Kenya: Giving a tea business a lift

Local solutions are often the most creative as well as the most successful. That is one reason why, since 1994, UNIDO and UNEP have been working together to build local capacity in Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) methodologies in developing countries such as Kenya. National Cleaner Production centres established by UNIDO and UNEP around the world provide awareness-raising workshops, training programmes, in-house assessments, technical assistance and policy advice. Reuben Langat is an environmental health and safety manager at James Finlays Kitumbe Tea Factory. He explains how his company achieved cleaner production:

We are a member of the James Finlay Group, an international company with a 250-year old history and a focus on tea production. In Kenya, the use of diesel-fueled trucks to transport green tea leaves from our estate to our factory resulted in emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as dust on the all-weather road around the tea fields. This exposed workers in the fields and members of the community to increased air pollution with possible health problems.

In 2010, we received training on the RECP methodology for the tea sector organized by the Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre (KNCPC). Following that, we implemented a number of measures to better manage energy, water, raw materials and waste. To solve the problem with our diesel-fueled trucks, we decided, with the technical assistance of the KNCPC, to construct a ropeway between the estate and the factory.

This had immediate environmental benefits. Between 2010 and 2011, our carbon intensity went down by 10 per cent. With the planned expansion of feeder streams to the main aerial conveyor line, we will be able to replace even more motor vehicles.

Our community's economy also benefitted. This project created new jobs, as additional technical and non-technical workers have been employed to operate the system. At the moment, the ropeway provides further direct employment for at least 40 people. Plus, the ropeway has increased employment opportunities for the field workers, who are mostly women, since more green tea leaves can be plucked and transported on time through the system.

From a health perspective, field workers and community members now face less air pollution, as well as a reduction in traffic hazards.

As for our bottom line, a cost-benefit analysis of the project between the months of December 2012 to August 2013 showed a net benefit of KES 23,674,739 (some $270,000 at the time). This was approximately KES 2,630,567 ($30,000) per month. The total capital we invested was KES 60,000,000 ($685,000); therefore, the payback period was just two years. This is a huge financial benefit, and better returns are anticipated in the future as we construct more feeder streams to the main supply aerial conveyor line. What's more, future ropeways will have even better returns, as they will serve larger production areas and could be loaded closer to their full capacity.

With improved savings both in terms of leaf transportation, reduced fuel consumption and road maintenance costs, our company was able to inject some of the profits into the community in which we work. We funded facility construction and improvement for several schools within the estate, sponsored children of employees and from neighboring districts to attend tertiary education and upgraded the facilities of a health center within the estate, which supports employees, their dependents and also neighboring communities.

Several other players in Kenya are now interested in employing the ropeway system. We have shared information on it through exchange visits with other companies, and regulatory bodies have also helped to disseminate the positive impacts of the project. This innovation has revolutionized the tea industry.