Empowering a Sustainable Cooperative Tea Association in Honde Valley

Project period:

01.01.2025 - 30.06.2026

Granted amount:

728,974,- DKK

Total budget:

728,974,- DKK

Organization:

Ingeniører uden Grænser (IUG)

Partners:

Honde Valley Tea Growers Association

Pool:

Civilsamfundspuljen

Grant type:

Udviklingsindsats

World goals:

Goal 1: No Poverty

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Efforts take place in:

Zimbabwe

Resume

In Zimbabwe's Honde Valley, tea farming has long supported many small-scale farmers, but challenges like inflation, climate change, and limited market access threaten their livelihoods. Many farmers earn below a living wage due to reliance on a single buyer that creates a monopoly and drives down prices. The Honde Valley Tea Growers Association (HVTGA) is seeing a decline in active members as they struggle against low wages and unfair market conditions. This intervention extends our ongoing partnership with HVTGA, focusing on three strategic outcomes: 1)Strengthen management skills and conflict resolution capabilities to enhance decision-making and organisational capacity 2)Diversify market access by improving branding and sales skills to reduce dependency on a single buyer, increase bargaining power, and secure better prices 3)Enhance production quality and capacity to increase income and foster a more resilient community and sustainable participation in the association.