Tea seedlings project stirs hope in Nandi County youth

Chaiyat Ak-Ketit youth group Chairperson Emmanuel Birgen (in gumboot) with other partners sort out tea seedlings which they normally sell to farmers at Sironei area in Nandi County. [PHOTO: Peter Ochieng/STANDARD]

NANDI COUNTY: When a group of youth ventured into a tea seedlings project ten years ago, they had no idea it would transform their lives. The idea started as a simple seedlings nursery initially to benefit 41 members, but it has since turned into a money-making project.

The self-help group — Chaiyat ak Ketit — based in Sironoi, Nandi County has given hope to young people who would have otherwise been idle or engaging in criminal activities.

“We started this tea seedlings project in 2004 with 41 members. The deal was that each of the members would plant tea seedlings in one acre of their farm. Since most members were young and not financially stable, they asked their parents for the land,” says Mr Emanuel Birgen, the group chairman.

SURPLUS

Birgen says the group has since expanded and members have 50 acres under crop.

The tea seedlings, he says, are sold to individual farmers, public institutions including schools, health centres in the area.

“We produce so much; we sell it to schools, colleges and universities in the area. The clones of tea seedling varieties we grow include TN 1410, C12, TN 14/3 and the latest variety of purple tea,” says Birgen.

On average, the group sells about 150,000 seedlings every year, which translates to Sh1.5 million since each seedling costs Sh10.

“We keep records and share proceeds of the seedlings project among members,” Birgen tells Smart Harvest at the farm.

The group shares out 80 per cent of total cash sales from the seedlings among members while 20 per cent is saved in an account and later paid out to members in form of a dividend at the end of the year. He says because of good record keeping, the management of the group has been harmonious.

Birgen says with an acre of mature tea and surplus earnings from the sale of seedlings, members can now afford to educate their children comfortably.

The project has been so successful, that Elisha Maritim, the treasurer, says some youths who had requested for portions of land from their parents for tea production have since purchased their own parcels plus other assets using proceeds from tea.

“These youths are self reliant and feed and educate theirchildren using proceeds from the project,” says Maritim.

Nancy Birgen, a member of the group, says the project has reduced idleness among the youths and by extension crime rate.

NO LONGER IDLE

“Thanks to the project, we have started dairy and poultry keeping to boost our earnings,” she adds.

Mr Amos Korir, the patron of the group, says they initiated the project in 2004 with an objective of empowering the youth.

“Most youths graduate from college then they end up idle because white collar-jobs are hard to come by. To give them a head start, we decided to provide them with tubes for planting the tea seedlings and polythene covers for nurseries,” explains Korir who is also the Member of County Assembly Kaptel Kamoiywa ward, Nandi.

Korir says with three tea processing plants in the area, farmers can now position themselves to benefit from the cash crop. At the same time, DL Group of companies has announced that it will construct a Sh 1.8 billion purple tea processing factory at Kaptel in Nandi County.

Korir says farmers are now moving towards production of purple tea in readiness for the opening of that factory.

“The self-help group sells green tea seedlings at Sh10 each while purple retails at Sh 30. There is demand for the new purple tea because the variety has medicinal value and processing plants buys its leaves at Sh 100 per kg,” says Korir.

The group also raises tree seedlings to improve forest cover in tea producing regions and also to boost environmental conservation initiatives.

“The group has contributed greatly in afforestation programmes in the region as they generate income for members,” explains Korir who is also the chairman, Lands, Environment and Natural resources in the county assembly.

According to Maritim, some of the challenges they face include marketing of the seedlings.

“There are costs on tubes and polythene materials for raising the seedlings. The process is also labour intensive and if we sell it at lower than Sh 10 per seedling, we make a loss,” Maritim explains.

Fluctuating tea prices is also a setback.

“Last year, we earned Sh 10 per kilo in bonus proceeds and another Sh 14 in the initial pay making a cumulative price of Sh 24 per kg, which is a discouragement to producers,” points Maritim.

Future plans? As the market warms up to purple tea, the group plans to capitalise on this wave to make a kill.