What Must Be Done to Support Kenya’s Women Tea Farmers

What Must Be Done to Support Kenya’s Women Tea Farmers

If we are serious about ethical tea, sustainability, and social justice, we must redesign how value moves through the tea supply chain—so that the women who pick the tea share equitably in its rewards.

1. Pay Transparency at the Farm Level

Women cannot advocate for fair pay when pricing systems are hidden.

Tea factories, cooperatives, and buyers must commit to:

• Clear and accessible pricing structures

• Transparent deductions and bonus calculations

• Timely and traceable payments

• Independent audits that verify what women actually receive

Transparency is not a luxury—it is the foundation of fairness.

2. Pay Women Directly for Their Labor

One of the simplest yet most transformative steps is ensuring that women receive payment in their own names.

This includes:

• Individual mobile money or bank accounts for women pickers

• Direct wage documentation listing women as the earners

• Cooperative rules that recognize women as financial beneficiaries

When women control income, families invest more reliably in food, health, and education—and communities become stronger.

3. Secure Women’s Land Rights and Cooperative Membership

Economic power begins with ownership.

Women must have:

• Legal rights to own and inherit land

• Equal access to cooperative membership and voting

• Representation in factory boards and cooperative leadership

Without ownership and governance power, women remain laborers in systems they do not control.

4. Move Women into Higher-Value Roles

Tea becomes truly profitable after the leaf leaves the field.

Women must be trained and promoted into:

• Tea grading and quality control

• Processing and production management

• Blending and product development

• Sales, export, and entrepreneurship

• Artisanal and specialty tea production

These roles command higher pay and longer-term financial stability.

5. Ensure Ethical Premiums Reach Women

Fair trade and sustainability premiums are meaningless if they never reach the picker.

Certifiers and brands must require:

• Gender-specific premium tracking

• Proof that women received direct benefit

• Women-led decision-making on community investments

Ethical labels must represent economic reality—not marketing.

6. Reduce the Burden of Unpaid Care Work

Women’s earning power is limited by time poverty.

Supporting women tea farmers also means:

• Providing cooperative childcare during harvest seasons

• Improving access to clean water and efficient cooking fuel

• Offering health services and maternity protections

• Ensuring safe transportation and workplace protections

When women gain time, they gain income—and choice.

7. Strengthen Women’s Collective Voice

No economic transformation happens without power.

This requires:

• Women’s associations within cooperatives

• Leadership training and legal literacy

• Safe systems to report abuse and wage theft

• Platforms for women to negotiate collectively

Women must not only work in the tea industry—they must shape it.

A Moral and Economic Imperative

Supporting women tea farmers is not charity.

It is economic intelligence.

It is sustainability.

It is justice.

When women are paid fairly, tea quality improves, communities stabilize, and generational poverty begins to break. When women thrive, entire supply chains become more resilient.

And for brands, consumers, and advocates who truly care about what is in their cup, this is the question we must ask:

Not just where was this tea grown?

But who was paid—and how fairly?

At Desert Sage Lifestyle Wellness, we believe that wellness must extend beyond the teacup—to the hands that harvest the leaves, the women who rise with the sun, and the communities that make every sip possible.

Because ethical tea is not only about how it tastes.

It is about how it transforms lives.