THIRST

Join the tea brands, retailers, producers, academics, standards bodies, consultants, NGOs and more who have already signed up for the first of THIRST's webinar series on Alternative Approaches in the Tea Sector. Learn from Kazi Yetu co-founder Tahira Nizari about establishing and running a successful purpose-driven tea business and be part of the discussion on what this could mean for the wider tea industry and its people. https://lnkd.in/eEjHQMex

Empowering Women, Inspiring Change In the first of THIRST's webinar series on alternative approaches in the tea sector, co-founder, Tahira Nizari will be sharing her insights on how a purpose-driven company really can be commercially viable. ? *0900-1000 GMT on February 27th.??Book your free ticket?now and join the discussion* Imagine a tea industry where women and smallholder farmers have control over their livelihoods, earn fair wages and contribute to the growth of a thriving industry. At THIRST, we believe this vision is possible and we’re shining the spotlight on?Kazi Yetu, a Tanzanian social enterprise redefining the tea industry with a vertically integrated approach. Born from a heartfelt mission to create meaningful employment for women and promote fair pay for smallholder farmers, Kazi Yetu has grown into a globally recognised initiative. Don't miss this opportunity to join a discussion with its co-founder. Ethical Trading Initiative ETP Tahira Nizari Simon Nihal Bell Filbert Kavia Vindhya Fernando Sudi Biko Matara James Montlake Roshan Rajadurai Dr. Kathrin Gassert Miriam Wenner Céline Gilart Leena Camadoo Jane Terry Nyambura Nikhil Subbiah Zahra Afshar Susan Turner Dan Bolton Aravinda Anantharaman https://lnkd.in/eevcDa9U

Becoming sustainably (ethically) certified is costly for tea producers. Over time it has become more of a tick boxing exercise, a question of compliance, in order to access western buyers who need to see those boxes ticked. A few years ago, we started something quite radical. We said - lets take the money we would have spent on certification and send it to the tea workers who picked our tea. We said, lets try and send it as directly as we can, and let's do so digitally. On top of showing our suppliers that we are actually committed to our shared supply chain through sharing our profits with their workforce, we are also encouraging financial inclusivity (working bank accounts) and visibility (rewarding everyone's contribution to the tea value chain), by insisting it is done digitally. One feedback we got from a lady working in one of the tea gardens we sent bonuses to was "I can't believe a company in England can see me". Ahmad Tea #infusedwithimpact #womenintea

Book your free ticket now for the first in our exciting webinar series on Alternative Approaches in the Tea sector. At 0900-1000 GMT on Thursday 27th February, Tahira Nizari will share the story of Kazi Yetu, a vertically integrated social enterprise, empowering women and farmers to maximise the value from their speciality tea. Kazi Yetu was one of the thirteen case studies featured in our report on Alternative Approaches in the Tea Sector. The last Thursday of each month will see practitioners from Tanzania, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and the UK share their experience of delivering alternative approaces to employment practices, business models and trading systems and how these can address some of the root causes of human rights breaches in the tea sector. Join us - learn from the innovators, quiz them, challenge them, add to the discussion. https://lnkd.in/gHG5gShR

Kicking off THIRST's monthly series of FREE webinars on alternative approaches in the tea sector, we are delighted to welcome Tahira Nizari, co-founder of the Tanzanian speciality tea company, Kazi Yetu ('Our work' in Kiswahili). She will share the story of Kazi Yetu, what motivated her and co-founder Hendrik Buermann to establish it, how they have overcome the challenges they have faced and what they have achieved. Book your place now - they will be going fast! https://lnkd.in/eKhusFKy

THIRST's Febraury News Update is out now. Leena Camadoo Céline Gilart Filbert Kavia Jane Terry Nyambura Nikhil Subbiah Sarah J. Amankwah

THIRST's February News Update is out now. We have been looking back across the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the world of tea and human rights in 2024. We also provide a summary of news items from January. Bad news came in the form of significant exits, closures (like Cargills from the Mombassa auction or Typhoo going into administration), wage disputes and land rights struggles - and Ugly news of violence and abuse against women tea workers. But there was also plenty of Good news for us to build on in 2025 and beyond - news of efforts across the industry to tackle these issues. https://lnkd.in/eC5zJbiD

On behalf of #Liptonteasandinfusions, I'm thrilled to share that after years of hard work including a ton of research projects producing numerous peer-reviewed studies (some of which are cited in the article below) and a well-executed advocacy program, the FDA now says that unsweetened green or black tea is "healthy." It's incredibly rewarding to see that all our efforts have led to this much-needed regulatory change, helping Americans make more informed choices about #healthy #drinks like unsweetened #tea. #foodpolicy

UN Women is inviting proposals to design and implement a project to build capacities of all key stakeholders, including not limited to women workers, management, government, small scale farmers, associations and private sector on enhancing women’s health, wellbeing and safety in tea sector in Assam and West Bengal. NAZDEEK DLR-Prerna Ranjana Das Vidya Rangan Caroline Downey Michael Pennant-Jones Ella Frankel Sloane Hamilton Sally Smith https://lnkd.in/eKKCEpEx

Exciting Moments! Our Chairperson officially signs a cheque for 6 million shillings to support education through the bursary program! This is a huge step toward empowering our youth and building a brighter future. Together, we’re making dreams come true! Fairtrade Africa