“As an association, we have one voice… the association is fighting for our rights.”

Lucy Wanjiru Gatungu knows precisely what can be achieved with few resources and a powerful force of will. She supports her two children by growing tea on just half an acre of land in Kenya. She is exactly the sort of person that the world of trade would usually exploit – her profits stripped back so that someone else grows richer. But as part of the Nyeri tea growers’ association, she has strength.

“As an association, we have one voice - we can easily get the green leaf prices to increase to 50 KES per kg; were it not for the association we would not have the ability to hold demonstrations; the association is fighting for our rights. There's a Swahili proverb that says, “unity is strength, separation is weakness”

With support from Transform Trade, the tea farmers of Nyeri recently took the Kenyan tea authority to court aiming to secure a minimum price for their green leaves and fight unfair price fixing. This was a lengthy and complicated process… but in the end they won. They secured a promise of a 25% increase in the price of green leaf tea – not just for their group but for every smallholder farmer in Kenya. It’s truly remarkable.

“I have realised that as a collective, we have the power to push for better terms - KTDA (The will listen to us because we have one voice.”

The court ruling is just the start for the tea farmers of Nyeri – there’s a long road ahead to see it implemented, and many more changes to fight for, from regular fixed tea collection times to prevent waste, to equal gender representation on the board.

“The association has carried out a number of reforms and is doing a good job of representing us. 1st of February 2024, we held a demonstration at our collection centre – we did not sell any tea. Our main issue was the collection time- the tea we pick in the evening is collected very late.

For example, yesterday the clerk came back at 10pm- we had to stay up late at the collection centre. We have a bell that notifies us when the lorry is headed to our collection centre. At times the bell is rung at 8pm, which is very late and as a woman I do not feel safe walking to the centre at night- so we are forced to stay at the factory and wait.”

The Nyeri tea farmers continue to stand up for higher prices and better working conditions; their achievements are inspirational, and proof of the incredible power of producers working together for a fairer system.