Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/763665
STiR coffee and tea 19 1,000-year-old wild tea trees that grow in the high mountain areas are plucked to make teas that fetch high prices in international markets. Tea farmers in Phongsaly in the far north, Odomxai and Xayaboury in the northwest, and Champassak in the southwest, are being encouraged to plant more bushes and expand production. They are being helped with Chinese investment and output is already increasing. Tea plantations in Pakbaeng district will soon have the capacity to process up to 8,000 metric tons of tea per year; Oudomxai has is ready to process good quality tea for the domestic market and to export to China; an organic tea trader in Pakxong has steadily expanded his tea plantation had steadily increased in line with demand since 2014; and Phongsaly province has the capacity to process up to 5,000 m.t. of tea per year with tea now being grown on around 2,650 hectares of land. Sales of tea to Cambodia, Thailand, and into the domestic market have increased from 300-500 kg per month, but farmers still need technical training to continue to improve both output and quality. sector employer in Malawi, employing 50,000 workers and providing liveli- hoods to more than 14,000 smallholders. Tea estate jobs are considered good jobs in Malawi, paying above the agricultural minimum wage and provid- ing a range of other benefits. In order to achieve a competitive and profitable Malawian tea industry, the new Malawi Tea 2020 partnership brings together the organizations that can deliver the changes required. A coalition comprised of Malawian tea producers, trade unions, the largest international tea buyers, relevant certification standards, NGOs, and donors, the program's goal is to achieve a competitive, profitable tea industry that can provide living wages and living incomes and improved nutrition for its workers by 2020. The objectives include a more competitive and profitable industry that is paying a living wage to workers; a healthier, motivated, and productive workforce with greater opportunities for women; an improved smallholder sector where farmers earn a living income; an improved wage-setting process with greater work representation; and more sustainable energy use and an improved environment in tea growing areas. Learn more from Elske Stevenson, stevenson@idhsustainabletrade.com or visit https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com ty-based project supported by the Myanmar-Germany private sector development (PSD). The factory was the first of its kind when it opened in May 2015. Two more have since been built in Ywarngan in southern Shan State. The Pindaya project is part of a bigger scheme to support small entrepreneurs (SMEs) and is backed by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusam- menarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany's leading provider of international cooperation services. Exports began in September and a contract has been drawn up for the export of a further 3.5 m.y. next year. The project was set up to help rebuild the Myanmar tea industry. Thomas Schneider, chief adviser to PSD, said Myanmar was chosen because of its potential for quality and growth. The teas have been tested twice for pesticide residues and were proven completely clean and the village leaders said they are aiming for organic certifica- tion. It is hoped that this will be achieved in February 2017. PSD is working with the Myanmar Tea Cluster, part of the Myanmar Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association (MFVP) to help develop a sustainable supply chain that includes the farmers, processors, traders, and exporters. MALAWI Working for a Living Wage Malawi is Africa's second largest tea producer, after Kenya, but is also one of the world's poorest countries. An estimated 62% of Malawians live below the World Bank's extreme poverty line, and there is a lack of access to adequate nutrition for about half of the children. The tea industry is the largest formal Tea nursery in Malawi MYANMAR Shan State teas sell in Germany German specialty tea company Tea Gshwendner is importing 1.5 metric tons of green tea from Shan State in eastern Myanmar (formerly Burma). This is the first time the company has imported teas from Myanmar and will bring in 1.5 m.t. of tea produced at a model factory in Sikya Inn Village, Pindaya, Shan State. This is a communi- Withering Myanmar tea leaves NEPAL Nepali Teas Help Raise Funds Himalayan Homes Trust, created in response to the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015, is raising funds for victims through events featuring Nepali teas. Jenny Sherpa is married to Karma Sherpa who is originally from the remote Himalayan village of Chaurpatal in Nepali tea sales help quake victims