Summary of Exchange
The East African region is a major producer of regular (black cured) tea in the world. The tea plant (Camelia sinensis) is a perennial crop that is maintained as tea bushes where fresh leaves are picked periodically and processed into tea which is a commonly used beverage in many households of the world.
The tea farms cover approximately 157,720 ha in Kenya, 26,000 ha in Rwanda and 3,099 ha in Ethiopia. The tea is also grown in Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi and is a major source of livelihood for rural communities. Regular tea changes from its green coloration to a black colour through an oxidation process referred to as tea curing where leaves are heated and this heat is mainly from biomass energy and results to deforestation. Regular tea has been associated with negative environmental effects globally and in the East African Region.
Purple tea belongs to a group of special and herbal teas, also described as green teas that do not undergo oxidative curing processes. The processing of purple tea is by orthodox technology and does not require the high energy aeration (fermentation in the oven) like the black CTT tea.
Karatina University is a Chartered public university in Kenya. It has a dedicated Centre for Mountain studies and Climate Change that spearheads understanding climate change effects and supporting adaptation programs in the region and globally. The Centre has been undertaking Carbon footprints associated with climate mitigation projects like tree planting. The University has also specialized through its Tea Institute that leads the research on understanding of Special teas for communities and livelihood development. More info here.
Karatina University Conference
Participating countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia
Venues: Karatina University
Summary: Karatina University held a conference on dates 24th – 26th May 2023 and comprising 400 attendants. Of these there were direst beneficiaries who participated in the conference (21 international attendants from the East African community, 100 local peasant farming women and 86 youths from different universities).
The University adopted a green university concept in 2015 to help in spearheading climate change mitigation activities such as tree planting and environmental conservation. This has allowed the university to form networks with likeminded Universities, stakeholders and communities to support implementation of proposed targets. As a former Tea Institute, the University is surrounded by tea farms managed by peasant farmers who also practice subsistence farming to meet their family diet requirements. Most of these rural farms are managed by women. Besides being involved in research, the University is marketing a new concept for growing purple tea.
One additional activity took place as part of this exchange was the participation at Africa Climate Week, Nairobi, Kenya where the exchange supported 14 women in attending the African Climate Week on dates 4th – 8th September 2023.
Goal: To enhance the linkage between research and implementation in climate change adaptation activities for sustainable agricultural landscapes with experiences from deforestation free tea farming. The East African Community has developed a climate change Policy framework to allow integration and complementarity of the specific climate change strategies. This opportunity allows the East African Community members to have an in-depth discussion on an activity that affects all of them. Diversification of production is identified as a climate resilience adaptation measure.
The vision of the conference organizers:
When we plant trees in our farms, we enhance the resilience of the agricultural landscapes, and cushion livelihoods of the vulnerable rural communities from extreme effects of climate change. The Purple tea value chain is deforestation free thereby reducing emissions and enhancing the mitigation roles of agro-forestry landscapes.
Outcomes:
- This was a knowledge exchange forum where participants from countries with similar objectives and Climate policies discussed ways to enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation programs through agricultural activities.
- Facilitation focused mainly on women and youth. Women are the main managers of tea farms while young researchers were invited to explore research issues and present their findings while learning from experienced researchers and implementers.
- This initiative aligned with EAC policies on climate policies and strategies under the UNFCCC initiatives for reducing emissions and enhancing climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- Besides climate action and sustainable landscapes, the discussion brought to light the importance of healthy lifestyles, reducing diseases and costs of hospitalization.
- The discussion provided a platform to engage government actors and policy makers in implementing sustainable development goals.
