Rungwe Smalholder Tea Growers Association (RSTGA) is association of 15,000 tea farmers from 118 villages in Rungwe District. It was set up in 1998. They managed to buy a share in the local tea factory, assuring a better kilo price, and started selling tea to a fair trade company in the UK.

    The fair trade premium that this company (Tea Direct) pays the farmers is used to build schools and water projects, and to set up a community health fund.

    Rungwe is known for its high quality tea. The rolling hills of this lush area are covered with the green tea bushes. The farmers of the Rungwe Smalholder Tea Growers Association (RSTGA) are inviting you to come and have a look on their shamba. Your guide, a tea farmer, will tell you anything there is to know about tea. He or she will also show you around on the expansive Rungwe Tea Estate with its beautiful views.

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    In 2002 the RSTGA bought 25 percent of the Wakulima Tea Factory in Rungwe, making al 15.000 farmers shareholders. It has since increased its stake to 30%. Being a shareholder, RSTGA has been able to bargain for green leaf prices. This has led to an increasing kilo price over the last years and encouraged the farmers to produce more tea. Both factors have led to a huge increase of income for the farmers. Read More>>
    		 




    Since 2002 the RSTGA sells 10 percent of the output of the tea factory to TeaDirect a fair trade organization in the UK. This organization pays 40 sterling cent per kilo on top of the market price, a so called 'fair trade premium'. The premiums are being pumped straight into development projects. In this way fair trade does not only benefit the farmers, but the entire community. Read More>>


    		   



    Fair trade, fair tourism

    To develop Rungwe area even more, the farmers association has started a community based tourism program. The aim of this program is to show you the most beautiful parts of Rungwe and to tell you about its tea and its community.
    In return, the farmers are asking you to pay a small development fee. With this fee, they can build classrooms, a water pump or support the orphans in the village. More>>


     

     


    In collaboration with Wakulima Tea Company Limited (WATCO), we have been cerified by Rainforest Alliance having met the requirements of the Standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network, current versions, for the production of Tea.
    View the certicate here>>


     

     

    Who we are...

    At Cafédirect, we make it our business
    to deliver award-winning, ethical hot drinks. Growers are at the heart of everything we do and we reinvest
    over 50% of our profits back into their businesses. We are the UK's largest 100% Fairtrade hot drinks company
    and our work positively impacts the
    lives of 1.8 million people in 13
    countries. Visit Cafe Direct>>>
    		 
                   

     

     

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