ETP’s training, she says “my next venture will be to supply spare parts for motorbikes. It is my dream to set that up. With that, I’ll have more money to support my children through education”.

Hear from Yogesh

Yogesh is Joint Secretary of a CDF and lives on a tea estate with his wife, a plucker, and their child. Around half of the residents in the community don’t have any form of identification.

Yogesh is passionate about helping his community secure the documentation that they need. He says, “a lot of people don’t have any identity documentation and without these documents it is very difficult for people to do the things they need to do to make their lives better”.

Noting the pivotal role documentation plays, Yogesh details “for example, it is mandatory now to have a bank account. But without a bank card, you can’t open a bank account. Without a birth certificate, we can’t enrol our children in a school outside the tea estate. There are government quotas for people from certain casts for government jobs. But without the caste certificate you are not eligible for those quotas”.

Yogesh’s collection of identification documents
Credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos

Yogesh sees an opportunity for the CDFs to streamline the issuing of identification documents for tea communities. A complicated bureaucracy means that currently people have to travel to lots of different government offices to get the relevant papers, costing time and money. The CDFs can make life easier for residents by being the link between the community and the government.

Yogesh is keen to “explain to people the importance of this as not everyone understands the benefits”. Hopeful about the future, he says “through the CDFs we can work together… we can all rise. Not only the community but the whole industry”.

Hear from Amrit

As Secretary of the estate’s CDF Amrit is proud to be part of “a proper process for activities that will help us”. For him, the initiative plays an invaluable role in “improving developments on the estate” for the whole community’s benefit.

The CDF has “done some problem prioritisation to talk about the most important issues for all the community”. They identified youth unemployment as a major concern to address.

Amrit notes that “we have a lot of young people living one the tea estate who are educated but haven’t been able to find jobs. The garden isn’t able to employ everybody”. Keen to find a solution, the CDF “facilitates vocational skills training so that they can be employed elsewhere, for example in hotel management and other trades”.

Hear from Deepjyoti

A member of his local CDF, Deepjiyoti is involved in creating an action plan for improvements to the tea estate. He notes that “there are a lot of problems with alcohol on the estate. While some women do drink, it is mostly men and often it is men who work for cash wages off the estate. They have money in their hand, and they spend it on drink”.

He points out alcohol is a “big source of conflict. Sometimes men who are drinking can’t hold down a job and are beating their wives and taking their wages to spend on drink. If the wife refuses to give him her wages, then they might sell household items to spend on liquor”.

This can also have a detrimental effect on children in the home, and disrupt their studies. As Deepjiyoti says, “it’s not just about the alcoholic, it’s about the impact on the people around them”.

Via the CDF, Deepjiyoti is working to address alcoholism on the estate. This includes awareness-raising by going “house to house discouraging people from drinking and also from brewing alcohol in their homes”. Recognising the value of the CDFs, Deepjiyoti notes that “by representing everyone on the estate it gives us a bit more leverage that we can use to solve the problem”.

Though a Political Science graduate, Deepjyoti is currently unemployed. Deepjyoti sees lots of potential for the CDF to also help estate residents to access skills training that will increase their employability.

He says, “There are a lot of educated young people on the estate, but they are still not qualified for certain positions. There are loads of skills development programmes that the government runs. If we can identify what the programmes are and help people access them, then they can also look for jobs inside or outside the tea estate. Personally, I would like to do hotel management training”.

Hear from Asha

Asha is a tea plucker and founding member of the CDF on her estate.

She says, “the management and my community nominated me to represent them. I can’t read and write but I understand the context very well, and I can come back and talk to the people in my community in their own language”.

Asha recognises the value of the CDF, noting “it brings everyone together – student union, trade union – to find solutions for the benefit of the estate and make a complete action plan”.

She points out that the CDF structure means that they can help tackle the root causes of some of the issues people face on the estates: “everything is linked. Getting our ID documents has a snowball effect on everything else. Not having a bank card means you can’t open a bank account. Not having a bank account means you can’t save money”.

Hear from Annie

Annie learnt how to cook nutritious recipes as part of her Farmer Field School training. It’s had a far-reaching impact on tea farmer Annie and her family. She’s noticed that her “children are so much healthier now – they can concentrate better”. Not only that, Annie’s found that both her and her husband “feel stronger when we are working in the tea field”.

Taking part in Farmer Field School programme has also meant that the family have been able to make more money from the tea they grow. They invest this in a community savings scheme.

Keen to find innovative ways to earn more, they use the extra income to run a small, profitable shop from their house.

Hear from Edna

The biggest fans of Edna’s newly developed cooking skills are her two sons. They can’t get enough of the nourishing sweet potato fritters she’s learnt to make, and Edna’s noticed a real improvement in their health since introducing a more balanced diet. She says,

“I can really see the change in my youngest child. He used to get sick a lot and now he doesn’t”.

Edna has taken part in the Farmer Field School programme and so now grows a variety of crops. She invests her increased income in the community savings scheme.

She says: “I plan to save towards my children’s education. The money will accumulate, and it should be enough for their secondary education. I am hopeful that they will get well-paid jobs. One wants to be a driver and the other wants to be a pilot”.

Hear from Victoria

Entrepreneurial tea farmer Victoria runs a hair salon. She is proud that her “business is very profitable. I supply treatments and hair pieces and I go home every day smiling”.

Being part of a community savings scheme has given Victoria the opportunity to access funds to grow her salon:

“Now I can do every type of style a customer wants. Eventually, I want my salon to expand so I can have many customers at once”.

A mother of two, Victoria’s increased income has meant she can now pay for both her children to go school. She notes “when we don’t have financial security, life is hard. But in my case, I am respected, and I am able to support others who are struggling so I have influence”.

Hear from Patrick

Patrick is a painter on a tea estate in Malawi, he says that “when I started work I had no qualifications, but I have put in the work and now I have been promoted”.

Patrick invests some of his salary in to a community savings scheme, set up by ETP. He appreciates that “we can save a little now to fulfil our dreams in the future”. Patrick uses the money he saves to change his family’s lives for the better. He says,

“I want to improve my family’s standard of living. I’d like to be able to provide them with more food and more variety”.

Patrick has three daughters and a son and can use his savings to pay their school fees. He says, “I want my children to be educated so that they can be independent. I want them to be able to stand on their own two feet”.

Hear from Rhoda

Rhoda is a member of a community savings scheme and has been saving to build her house. She says:

“I started building this house in 2014. I joined the scheme in 2016. I used a loan to buy 60 bags of cement to finish off my house. I grew up in a small house with a grass thatched roof, so I am very proud of this house”.

She has also been able to use her savings to purchase a fridge, which she is using to run her own drinks business. With the extra income from selling drinks she plans to purchase more resources to set up future ventures.

We support tea communities, and run community savings schemes with workers in the tea industry. Currently more than 2,000 workers are part of this initiative, and most of these are women. The extra money is used for basic needs such as housing, medical care and education as well as being invested in entrepreneurial opportunities.

Hear from Loveness

Malawian tea farmer Loveness never managed to complete school. She has three young children and attends a Farmer Field School. She’s seen a big increase in income thanks to the training, and the amount she makes a month has nearly doubled.

This has been life-changing for Loveness, who says, “I adopted my niece when my sister died. I could afford to do this because of the extra money I am earning since Farmer Field School”. She can now pay for all her daughters to go to school and wants her girls to be “the first in my family to finish secondary school”.

Sarah Roberts

Executive Director

sarah.roberts@ethicalteapartnership.org

Sarah oversees the running and strategic direction of ETP, ensuring that our work continues to create a fairer, better and more sustainable tea industry and leads to measurable improvements in people’s lives. With a background in development, strategic sustainability and corporate responsibility, she has worked on programmes across the world for the International Institute for Environment and Development. Sarah has also helped companies in very different industries improve their social and environmental impacts at a number of not for profit and large-scale consultancy firms.

Ishan Rajasuriya

Regional Manager

ishan.rajasuriya@ethicalteapartnership.org

Ishan oversees all our work in Sri Lanka. He brings a wealth of experience from his roles at Unilever and Dilmah. As well as extensive supply chain and procurement experience, Ishan was also responsible for a range of sustainability programmes.

Click here to learn how our activity in Sri Lanka is changing people’s lives.

Janvier Afrika

Project Coordinator

Janvier.Afrika@ethicalteapartnership.org

Working on the ground with Rwandan tea workers and farmers, Janvier has a full understanding of the tea communities in this African country. He’s particularly well-versed in sustainability, having joined ETP from Vi Agroforestry – a Swedish development cooperation which promotes climate change awareness among farming communities.

Click here to learn how our activity in Rwanda is changing people’s lives.

Joseph Wagurah

Regional Manager (Africa)

Joseph.Wagurah@ethicalteapartnership.org

Wagurah has long standing experience in improving sustainability in Africa. A graduate from Egerton University in Kenya and an expert trainer, he came to ETP having managed Corporate Social Responsibility at a major Kenyan exporter of fresh flowers. Bringing his sustainability experience to the tea sector, Wagurah continues to drive improvements in social and environmental practices in tea communities across Africa.

Nelia Latief

Regional Manager

Nelia.latief@ethicalteapartnership.org

Nelia leads our activity in Indonesia, ensuring that ETP’s work is truly supporting tea workers and farmers as well as addressing environmental issues in tea communities. Nelia has extensive experience of the development sector in this Asian country, having worked at Plan International, Indonesia and managed projects with UNHCR and the US Department of Agriculture.

Click here to learn how our activity in Indonesia is changing people’s lives.

Vikram Singh

Regional Manager

Vikram.Singh@ethicalteapartnership.org

Vikram has an in-depth understanding of the tea industry, having worked around the globe for large tea plantation companies, including in North and South India, Malawi and other African countries. He began his career as a Management trainee at Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, one of the world’s largest plantation companies. Vikram’s executive career in the sector also includes time at major global tea producer Goodricke, where he spent nearly a decade. Vikram’s global experience and strategic approach ensures that our work in India truly improves the lives of tea communities.

Jame Yu

Programme Officer

Jame.Yu@ethicalteapartnership.org

Jame works directly with Chinese tea farmers to understand the challenges they face, and how best we can work to address these. He has a professional, working knowledge of tea processing and cultivation having obtained a Masters from the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and also majoring in Tea Science during his undergraduate degree at Hunan Agricultural University.

John Qin

Regional Manager

John.Qin@ethicalteapartnership.org

Leading our team in China, John works directly with tea communities to ensure ETP’s programmes have real impact in the country. Prior to joining, he worked as Ethical Compliance Manager at Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer’s and Walmart and measured the performance of over 1,000 factories against the Ethical Trading Initiative base code. He draws upon his strong experience and qualifications in sustainable supply chains to ensure that our work in China is pertinent to the tea sector there.

Hear from Sangeeta

Sangeeta is 19, and her favourite subject is maths. As part of the Girls Group, Sangeeta’s passion for her own studies has been matched by her encouraging girls to stay in education. She’s worked on a range of scenarios, which have included preventing girls from eloping to escape domestic violence and encouraging young women to stay in school as well as convincing their parents to support that decision. Sangeeta has also stood in as the community mobiliser on occasion.

Working with the Child Protection Committees and Welfare Officers, Sangeeta has been able to visit the homes and families of vulnerable children to talk about the challenges those girls face.

She says, “we go house to house to inform parents that they shouldn’t marry their girls before 18 and their boys before 21 and this is illegal in Indian law”. Yet Sangeeta has seen some girls eloping at a young age with their boyfriends, resulting in teenage pregnancies. She says, “in most cases girls elope because there is domestic violence at home. To outsiders, it is just a young girl running away with a boy. But the reality is that at home there is alcohol and violence. Most of these marriages are an escape from that violence. The sad thing is they escape from one violent situation and end up in another”.

But with the support of the Girls Groups Sangeeta explores the challenges facing these young women and provides them with the support they need to pursue other options, such as staying on at school. By visiting their homes and families, Sangeeta is also ensuring that the girls’ families support them and encourages a whole new way of thinking about these adolescent girls’ futures on the tea estates.

She says, “we go to their house to tell them what we do in the group, how good it has been for us and if they allow their daughters to participate, it will only help her. That is how we negotiate”.

China

Dr. Xing Ma

Regional Manager

Jie Wang

Senior Programme Officer

Irene Zhang

Senior Programme Officer

India

Anjan Bordoloi

Programme Manager

Diya Kharwadkar

Programme Manager

Nirbhay Singh

Programme Manager

Probin Baruah

Field Officer

Payal Sirsat

Senior Programme Officer

Indonesia

Regional Manager

Position vacant

Indonesia

Kamini Gohain

Project Officer

Karishma Gogoi

Project Coordinator

Kenya

Peter Kang’acha

Programme Manager

Jane Nyambura

Stakeholder & Partnerships Manager

Malawi

Malawi

Thwango Ndalama

Country Manager

Cecilia Chidothi

VSLA Intern

Charles Kambale

VSLA Officer

Lickson Mchepa

Programmes Coordinator

Eston Sichali

Monitoring Officer

Rwanda

Humphrey Munthali

VSLA Officer

Rwanda

Innocent Ntenjera

Livelihoods Coordinator

Rwanda

Liberal Seburikoko

Regional Director (Africa)

Janvier Afrika

Project Coordinator

Sri Lanka

Ishan Rajasuriya

Regional Manager

Evangelyn Perera

Programme Manager

London, UK

David Meek

Chair

Jenny Costelloe

Executive Director

Rachid Boumnijel

Head of Programmes

Programmes

Rachel Cracknell

Environment & Climate Lead

Programmes

Tiphaine Valois

Insights Manager

Programmes

Alex Perham-Marchant

Programme Officer

Programmes

Lucy Swain

Programme Officer

Programmes