The Williamson Tea Foundation funds projects that Williamson Tea undertakes as part of an instinctive commitment to caring for our farms and communities, a passion that has continued for over 150 years.
The Foundation’s focus has traditionally been on education and healthcare and over the years we have provided schools, clinics and other amenities so that the many thousands of families that call our farms home can continue to prosper.
Over the last decade the Foundation has expanded its support to include projects outside of our farms that benefit the wider community. Markets, bridges, classrooms and water projects have all been successfully completed, however it is the development of a sustainable rural economy through our Small Holder Development Programme that has been the most successful in transforming lives.
Market led trade will always be the most powerful factor in encouraging long term sustainable development and something the Foundation has been instrumental in creating.
Smallholder Support
Over the last 10 years the Williamson Tea farms have provided over 3.5 million subsidised tea bushes to small holder farmers to empower the development of a vibrant farming economy in Nandi county. Technical advice, green leaf handling facilities, collection routes and the purchase of over 60 million kg of green leaf per annum has provided community support at a huge scale.
Employment Opportunities
Overseen by the Foundation, the four Williamson Tea farms provide equal opportunity employment and careers to individuals of all skill and expertise levels in both full and contract roles. From traditional hand plucking and cultivating to highly skilled and paid jobs operating and servicing the modern technology deployed on our farms, we are continuously offering employment and career development opportunities.
Creating a Sustainable Future
The Foundation manages and protects over 330 hectares of indigenous forest and primeval rainforest across the four Williamson Tea farms. It has provided funds to the Kipiri Forest Rehabilitation project working hand in hand to plant over 29,000 indigenous trees in the last two years alone. As we increasingly become aware of the vital role trees play in our ecosystems providing not just the oxygen we breathe but effecting local weather patterns and battling global climate change the protection and management of these ancient wild forests is as important to us as sustainable farmers as it is for all Kenyans.
Local Education
The Foundation takes great pride in providing education facilities to the farm and surrounding communities. A good education is essential in giving a child the best possible chance in life and in the last decade 29 classrooms have been built with hundreds of chairs, lockers and books provided. Each year bursaries are provided to gifted students to assist with their higher education. Kenya has established itself as an IT hub for East Africa and it is exciting to see students from our farms actively taking up roles in this growth industry, a sign of changing times and opportunities.
Empowering Communities
From bridge building at Chepkumia, markets at Shirua and Kimulot, new school administration blocks at Kimatkei, Sile and Tombo, and the protection of historic cultural sites the Williamson Tea Foundation has provided funding and built facilities to enhance the lives and opportunities for rural communities that live alongside our farms.
Healthcare
Each of the four farms has a clinic and dispensary providing health care to our communities and those in the surrounding areas. Coverage that has been extended further by the construction of dispensaries at Shiru and Chemamul in recent years. With often a long drive along poor roads to the nearest medical facility our clinics see over 15,000 cases per year and provide a vital service to rural communities. This was particularly the case during the COVID pandemic where our clinical staff oversaw the immunisation programme of farm workers and their families.
