Finlays and The Co-operative

Leading tea supplier Finlay Beverages,  is working with Fairtrade supermarket The Co-operative, the Kenya Cooperative College and Africa Now to deliver the benefits of both Fairtrade and the co-operative business model to secure long-term sustainable livelihoods for small-scale tea farmers in Kericho, South-West Kenya. At present around 11,000 smallholders spread around Finlay’s own Estate supply the Company with tea leaf. This is organised by Finlays through a network of buying centres. Finlays offer additional services to farmers particularly the sale of fertiliser at cost price. The company recognises the excellent quality of the tea it gets from these growers.
Most of these farmers are over-dependent on tea and the project is organising them into an empowering and democratic co-operative structure. Working with cooperatives will enable a new business model to be put in place. The Cooperatives will be assisted to organise the production of other crops for export (to the Co-op) and local markets, to gain Fairtrade certification and sell tea into the UK Co-op’s Fairtrade brands, and to take over the buying centres and systems from Finlays and buy their members tea for sale to the Company. This project has now helped establish five cooperatives and is working to group them under an umbrella organisation to facilitate Fairtrade Certification. All the cooperatives have offices and managers in place and have started to trade initially focusing on input provision. The key hand over of tea buying for onward sale to Finlays or other tea factories is scheduled for later in 2011.