THIRST Tea News Update

The Headlines

This month’s News Update, covering challenges and developments in the global tea sector during May 2026, highlights persistent human rights, labour, economic, and environmental concerns. Amnesty International reported severe labour abuses affecting Malaiyaha Tamil tea workers in Sri Lanka, including conditions resembling forced labour, while Indian unions escalated complaints to the International Labour Organization over systemic labour rights violations. Workers across India and Bangladesh continued protesting delayed wages, poor healthcare, and inadequate living conditions.

Serious welfare concerns emerged, including preventable deaths linked to inadequate healthcare access, unsafe transport, and violence in India, Kenya, and Bangladesh. In India a five-year-old child has died after being denied an ambulance. Mechanisation in Kenya has contributed to job losses, school closures, and educational challenges for children in tea-growing communities.

Economic pressures remain significant. Rising production costs, geopolitical conflicts, and climate-related disruptions continue to threaten livelihoods despite higher tea prices and government support initiatives. In Kenya, a controversial new export levy sparked opposition from growers and exporters, while governments in India, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania introduced various support measures with mixed outcomes.

Climate change is affecting tea-growing regions through extreme weather, wildlife conflicts, and reduced yields. Meanwhile, technological innovations, including digital agriculture tools, climate warning systems, and regenerative farming initiatives, are helping some producers adapt.

This month we also saw several positive developments, including successful smallholder-owned enterprises in Tanzania, women-focused tea initiatives in India, premium market opportunities in Kenya, and income improvements among tea farmers in Rwanda, demonstrating the potential of more equitable and sustainable approaches within the tea industry.

Reports on human rights abuses highlight urgency of due diligence across tea sector

Two damning reports emerged last month on human rights abuses in the tea sector. The first focuses on private tea plantations in Sri Lanka, but many of the issues covered are potential risks in other tea plantations and tea brands, retailers and producers would be well advised to review their human rights due diligence in light of these findings to see if they can reduce such risks in their own tea supply chains.

The Amnesty International report claims that “Malaiyaha Tamils working on private tea estates and smallholdings in Sri Lanka are being subjected to abuses that meet many of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) indicators of forced labour, while being denied access to the country’s strict labour protections… The research, which documents the plight of workers in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province, found that members of the marginalized Malaiyaha Tamil community suffered multiple and widespread forms of abuse including intimidation and threats, physical violence and harassment, debt bondage, restrictions on movement, and poor working and living conditions. (Amnesty International 27/5/2026). Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has made a number of commitments to support sections of the plantation and smallholder tea farming communities (see ‘Governments support for tea industries has mixed outcomes’ below).

The other report is from India, where the trade union Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity (PBCMS), “has escalated a long-running labour dispute beyond India’s borders by filing a formal representation before the International Labour Organisation (ILO), alleging systemic violations of labour rights in the tea plantation sector and a failure of both state and Union authorities to enforce existing laws and international obligations…By taking the matter to the ILO, the union is seeking international scrutiny of what it describes as systemic enforcement gaps and inadequate protection of workers’ rights in the plantation sector…” (Business World, 3/4/2026)

Tea plantation children dying from inadequate healthcare, transport and violence

The litany of preventable accidents on tea plantations continues this month with news that in Assam, India, “Around 35 tea garden workers, including a pregnant woman, were injured after a vehicle carrying them overturned…” The Tata Ace truck was transporting workers to Geleki Athkhel Tea Garden as part of their daily commute. (Assam Times, 30/5/2026) Repeated incidents like this highlight the fact that trucks are not a suitable or safe mode of transport for workers.

Transport was also at the heart of a truly tragic and shocking story, again from Assam, in which a five-year-old child died after being denied an ambulance… “the child of workers Bishal Tanti and Pratila Tanti, had been battling a prolonged illness and was receiving treatment at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh. On Monday, as the child’s condition worsened, the parents desperately sought an ambulance from the estate management to reach the hospital. However, the manager allegedly denied the request, reportedly stating that an ambulance could not be provided for a single patient. After repeated pleading, the manager dropped the family at Naharkatia town, forcing the helpless parents to transport their child to Dibrugarh by public bus. Upon arrival at AMCH, the child was rushed to the ICU but succumbed during treatment.” (Prag News, 26/5/2026)

The death of another young person, this time in Kenya, was due to violence rather than neglect; “A 17-year-old boy who was assaulted while harvesting tea leaves at a multinational estate in Konoin, Bomet County, has died from injuries sustained after he was attacked by guards last Sunday. Area Police Commander Muhammed Godana said the security guards allegedly beat the boy and left him unconscious. He was rushed to Kaptebengwet Dispensary by Good Samaritans before being transferred to Longisa County Referral Hospital for specialised treatment, where he later succumbed to his injuries.” (Standard Media, 30/5/2026)

In Bangladesh, the closure of the Camellia Duncan Foundation Hospital after violent protests at the death of a tea worker’s daughter there in May, has left “Over one lakh tea workers and their family members under 15 estates of Duncan Brothers… facing healthcare crisis. (Observer Bangladesh, 4/5/2026). Workers “have been protesting for the past five days, demanding the immediate reopening of Camellia Duncan Foundation Hospital, which has remained closed for nearly one and a half months…. (The Daily Star, 15/5/2026)

From healthcare problems to healthcare solutions, with a report that research “increasingly shows that poor vision is not just a health issue but an economic one. A recent agricultural study found that providing near-vision glasses improved productivity among tea pickers by 22 per cent, with gains rising to 32 per cent among workers above 50 years. Workers who received corrective eyewear also experienced an average income increase of 18 per cent. (Tuko, 20/5/2026)

Mechanised harvesting damaging children’s education

We no longer earn what we used to from both private and multinational factories

Reports are beginning to emerge that the move by many plantations in Kenya towards mechanical harvesting is impacting on children’s education there. One reason is school closures: “In the once vibrant tea-growing zones, several schools have shut down after families lost jobs and migrated in search of alternative livelihoods. In Bomet County alone, at least four schools have reportedly closed over the past five years due to dwindling learner populations linked to job losses caused by mechanisation (Education News , 9/5/2026). But it also due to lost income; “Poor tea earnings, coupled with harsh economic times, are gradually affecting the education of school-going children in the tea-growing areas of Nandi County… hundreds of students are being sent home daily to look for school fees. A number of parents [say] dwindling tea prices… have made it difficult for them to support their children’s education. “We no longer earn what we used to from both private and multinational factories,” lamented Yussuf Lagat from Kapsabet Town. (Education News , 16/5/2026)

Kenyan tea stakeholders oppose controversial new levy

Kenyan tea news was overshadowed this month by the “controversial 0.8 percent tea export levy… aggressively rolled out by the Tea Board of Kenya.”

How it works: “For any tea sold through action, the new levy applies a 1% charge to the auction value… Value-added tea exports of packed tea bags and instant tea sold in retail packs of 10kg or less will be exempted from the new tea levy…50% of the total levy collected will be used for income and price stabilization for the tea farmer. Additionally, 20% will be remitted to the Tea Research Institute (TRI) for research and development. To support the regulatory function of the TBK, 15% of the levy will be used to maintain the operations. Infrastructural developments in the tea catchment areas, managed in consultation with tea-growing countries, will be allocated 15% of the tea levy.” The Kenya Times, 4/5/2026

The levy “has sparked intense backlash from growers, multinational packers, and auction brokers.” (Streamline, 4/5/2026). It is feared that it will “result in low income as buyers at the Mombasa tea auction shift to produce from neighbouring countries. (Daily Nation, 9/5/2026)

Industry stakeholders are warning that the uncoordinated rollout threatens to completely erode the competitive advantage of Kenyan tea on the global market, putting hundreds of thousands of rural livelihoods at immediate risk…” The impact is already being felt as “International buyers from major consumer markets like Pakistan, Egypt, and the United Kingdom are hesitant to sign long-term purchasing agreements, unsure of how the 0.8 percent levy will ultimately affect final freight-on-board pricing. This hesitation translates to immediate liquidity crises for local smallholder factories.” Streamline, 4/5/2026

The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has moved to address growing concerns over [the levy] saying the charge is designed to fund industry development programmes and ultimately raise returns for tea farmers across the country. Sacco Review, 8/5/2026 Nevertheless, “A legal…case… has been filed [which] raises questions about the legality, transparency, and procedural correctness of the reforms spearheaded under the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK), particularly the rollout of the new levy framework.” Dawan Africa, 19/5/2026

Separately, “[t]he government is planning tighter regulations to streamline Kenya’s multi-billion-shilling tea sector and protect more than 800,000 farmers from exploitation. The proposed rules will map all players across the tea value chain and strengthen oversight by the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK). The regulator will enforce penalties targeting malpractices such as hawking of green leaf across regions and theft at processing factories.” Standard Media, 1/5/2026

Mixed outcomes of government support to tea industries

Governments of tea-growing countries are under constant pressure to help their tea industries withstand pressures from multiple directions. For example; “The Indian Tea Association (ITA) … flagged mounting financial stress in the sector despite India’s exports touching a record 280.40 million kg in 2025, and called for urgent government intervention on pricing, climate support and export competitiveness… the ITA said auction price realisations have grown at a compounded annual rate of only 3.81 per cent over the past decade, while input costs such as energy, fertilisers and other farm inputs have risen sharply, putting pressure on estate viability., PTI News, 20/5/2026

In India’s North Bengal, “According to industry stakeholders, the tea industry can regain stability if century-old tea gardens are rejuvenated, tea exports are expanded and auction prices improve alongside rising market demand…” One plantation manager acknowledged that “We all understand that a daily wage of Rs 250 is not sufficient for tea workers. However, unless tea prices increase, it will not be possible for garden owners to sustain higher wages,”. He also “reiterated the long-standing demand for a minimum floor price for tea, similar to support mechanisms available for crops like paddy and jute.” (Millennium Post, 8/5/2026) The newly elected State government of West Bengal “has started implementing the Rs 1,000 crore central development package for tea garden workers in the Hills…” (MSN, 31/5/2026) but it remains to be seen if this will be enough to turn the industry around.

THIRST is working alongside tea producers, buyers and civil society in Darjeeling following two years of research into the views of workers, managers and owners in the region. We will be hosting a multi-stakeholder roundtable meeting later this year to jointly explore how to bring about systemic change in the sector. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved.

Many governments are taking action – but sometimes with both negative as well as positive impacts. For example, producers of Darjeeling tea – which has protected Geographic Indication like Champagne – have long been calling on their government for protection against counterfeit “Darjeeling” tea from other Himalayan regions, including Nepal. The Indian government’s actions have caused a backlash from affected Nepalese tea producers. “MP Nemwang said, ‘The recent policy of the Tea Board of India has caused tea exports to come to a halt. This is directly affecting farmers, workers, industrialists, exporters, and the country’s economy. Therefore, I want to urge the government – initiate immediate diplomatic efforts with the Indian government, resolve the obstruction in tea exports, and formulate a concrete policy to protect tea industrialists and farmers.’ (Ratopati, 13/5/2026)

In Sri Lanka, The Plantation Ministry has committed to addressing wage deductions from pregnant women and mothers of six-month old infants who say “Unlike the other workers, we can’t wander far or roam around to pluck leaves. We can’t travel long distances. There are many wild animals like leopards and snakes roaming about, and wasp nests are found in almost every tree.” (The Morning, 26/5/2026). The Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board [Sri Lanka] has announced plans to introduce a new pension scheme for workers engaged in the tea industry and related sectors (Adaderana, 13/5/2026) and the Plantations and Community Infrastructure Minister Samantha Vidyaratne stated the Government has decided to provide an additional fertiliser subsidy to small-scale tea plantation of Rs. 5,000 to small-scale tea plantation owners in light of the ongoing global conflict situation which has driven up fertilizer prices. (The Morning, 13/5/2026)

But an earlier effort by the Sri Lankan government to support tea workers – the introduction of welfare payments to smallholder tea farm worker – is other example of well-meaning government policy that is having some unintended negative impacts; “Smallholder tea owners have voiced concerns that the Aswesuma [welfare] beneficiary programme has become a threat to the tea industry, citing a severe worker shortage on days when payments are credited. According to the owners, workers indulge in illicit liquor on those days and fail to report for duty… and that domestic violence is also on the rise. (The Morning, 8/5/2026)

Meanwhile, “The Tanzanian government is pursuing negotiations to take over more than 2,000 hectares of unused tea estates owned by Mohamed Enterprises Limited in Mbeya Region, with plans to redistribute the land to smallholder farmers and revitalize tea production in the area. (Tanzania Insight, 22/5/2026) – a move that will hopefully have only positive impacts.

Unexpected climate impacts on tea workers’ lives and livelihoods

The climate crisis is impacting on tea workers and farmers in many ways, including jeopardising their health when they have to work in extreme heat, cold or rain and affecting their income when crop volumes are reduced. But it is putting them in danger in other ways as well. Workers in Assam, India, have been terrified by a leopard spotted in the tea fields; experts explained that “Habitat loss due to expanding urbanisation, deforestation, and fragmentation is pushing leopards closer to human areas in search of food… Tea estates have become corridors for wildlife. Without proper buffer zones and community awareness, such encounters will only increase.” “The leopard was trapped… medically examined, and later released into a nearby dense forest…” but this can only be a temporary solution to a longer term problem (Daily Hunt, 11/5/2026).

Another news item this month highlights the long-term impact on tea plantation workers when climate-related natural disasters like cyclones strike; “Plantation workers experience disruptions to already fragile livelihoods. Families take on debt to absorb sudden income loss. Migration pressures increase as local opportunities shrink. For many households, climate shocks are not isolated environmental events. They are economic turning points…. For plantation workers paid through output-based systems, declining yields often translate directly into declining wages. The labour landscape has diversified since the colonial period however insecurity remains deeply embedded within it. (Groundviews 5/25/2026)

New trade unions in Kenya and Vietnam?

March saw the unopposed re-election of  Francis Atwoli  as General Secretary of Kenyan Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), a position he has held for 25 years. COTU is the umbrella organisation for Kenyan trade unions including the Kenyan Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWIU) which covers tea workers. This month there have been calls for change. “Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has called for the formation of an alternative workers’ organisation to rival… COTU, arguing that employees need a new platform to represent their interests…. (Viral Tea, 5/5/2026). In Vietnam, meanwhile, the Chairman of the Provincial Labor Federation has given the go ahead “to establish grassroots trade unions and admit 16 grassroots trade union members of Lai Chau Tea Joint Stock Company…[He] requested the Executive Committee of the Grassroots Trade Union to focus on… Promoting propaganda of laws and Trade Union Charters; proactively supervising the implementation of regimes on salaries, social insurance, and health insurance to protect workers’ rights; and…launching practical emulation movements, accompanying the company’s growth.” (LaoDong, 18/5/2026)

THIRST is conducting research into tea trade unions, their effectiveness, the extent to which they represent tea workers (especially women) and what measures may be taken to strengthen their capacity to support the tea industry and its workers. Please get in touch if you would like to share your views or be involved.

Unpaid tea workers in India and Bangladesh protest for their rights

Protests are still going on across India and Bangladesh over multiple cases of delayed or unpaid wages. Workers are also demanding other rights are fulfilled such as decent healthcare and living conditions.

In Assam, India, “mostly female leaf pluckers, held hour-long demonstrations at five tea estates in Dibrugarh district on Thursday under the banner of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS), pressing management and authorities to address a range of long-pending demands related to employment, healthcare and living conditions.” (Times of India, 28/5/2026) Similarly, “Hundreds of tea garden workers, under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ABCMS)… staged massive protest… with a demand to fix the wage of tea garden workers up to Rs 350 and to release the arrear for the last five months. The protesters demanded implementation of minimum wages and entitlement to legal framework to change the working conditions. (Sentinel Assam, 13/5/2026) The “Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangh (BCMS)… [alleges] that the management of Rangajan tea estate and Thurajan tea estate [owes workers] more than Rs 10 crore [and]… has allegedly deprived workers of several basic entitlements for the past few years, including timely payment of wages, ration supplies, provident fund deposits, gratuity, and pension benefits. (Sentinel Assam, 13/5/2026).

While across the border, in Bangladesh, “Workers at four tea gardens under the Deundi Tea Company… launched an indefinite strike… after garden authorities halted weekly wages, citing the failure of Bangladesh Krishi Bank to disburse a pending loan. (The Daily Star, 25/5/2026). “Workers said around 5,000 labourers across the four gardens have been facing severe hardship due to irregular payment of weekly wages over the past several weeks.” (TBS News, 26/5/2026)

Further afield, the Kenyan government “has formally moved to raise minimum wages following the signing of legal notices by Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, implementing a 12 per cent increase in general minimum wages and a 15 per cent rise for agricultural workers. The policy change will take effect upon gazetting and is expected to guide salary adjustments across sectors nationwide.” (Eastleigh Voice, 8/5/2026)

A clue as to why wages are such a contentious issue in the sector is given in an article in Groundviews, which explains that “The [tea] plantation system introduced under British colonial rule was not simply an agricultural model. It was a labour regime designed around control, immobility and extraction… Access to land ownership, education and alternative livelihoods remained constrained for generations. The objective was not long term social mobility, it was the maintenance of a stable and low cost labour force… Today, the plantation economy still directly and indirectly supports the livelihoods of nearly one million people. In some plantation regions, multidimensional poverty rates remain significantly above urban districts despite decades of economic growth nationally.” (Groundviews, 25/5/2026) While the article focuses on the Sri Lankan tea sector, its arguments apply to the tea industries of many other countries.

Tea producers seek to mitigate rocketing costs due to West Asia conflict

Tea growers in several countries are seeking ways to mitigate rocketing costs as a result of the West Asia conflict. “The Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA), the apex body of Sri Lanka‘s Plantation industry, has called for an urgent review and streamlining of the industry’s cost structures in light of the unprecedented crisis in West Asia and the Strait of Hormuz.” (The Morning, 4/5/2026).  The conflict is impacting directly on tea workers; “Tea factory worker Jacintha Malar once relied on cooking gas to prepare meals for her family, but has switched to firewood after the Middle East conflict pushed ​up energy costs and battered the country’s tea industry…. (Reuters, 21/5/2026)

Similar impacts are being felt in Vietnam’s tea sector where “the sharp increase in input material prices has significantly affected the operations of many tea processing facilities in the Muong Khuong area, leading to anxiety among tea growers about product sales.” But one company has decided to accept reduced profits “to maintain the purchase of raw materials from local people,” explaining that “Maintaining the stability of the raw material supply area is a long-term goal because it is the result of the joint efforts of the company and the people over many years…” The example highlights that “what helps cooperative models maintain sustainability lies not only in price, but also in the partnership and sharing of benefits between businesses and farmers.” (Vietnam, 13/5/2026)

India’s tea trade has also been impacted by “communication blackouts stalling contracts with major buyers in Iran”.  Tea producers fear that “The geopolitical gridlock threatens to rapidly erase last year’s competitive gains, leaving Indian exporters facing delayed shipments, soaring freight costs, and evaporating demand from one of their most lucrative premium markets. (The Federal, 25/5/2026)

Rising tea prices fail to keep up with rising costs

After suffering “continuous losses for several years” Tea estate owners in Bangladesh have seen a change “after a minimum price floor was introduced at auctions for two consecutive years. In the latest 2025–26 auction season, nearly 175 tea estates and small-scale tea growers earned around BDT 4.65 billion more in sales revenue compared with the previous year… The Consolidated Tea and Lands Company (Bangladesh) Chief Operating Officer, Tahsin Ahmed Chaudhury [said] “The floor price has breathed new life into the country’s struggling tea sector. Since tea fetched good prices in the concluded auction year, production is expected to remain strong in the current season as well.” However, Kamran T Rahman, president of the Bangladeshiyo Cha Sangsad, highlighted that despite the benefits, the floor price has not kept up with rising costs. (Bonik Barta, 7/5/2026).  Price rises due to a favourable exchange rate have also failed to compensate fully for rising costs in Sri Lanka. (Sunday Times, 24/5/2026)

This phenomenon is driving tea growers to seek ways of supplementing their income; for example, in Sri Lanka’s Nuwara Eliya district; “large swathes of tea-planted land are being cleared for other uses, primarily vegetable cultivation like potatoes, carrots and leeks.” While this helps tea producers boost their income in the short term, there are concerns that “The uprooting of tea plantations from the hills causes severe soil erosion and results in landslides” and that “The heavy use of chemical fertilisers in vegetable farming pollutes local waterways, affecting the drinking water of estate residents and the soil suitable for tea cultivation.” (Sunday Times, 3/5/2026)

Technological advancements (mostly) benefitting tea workers and farmers

Every month more stories are emerging of different ways in which technology is bringing benefits to the tea sector and its people.  For example, tea farmers in Rwanda can now receive SMS messages warning them about imminent rainfall, landslide risks etc. One farmer described how this has changed her life; “Before, the rain came without warning… Now the message comes before the clouds… We used to plant and pray… We didn’t know when the danger would come.” The system is run by Rwandan Red Cross volunteers who translate updates into local language and disseminate them through multiple channels including “SMS messages, women’s cooperatives, local radio, and even loudspeakers.” (Climate Centre, 7/5/2026)

“Sri Lanka’s smallholder tea sector received a major digital and knowledge-sharing boost with the official handover of new “Regenerative Agriculture Digital Resource Centres” to the Tea Smallholdings Development Authority… at the Ratnasiri Wickramanayake National Training Centre. The initiative, launched in conjunction with the 6th Asian Tea Alliance, was aimed at accelerating the modernisation of the small tea estate sector through regenerative agriculture practices, digital learning, and faster dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge. (Financial Times, 23/5/2026)

In China, in a move that could replace tea workers rather than help them, tea plucking has become one of the real world challenges used to test humanoid robots in the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games. “The challenge required humanoid robots to identify and pluck tea leaves, carry loads across uneven mountain terrain, spread leaves for sun-drying, and participate in subsequent processing stages, including roasting and pressing tea cakes. (Interesting Engineering, 22/5/2026)

Good news for some smallholder tea farmers in India, Kenya and Tanzania

There was a cluster of good news stories for certain smallholder tea farmers last month, demonstrating that alternative approaches to tea cultivation and labour practices can have positive impacts for the industry and its people.

For example, “in 2023, CARE Tanzania and KAZI Yetu, with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, established the Sakare Specialty Tea Company (SSTC), the first smallholder farmer-owned specialty tea factory in Tanzania to process its own orthodox (whole leaf) black, green, and specialty teas on-site… in October 2024, Monica Timotheo was hired to become a processor… Monica, who grew up in nearby Lutindi, has spent her life surrounded by tea. Her family grew and harvested tea leaves, but until a couple of years ago, that was the extent of her knowledge.  “We did not know at all how those tea leaves were processed,” she said… “I thank God, because I can manage my life. Before I depended entirely on my family, but today I can stand on my own. I can even pay for my children’s education on my own.” Care International 20/5/2026

THIRST visited Sakare factory when it was first established in 2023, and met with some of the farmers who would benefit from it, as well as the women who worked in the processing unit in Dar Es Salaam. You can read about it in our Alternative Approaches report and see a recording of the webinar we hosted with Kazi Yetu co-founder Tahira Nizari.

Another example of good news for smallholder women tea farmers came from Assam, India: “Established in 2021, Atoqa Tea Factory and Estate is the first Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)-based bought leaf tea factory in the region… The estate supports 15 villages and covers about 900 acres of tea plantation in Niuland district. It works with more than 150 small tea growers and provides jobs to around 600 to 800 workers. Many of the workers are tribal women, showing the project’s focus on women empowerment and rural development.” Nagaland Post, 6/5/2026

This was one of several good news stories from Assam. Another dealt with the innovations of “Small tea growers in Assam’s Tinsukia district” who  “have begun growing black pepper vines on areca nut trees while continuing tea cultivation below, creating a multi-layered farming system suited to the region’s climate… “We never imagined pepper would grow so well alongside our betel nuts and tea. It feels like nature’s bonus from the same plot,” said Arjun Baruah.” North East Now 1/5/2026

And still in Assam; “Amchong Tea Estate has launched ‘Amchong Leaf’, which it claims is India’s first dedicated tea experience centre, offering visitors guided estate walks, factory tours, tea-tasting sessions, interactions with workers involved in the manufacturing process, and audio-visual presentations…Industry analysts believe experiential projects such as tea tourism and estate-based consumer engagement could help strengthen domestic appreciation for premium teas, while creating new interest around its consumption.” Devdiscourse, 25/5/2026

Meanwhile, “Kenyan speciality tea farmers and producers are set to gain direct access to premium international markets following the signing of a landmark offtake and promotional agreement [that] brings together Palais des Thés, a leading French specialty tea house, Gatanga Industries Limited, a Kenyan producer of premium specialty teas including indigenous purple tea cultivars, and Equity Group Holdings Plc. The deal is expected to unlock new income opportunities for smallholder farmers by positioning Kenyan purple and specialty tea within high-value global consumer segments, particularly in Europe.” Citizen Digital, 11/5/2026

Tea has also been lifechanging for farmers in Rwanda. One says; “I was living in extreme poverty, and my family was struggling. I saw other tea farmers doing well, so I decided to start tea farming myself. I wanted to improve my livelihood,” said tea farmer Ndagijimana Jean Marie Vianney. “When I started harvesting tea, it helped me to lift my family from the poverty we were all living in before. Now, I can get clothes and health insurance for my family. I can also afford school fees for my children. We’ve improved our nutrition, too. This is all the result of tea farming.” Women continue playing a major role across Rwanda’s tea value chain, including farm ownership, harvesting and processing. (Biz Community, 22/5/2026)

International Tea Day

“International Tea Day was first celebrated on December 15, 2005, following discussions among global trade unions, small tea growers from countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Nepal, and Vietnam”, says J John, one of the initiators of International Tea Day. The initial observance was far more than symbolic. It emerged as a direct social campaign that highlighted deep structural inequalities within the global tea industry, particularly the reality that small tea growers often received extremely low prices for green tea leaves while plantation workers endured poor wages, insecure employment, and inadequate living conditions. “At its core, the movement demanded fair wages, housing rights, land rights, social security, and the empowerment of women tea workers, who form the backbone of plantation labour,” says Ashok Ghosh, General Secretary of the United Trade Union Congress (UTUC)… During this phase, ITD remained deeply tied to the grassroots, focusing on systemic reform rather than ceremonial celebration. (East Mojo, 21/5/2026)