LOVING OUR TEA FARMS

At Lipton®, we don’t just supply tea around the world, but we farm it too. Either on our own tea farms, or by working closely with over 600,000 small farmers and 1,000 tea farms around the world. It’s a big job. But we’ve discovered that small things can make a huge difference to local environmental sustainability and the people who live there. Here are just some of the things we’ve done on our Kericho tea farm in Kenya. 

START THE DAY WITH A BURST OF SUNSHINE

Kericho is set at 6,000 feet above sea level and gets a stunning 10 hours of sun every day. Tea thrives on sunny weather – in fact, every cup of Lipton tea you’re tasting is from leaves that have soaked up over 4,000 hours of sunshine. What a way to start your day! Other than sun, the humble tea plant can grow on anything from sea level (Assam tea is perfect for that height) to 8,000 feet.Our Kericho estate is at a higher elevation than some. Which means the tea grows slower but has a greater aroma and a more delicate, richer flavor. To maintain the highest quality possible, our tea is always packed within 24 hours of picking it from the bush. And to do that, we have a lot of people to help us.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

With 80,000 residents – 16,000 of which are employees – our Kericho tea farm is home to a great number of people. And we’re committed to ensuring the conditions they live and work in are some of the best.

We offer free solar-powered housing and clean water to all our Kericho workers and their families. Plus, we have 2 community hospitals, 4 health centers and 23 dispensaries, providing on-site medical care. In 2006, our Lipton estate won a prize for its HIV/AIDS program.

OFFERING A GOOD EDUCATION 

We’re also keen on providing for the next generation. We provide nursery, primary and secondary school education to over 16,000 workers’ families on our Lipton estates in Kenya. And we ensure our employees are educated as well, with regular training programs at our Farmer Field Schools.

Globally, at least 86,000 of our farmers (46,000 of which are women) have attended these schools to help set best agricultural practices, improve quality and increase yield. Plus, we’ve helped nearly 600,000 small farmers in Kenya gain Rainforest Alliance certification – with Kericho being the first tea farm in the world to get this certification, back in 2007.

A BIG HAND FOR BIODIVERSITY

Part of being a farmer is to ensure environmental sustainability of the land we work. So we are keen supporters of biodiversity and natural balance in our tea fields. It’s why we’ve planted more than 1.3 million trees since 2000. And why 97% of our electricity is renewable (we’ve even built our own hydroelectric power stations to help with this).

We grow eucalyptus trees on less fertile land so we can use their blue gum to power the boilers that dry our tea (many other producers use diesel to do this). We also support the wildlife on our own estates through dedicated conservation areas.

Plus, we recycle all our waste wherever possible. In one local scheme in Kenya, our waste is being turned into jewelry – which has not only proven to be a successful business but provides job opportunities for dozens of women at the same time.