“I have been fighting for women, and no man will mistreat women while I am around”

Grace Ngambi is a tea farmer and a board member of the Nyeri Chai Farmers Association:

“My role of fighting for the rights of farmers began when I was a committee member at our factory and saw how the directors were taking advantage of the farmers - I was not happy.

I looked for like-minded people who are fearless and were willing to fight for the farmers rights in my community.

At this time farmers had been given the green leaf sales agreement that was unfavourable to the farmers. I told my fellow tea farmers not to sign the agreement as it going to take away their power. I mobilised farmers from more that 10 tea collection centres Gathuthi to go demonstrate against the agreement. I am vocal and fearless. This caught the attention of the KTDA officials, and I questioned them why the sales agreement that was presented to the farmers was different from what was drafted by the directorate. They could not provide answers- so we decided to take them to court. 

When we won the case, it was not only a win for farmers from Gathuthi Tea factory but for the whole country.

As farmers we now have a registered association- Nyeri Chai Farmers Association. They have fought for our freedom, we no longer need to consult with anyone when we meet, we do not need special permits, we are no longer asked who we are – our work speaks for itself. We are more stronger working as a registered association.”

Board Members of the Nyeri Chai Farmers Association (Grace Ngambi, far right) convene a meeting at the Chinga tea factory in Nyeri County, Kenya

“I take a lot of lessons in leadership from my parents. For example, my mum was a leader back then - I do not want to say that it is inborn, but I think it is. I have passed on these lessons to my daughters as well and they are all leaders in their respective fields. As a woman leader you must be courageous, and very honest – you must never cheat. I know women are very shy and during elections we are called all sorts of nonsense. The insults we receive moves straight from one ear to the next, and you solider on - that is how I live. I have learnt that what people say about me is not who I am. As a woman you have to learn how to manage all those stresses, because when you get home your family needs you, so, you need to forget all those stresses. I tell people that the information I have in my brain is there because I want it to be there. I have found myself in leadership positions as the only woman, and most women cannot tolerate how these men behave and disrespect women. I have been fighting for women, and no man will mistreat women while I am around, whether it is our president or one of my colleagues. Women should be courageous, trusted, honest and learn how to be brave.”