Wush Wush Tea Estate, Ethiopia

The environment in this region of Ethiopia makes it perfect for growing great quality teas, which is mainly down to the soil being rich in minerals and nutrients, the high altitude and the favourable weather conditions. This environment means the area can grow teas which are similar to those seen in parts of Kenya.

Seasonal workers travel to Wush Wush to pluck the tea in the tea fields and to work in the two factories located on the estate. Whilst there, the workers are provided with a place to live; however, the housing and the sanitation facilities need repairing, and in some cases rebuilding, to be sufficient to allow for a decent standard of living. There are 10 villages on the tea estate, and they all need some improvements to ensure that each house has solid floors and walls, proper ventilation, lockable doors, as well as access to toilets, showers, laundry facilities and clean drinking water.

The improvements are crucial for several reasons; firstly, they’ll provide the workers and communities of Wush Wush with better living standards, and improve the hygiene and health of the community, leading to less absences from work or school. Secondly, by providing better housing and facilities it will encourage more people to travel to Wush Wush in search of work and encourage those already working on the estate to stay. By maintaining a stable and skilled workforce, it will enable Wush Wush to improve the consistency and quality of their tea since they will have enough workers to pluck their tea fields when the leaves are at their best, so they can achieve better prices for their crop – in turn supporting the survival and profitability of the tea industry in Ethiopia. Lastly, the improvements are necessary for Wush Wush to be able to maintain their Rainforest Alliance Certification, which they need in order for them to sell their tea to some of their customers in other countries, including us here at Taylors.

As part of their compliance to the Rainforest Alliance 2020 standard, Wush Wush have a long-term plan to improve their villages and housing to meet the requirements. They are investing their own money into improvements and as a majority buyer of their export teas, we’re committed to supporting them in this work.

This year, along with co-investments from their tea brokers — Thompson Lloyd & Ewart, and Ethio Agri Ceft PLC – the owners of the Wush Wush Estate, we are updating and improving the wash facilities in two of the villages surrounding the Wush Wush tea gardens where 512 workers and their families reside. To achieve this, a toilet block and a shower block have been built in each village. Over the next few years Wush Wush will be measuring the change in their retention of workers and their productivity in order to monitor the long-term impact of the improvement to living conditions. 

We previously supported a project at Wush Wush in 2019, when we funded the development of new firewood saving stoves for preparing Injera, a popular local food, and other foods in a way that is safe, environmentally friendly, and sustainable. We look forward to continuing to support them in the future to improve the sustainability of their tea estate and the livelihoods of those that live and work on it.