A Fair Cup – Ensuring the Rights of Smallholder Tea Farmers in Kenya

FINAL PROJECT EVALUATION May 2015 * Eva A. Maina Ayiera

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“Fair Cup has helped us very much. It opened our mind. Now we see things in a broad way. Even if the first phase is over, I tell them, go and organise for the second phase. We still need your support.”

Peter, tea farmer in Chinga Factory tea catchment area

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project Summary ...... 5 Abbreviations ...... 6 Definition of Terms ...... 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 7 1. EVALUATION OVERVIEW ...... 12 1.1 Project Description ...... 12 1.2 Operating Context ...... 12 1.3 Purpose of the Evaluation ...... 13 1.4 Audience for the Evaluation ...... 13 1.5 Evaluation Methodology...... 14 2. EVALUATION FINDINGS ...... 16 2.1 Results and Impact of the Project ...... 16 2.1.1 Output 1 ...... 17 2.1.2 Output 2 ...... 19 2.1.3 Output 3 ...... 21 2.1.4 Output 4 ...... 24 2.1.5 Output 5 ...... 25 2.1.6 Outcome and Impact Assessment ...... 26 2.2 Project Target Groups ...... 28 2.3 Risk ...... 29 2.4 Value for Money ...... 29 2.5 Sustainability ...... 30 2.6 Capacity building ...... 32 2.7 Gender Mainstreaming ...... 33 2.8 Outcome and Output Scoring ...... 34 2.9 Key Achievements of the Project ...... 40 2.10 Challenges Faced in the Project ...... 40 2.11 Lesson Learning on Approaches ...... 41 2.12 Project Accountability (Beneficiary Feedback Mechanisms) ...... 43

3 2.13 Contribution to CSCF Objectives...... 43 3. CONCLUSION ...... 44 4. RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 44 ANNEX ...... 46

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Project Summary

Project Name A FAIR CUP – Ensuring the rights of small scale tea farmers in Kenya Project Location Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties of Central Province Project duration Start: July 2011 End: March 2015 Project budget £ 457,909 Donors UK Department for International Development (Civil Society Challenge Fund) – £437,256 Others – £9,193  £3,000 (WF South Trust)  £1,476 (Dorfred Charitable Trust)  £1,200 (N. Smith Charitable settlement)  £250 (Samuel story Charitable Trust)  £1,000 (Gateway World Shop)  £2,000 (Carol E Farrer)  £125 (St Patrick’s Primary School)  £142 (Traidcraft Exchange)  £2000 (Gateway Development Trust)  £7000 (LD Rope Charitable Trust)

 £3000 (W F Southall) Implementing agency Traidcraft Exchange (implementing partner) and and partners Christian Partners Development Agency (local partner)

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Abbreviations

CPDA Christian Partners Development Agency DfID UK Department for International Development FGDs Focus group discussions KIIs Key informant interviews KTDA Kenya Tea Development Agency

Definition of Terms

Collection Centre – one of several centres within a tea catchment area where farmers within the vicinity of the centre deliver their plucked tea daily, to be assessed for quality, weighed and collected by the factories. A factory within a tea catchment area has several collection centres from which it collects tea. Farmers can only deliver to the collection centres where they are registered. A collection centre may serve 150 to 210 farmers. Collection centres are coordinated by committees. Collection Centre Committees – they are also popularly known as Buying Centre Committees. They are composed of five elected members from among the tea farmers and they serve as the farmers’ representatives. They coordinate the collection centre activities (receiving and weighing of individual farmers plucked tea, resolving disputes between farmers the centre, raising complaints from farmers regarding planting, harvesting and collecting tea. They are also the liaison between the farmers and the factories. Each committee serves for a term of two years and each member is eligible to serve for two terms. Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) – a private corporation that is the leading tea management agency. Until June 2000, KTDA was a government agency. It manages smallholder tea farming by managing the factories through which smallholder farmers sell their tea locally and internationally. Tea catchment area – for purposes of the project, these are the tea farming areas within the vicinity of each of the four tea factories, namely, Chinga, Gitugi, Iriaini and Ndima. A catchment can have between 25 and 40 collection centres. The tea farms collectively form the tea catchment area of a factory. Farmer Field Schools – adult learning sessions organized by KTDA and the factory management that are run in the afternoon. They focus on training the farmers on improved tea farming techniques (80 per cent of the training) and non-tea farming techniques (20 per cent of the training). The field schools are voluntary.

6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents an independent evaluation of the Fair Cup project implemented between July 2011 and March 2015. The project focused on reducing poverty and improving the rights and livelihoods of smallholder tea farmers in Chinga, Gitugi and Iriaini factories tea catchment areas in Nyeri County and Ndima factory tea catchment area in Kirinyaga County. The evaluation focused on analysing the project activities and outputs, assessing the outcomes and impact of the project and their sustainability; examining the extent to which project funds had been used efficiently and effectively; and drawing out lessons learned to contribute to the organisational learning of Traidcraft as the implementing partners and the Christian Partners Development Agency (CPDA) as the local partner. Initially the project aimed at empowerment of 30,000 tea farmers, but the project logframe was revised with DfID’s approval after the mid- term review. The project aimed at the empowerment of 26,729 smallholder tea farmers to achieve their social and economic rights in the context of the existing and revised legislation governing the tea sector through:

 raising awareness among farmers on their rights;

 strengthening the capacity of farmers’ representatives to provide effective representation of famers interests and rights;

 building the capacity of the tea factory management to facilitate realisation of farmers’ rights; and

 supporting smallholder tea farmers to diversify and increase their income through additional income generating initiatives.

Outputs expected in the project were: 1. Smallholder tea famers, tea factory management and directors increased awareness of farmers rights under the revised Tea Act; 2. Increased capacity of targeted smallholder tea farmers groups to take action to demand their rights; 3. Improved governance and management of targeted tea factories ensuring greater accountability to smallholder famers; 4. Generation of additional income through diversified enterprise activities among tea farming households in the targeted tea factory catchment areas; and 5. Increased capacity of local partner Christian Partners Development Agency (CPDA).

7 Evaluation Findings On relevance of the project:

 The project was relevant to the context as it adapted to and addressed the context realities to achieve the intended outcome.

 The flexibility of the project team to adjust the project approaches in the face of initial hostility to the project kept the project design relevant to the context and the beneficiaries. On the effectiveness of the project

 26,729 farmers were trained on their rights and responsibilities, which had an positive impact on their tea production and how they engaged with the factories to secure their rights.

 The project contributed directly to diffusing the animosity and hostility that has characterised the farmers’ engagement with the factories.

 Collection centre committees engaged more strategically and diligently with the factory management and the farmers after their leadership and management training.

 Committees adopted the practices of documenting complaints and responses.

 1020 farmers were trained in non-tea farming initiatives in order to generate additional income, 52 per cent of whom were women and 6 per cent of whom were young people.

 The project enabled technical training, financial management training and improvement, and hands-on capacity development for the CPDA staff. On the project value for money

 The project team applied the economy of cost principles to the implementation of the project, including retaining two full time staff rather than retaining consultants.

 The efficiency of cost application was demonstrated in the project approach of working within existing structures (Farmer Field Schools) to carry out trainings and achieve outputs. On the project sustainability

 The use of posters to illustrate and summarise farmers’ rights and responsibilities allows those who were not part of the process to benefit from the education

 The sustainability of the leadership and management skills training was supported through providing the factory management with copies of the training manuals for future use.

8  Additional materials tailored specifically for the farmers’ committees will be useful in providing access to the committees on management and leadership skills that be used by committee members as new members are voted in..

The key achievements of the project include: 1. 26,729 had participated in the learning on rights and responsibilities of farmers. At least 90 per cent of the farmers could articulate their rights and responsibilities. 2. The project overcame the initial hostility, suspicion and resistance from KTDA, factory management and the boards of directors and contributed to improving the capacity of farmers to assert their rights. 3. The project contributed directly to improved communication between farmers and the tea factory management. 4. The project contributed directly to improved quality of tea harvesting (two leaves and a bud) and effective use of fertiliser among farmers. 5. The project built goodwill with KTDA and the factory management making the project replicable in the other factories that KTDA manages (63 across the country). 6. The project contributed to a positive transformation in the collection centre committees conduct of business and engagement with the factories on behalf of their fellow farmers. Committees now record complaints, provide feedback, attend scheduled meetings with factory management and seek more information for the benefit of the farmers The key challenges that the project faced include: 1. The initial hostility to the project paralyzed implementation and the project lost valuable time, leading to the decision to scale down the number of beneficiaries from the initial target of 30,000 farmers from 6 factory catchment areas to 26,729 farmers in 4 catchment. 2. A lack of continuity in transition from the project team that designed and commenced implementation of the project to the subsequent project team that carried out the project delayed the project as the subsequent team had to build goodwill afresh and deal with any unresolved resistance.

Lessons learned on approaches include: 1. Support for a project determines how open the targeted communities are and whether the project will facilitate real change.

9 2. Retaining flexibility in the project design and implementation while keeping the goal of the project clearly in sight is important to implementing activities in contexts where there is animosity and strife. 3. Understanding the power structure and dynamics within a particular context is necessary in determining the best approaches and interventions to employ in pursuing social justice within limited time, financial and human resources. 4. Poverty reduction goes beyond investing in economic activities. It requires investment in the self-empowerment and self-advocacy so that the target population can engage with the socio-political and power structures that could impede economic efforts to reduce poverty.

5. Gender constructs and power relations occur within particular social, economic, political and cultural contexts. A baseline assessment preceding implementation of a project should analyse how power and disempowerment manifest and what project activities best respond to these realities. 6. Monitoring and evaluation through quantitative and qualitative data are continuous processes that can help to appropriately reshape project approaches and increase the likelihood of success.

7. Working within existing structures is useful in ensuring cost-effectiveness of a project and also gaining broader acceptance of the project by the target beneficiaries.

8. Beyond the project design, the project leadership, management and implementation are central in the determining the success or failure of a project. Even a project is poorly designed project can be salvaged through effective leadership and team engagement Recommendations to Traidcraft are: 1. Traidcraft should explore possibilities of embarking on a second or further phase of the project within the same areas to consolidate positive changes that have occurred; to provide capacity support to farmers to improve their income through non-tea farming initiatives; and to guide and monitor factory management on incorporating the findings of the gender study 2. The leadership and management training for the collection centre committees should be supported with the development of printed materials summarising the principles of leadership and management and the responsibilities of the representatives. 3. Subsequent projects that involve smallholder tea farmers should commence with an engagement with the KTDA head office. 4. The project would do well in subsequent phases to invest in negotiation and advocacy skills-building among collection centre committee members and farmers, enabling them to

10 hold factory management and boards more accountable and advocating for improved governance and management of tea factories.

11 1. EVALUATION OVERVIEW

1.1 Project Description

The Fair Cup project focused on reducing poverty and improving the rights and livelihoods of smallholder tea farmers in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties of Kenya. Traidcraft originally aimed to reach 30,000 farmers in six tea catchment areas but revised these numbers after the initial difficulties in securing active participation and support from the factories. A mid-term review determined it necessary to scale down the targeted beneficiaries to an achievable number within the remaining project period. Traidcraft revised the number of beneficiaries to 26,729 farmers in four tea factory catchment areas, namely Chinga, Gitugi and Iriaini in Nyeri County and Ndima in Kirinyaga Counties. The project focused on supporting the farmers to realize their social and economic rights in the context of the existing and revised legislation governing the tea sector. The Fair Cup approach concentrated on raising awareness among farmers on their rights; strengthening the capacity of farmers’ representatives to provide effective representation of famers interests and rights; building the capacity of the tea factory management to facilitate realisation of farmers’ rights; and supporting smallholder tea farmers to diversify and increase their income through additional income generating initiatives. The project was funded primarily through the Civil Society Challenge Fund program of the UK Department for International Development (DfID). Traidcraft implemented the project in partnership with the Christian Partners Development Agency (CPDA) at the local level between June 2011 and March 2015.

1.2 Operating Context

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) estimates that Kenya has nearly 500,000 smallholder farmers who grow and sell tea under the management of KTDA, making it the largest management agency for smallholder tea farmers. Kenya is the world’s third largest tea producer, after China and India respectively. It is the largest producer of black tea. Kenya’s tea production has been on a steady rise over the years. In 2012 the sector produced 369.2 million kilos, 432.2 million kilos in 2013 and 444.8 million kilos in 2014.1 Smallholder farmers account for 60 per cent of this output, making the sector a significant contributor to Kenya’s economy. Amendments to the tea sector legislation in 2000 converted the tea factories into entities owned by the smallholder farmers and managed by KTDA. There is an estimated 63 factories

1 ‘10-year monthly tea production’, The Tea Board of Kenya, 12 under KTDA management through which farmers market and sell their tea. Previously, the monopoly of KTDA in the management and sale of smallholder tea farmers produce is thought to have contributed to an uncompetitive environment which disadvantaged the farmers. Over the years, the tea sector has been beset with acrimony and conflicts between the farmers, the tea factories, the government oversight ministries and agencies, and KTDA, often over a fairly opaque management of tea sales, poor participation of farmers in determining prices, lack of consultation in developing laws and policies, and uncertainty of returns from sale of tea. The acrimony was expected to be assuaged with further amendments to the Tea Act in 2008 which gave farmers power to elect the directors who form part of the management of the factories and of KTDA. But this has not been the case. In reality, the paradoxes within the tea sector are stark. Tea is Kenya’s primary cash crop but tea farmers exercise little actual control over the tea factories they collectively own. Tea is the largest foreign exchange earner but a large number of smallholder tea farmers and workers live in poverty and are unable to make ends meet. A baseline survey conducted by Traidcraft in 2012 in Nyeri pointed out that 31 per cent of Nyeri County population is living below the national poverty line and earning less than a dollar a day. Farming accounts for 100 per cent income in up to 90 per cent of the population in the county. A significant number of those living in poverty are farmers.

1.3 Purpose of the Evaluation

At the end of the project implementation period, Traidcraft commissioned an independent evaluation to assess the project results against its stated goals and objectives, and to draw out the learning that Traidcraft, its local partner CPDA and other stakeholders could derive from the process and outcomes. The specific objectives of the evaluation were: 1. To identify the outcomes and impact of the project and how these can be sustained 2. To provide an analysis of the extent to which project funds have been used efficiently and effectively 3. To draw out lessons learned to contribute to the organisational learning of Traidcraft and CPDA. 4. To develop recommendations that guide further work on the project or similar projects

1.4 Audience for the Evaluation

The Traidcraft audience for the evaluation report is the project staff and management in Traidcraft and CPDA as well as project associates, project funders and other relevant actors. The

13 evaluation established the other organisations working on social justice and poverty reduction at community levels would benefit from portions of the report as well.

1.5 Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation was conducted through document review and interviews in Nairobi, Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties. The interviews were held through focus group discussions and key informant interviews with Traidcraft and CPDA staff, KTDA officials, the management in the tea factories, farmers representatives, farmers in general and their dependants. In total 93 respondents took part in the evaluation, of which women were 57 per cent and men 43 per cent. Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the respondents.

Table 1: Evaluation respondents DESCRIPTION WOMEN MEN Key informant interviews 1. Traidcraft Exchange staff Program staff and management in Nairobi 1 1 2. CPDA Staff Project staff in Nyeri 2 3. Chinga Factory Management Factory manager and field services coordinator 1 1 4. Ndima Factory Management Factory manager and field services coordinator 2 5. Gitugi factory management Factory unit manager 1 6. Iriaini factory management Factory unit manager 1 7. KTDA representative Located in Iriaini 1 8. Individual farmer Assessing impact through a more in-depth 1 engagement with an individual farmer Subtotal 5 7 Group Discussions 9. Chinga Participated in diversification training (additional 3 8 income initiatives). Chair of the group is a young man (under 35). 10. Chinga All farmers; one young farmer (under 35) among 8 them 11. Collection Centre Committee – All men 4 Ndima 12. Kiangumara group – Ndima All women. Representatives of 8 different women 16 self-help groups 13. Iriaini FGD Farmers and beneficiaries (family members), 8 4 including one elderly women and elderly man (both over 72) 14. Farmer field school group, Several women’s groups 14 Iriaini 15. Gitugi group Farmers who have participated in field school 5 5 training. Group included a young woman (24) who had left an urban city for farming in Nyeri. 16. Collection Centre Committee in 2 4 Gitugi Subtotal 48 33 TOTAL 53 40

14 Figure 1 below illustrates the distribution of male and female respondents in the focus group discussions and the key informant interviews.

Figure 1: Disaggregation of respondents by gender FGDs - Focus group Total - 93 respondents

FGDs -48 KIIs - 7 men women 8% 52% KIIs - 5 women 5%

FGDs - 33 men 35%

15 2. EVALUATION FINDINGS

The objectives of the project are: 1. To enhance farmers’ awareness of their rights as provided for under the Tea Act and other relevant laws. 2. To strengthen the capacity of farmers representatives (collection centre committee members and board of directors) to effectively execute their roles and responsibilities as representatives of the farmers. 3. To enhance the lobbying skills of the farmers’ representatives so that they can effectively articulate farmers’ issues with the factory management. 4. To work with the factory management so that they are more responsive to issues farmers raise, and demonstrate openness and accountability towards farmers. 5. To supports farmers to diversify their source of income so that they are not dependent on tea only as their source of livelihood In 2011, the Fair Cup project targeted 30,000 farmers affiliated to 6 tea factories. However, due to difficulties experienced in getting the project started, arising from deep suspicion and reluctance from the factory management and uncertainty from the farmers, the target was revised to 4 factories and 26,729 farmers. The evaluation assessed the project outcomes and outputs, the value for money presented by the project approaches and results, and the sustainability of the interventions.

2.1 Results and Impact of the Project

Evaluation of the project results entailed an assessment of the extent to which the Traidcraft project design and activities achieved the expected results (outputs and the outcome). The evaluation process examined the degree of success in achieving the intended results, the emergence of unintended results and any mitigating factors for unachieved results. The chart below (Figure 2) illustrates the results logic of the project and how activities undertaken and outputs realised ought to lead to the project’s intended impact.

16 Figure 2: Fair Cup Results Logic Flowchart

! Fair%Cup%Project%Results%Logic%Flowchart%

! IMPACT ! Poverty reduced & livelihoods improved among tea ! farmers in Kenya ! ! ! ! OUTCOME' ! Increased incomes for 26,729 tea farming households in the ! catchment areas of the four targeted tea factories (Chinga, Gitugi, Iriaini and Ndima) through their increased capacity to ! demand their rights under the revised Tea Act, other ! applicable laws and through diversifying their sources of income ! ! ! ! ! OUTPUT'1! OUTPUT'2! OUTPUT'3! ! Smallholder tea Increased capacity of Improved farmers, tea factory targeted smallholder governance and ! management & tea farmers groups to management of ! directors have take action to targeted tea factories ! increased awareness demand their rights' ensuring greater of farmers rights accountability to ! under the revised smallholder farmers' ! Tea Act' ! ! OUTPUT'4! OUTPUT'5! Tea farming households Increase in capacity of in the targeted tea local partner CPDA by factory catchment areas the end of year 3' generate additional income through diversified enterprise

2.1.1 Output 1 Smallholder tea farmers, tea factory management and directors have increased awareness of farmers’ rights under the revised Tea Act The activities towards achieving this output were training for farmers on right and responsibilities; production of training posters on rights and responsibilities; refresher courses for farmers who would participate as trainers; dissemination of A4 sized flyers on rights and responsibilities to the farmers. Most of the activities were carried out and specific activities were modified to suit the circumstance (production of only posters rather than A4 flyers was seen as more effective by the beneficiaries).This output was achieved.

17 Widespread awareness of farmers’ rights and responsibilities The project reports that by the end of year three, 71 per cent or 18,895 farmers had been reached through the training and awareness initiatives. By the end of the project period, the entire target group of 26,729 farmers had been reached. The evaluation confirmed that nearly all farmers participating in the evaluation had been exposed to the awareness training. In eight focus group discussions held with 81 farmers and their dependants and family members, we established that at least 98 per cent of those present had received training on their rights. Of these, 89 per cent were able to articulate their rights. The remaining 11 per cent included those who did not speak during the focus group discussions and as such it is unclear if they did not know their rights or merely did not articulate them during the focus group discussion.

Transformation through knowledge, training and awareness The farmers, their dependents and the collection centre committee members who participated in the evaluation were emphatic in crediting the Fair Cup project with enlightening and emboldening the farmers in their engagement with the factories while at the same time, making their engagement less acrimonious. The farmers identified the understanding of their rights and responsibilities regarding tea farming and expectations of the factories as a pivotal point in the improvement of their engagement with the factories in the A farmer reads the “Rights and Responsibilities of catchment area. Farmers” poster at a tea collection centre notice board The factory management we interviewed in the four factories credited the change in their relations with the farmers to the understanding of rights and responsibilities through the Fair Cup project. One manager in Ndima Factory stated, “The way we engage with the farmers has really improved. We realised this from the end of the [Fair Cup] training. Our meetings with the buying centre committees have been very well coordinated. The [Annual General Meeting], which was previously very noisy, with a lot of shouting and many stupid questions, is now very coordinated. The farmers’ attitudes have changed towards their company [factory]. They talk about good things objectively and even negative things are raised objectively. It has also been seen in the market performance.” The success of the project was also evident from the feedback of the incumbent KTDA Regional Manager. He had been in his position for three months at the time of the evaluation, arriving after the training on rights and responsibilities and the production and distribution of the

18 posters had been concluded. He observed that two factories that were not part of the training project were facing difficulties in their relations between the farmers and the factories, unlike the factories that had been part of the training. He said, “If you compare with Gathuthi and Ragati [the two factories that were not part of the Fair Cup project], the approach is different. There is more fighting and unproductive quarrelling between the farmers and the factories. From what I have seen, you have done a good job. We were telling farmers of Gathuthi and Ragati the other day that we shall take them for a full day training the way the other factories [those in the Fair Cup project] have done.”

By the end of the project period, Fair Cup project had trained 700 collection centre committees. Due to some members who left but not replaced by the time of reporting there were 639 CCC members in post of which 179 were women and 460 were men. Two Collection Centre Committees interviewed in Nyeri and Kirinyaga Counties indicated that the trainings on leadership had enabled them to understand better their roles and what is expected of them as representatives of the farmers, as well as the obligation to remain accountable to those they represent. This included documenting complaints and issues raised by farmers and providing feedback either after discussion among the committee or after intervention with the factory management. The Committees now keep record books of meetings and other business of the committees and the farmers. From resistance to endorsement Interviews with the management teams in each of the factories indicated that the training on rights and responsibilities was appreciated and had contributed directly to improved quality of the tea harvested. Specifically, the posters that Traidcraft and its partner CPDA developed were well received and had been put up in several public areas within the factory compounds and in the collection centres, as well as inside the various offices in the factory compounds. Output score – A+ Rationale – the project reached its target population of 26,729 despite the initial resistance experienced in the first year that cost the project significant time. The project team revised, re- strategized and drew in support from all stakeholders. Not only did the project succeed in training farmers on their rights and responsibilities, it also contributed to improving the relations between farmers and factory management.

2.1.2 Output 2 Increased capacity of targeted smallholder tea farmers groups to take action to demand their rights

19 The activities under this output were, training for collection centre committee members on roles and responsibilities, and on leadership and management skills; conducting a mini study on gender; and following up with collection centre committees on implementation of the action points from the trainings. All the activities planned were carried out. The output was largely achieved. One woman in a Gitugi focus group discussion observed, “We are now leaders. We have been taught to ask and now we are asking many questions. We were silent before because we were afraid and we did not think we could ask. Now we are asking; we know it is our right to know.” Other farmers reiterated this view.

Improved involvement and engagement by collection centre committees The project team trained 700 committee members in the four factory catchment areas, which was 100 per cent of those targeted. Two collection centre committees interviewed during the evaluation stated that they now attend all the quarterly meetings scheduled with the factory management and are confident to raise issues. The committee members interviewed observed that the project had also enlightened them on leadership and responsibility. Previously, the election of the leaders was merely routine and the committees felt no obligation to serve in any particular way. It depended on individual motivation. Presently, the committees document their meetings, and record any complaints forwarded to them. They make an effort to give feedback or a solution within a day or two at most. Farmers in the community confirmed that the committee members were more responsive and gave faster responses to concerns that were raised. The data gathered by the project team as it monitored the committee members’ performance demonstrated that committee members diligently recorded issues and sought solutions on behalf of their fellow farmers. Table 2 below provides a view of the monitoring data.

Challenges arising from factory engagement and sustainability of skills transfer A challenge flagged under this output was the concern that factory management is not always cooperative with the committees. Some concerns are not adequately addressed and the factories have not been efficient in using the committees to share important information with farmers, thereby avoiding misinformation and disgruntlement among farmers. The factory management has demonstrated a willingness for dialogue and problem-solving with the collection centre committees. However, the evaluation established that the factory management is not yet open to probing questions and openly addressing controversial issues that review management, factory finances, among others.

20 The evaluation noted that sustainability of the results would be strengthened if the committees had written booklets or documents that are easy to read and allow the skills to be transferred from committee to committee after every election when the membership changes. Output scoring – A+ Rationale – The project improved the capacities of the collection centre committee members trained on leadership and also the general capacities and awareness of farmers to raise questions and seek answers. Although the training manuals were shared with the factory management to continue the training in future, the farmers would also have benefited from materials developed specifically for them, summarizing key leadership principles as well as the roles and responsibilities of the representatives.

2.1.3 Output 3 Improved governance and management of targeted tea factories ensuring greater accountability to smallholder farmers The activities under this output were, training factory management and directors on setting performance indicators targets related to realizing farmers’ rights, and reviewing meeting with factory management to assess progress in meeting targets in the realization of farmers rights. The training activity was undertaken, the review meeting was not held. This output was moderately achieved. Positive developments in the relations between farmers and factory management The evaluation found clear evidence of positive changes in the relations between farmers and factory management, including improved management of the annual general meetings, improved and early communication on tea prices and annual bonuses, farmer representatives raising concerns with the factory management and attending quarterly meetings, among others. Through the monitoring and documentation, Fair Cup noted specific improvements in the responsiveness of the factories, including responding to concerns about late tea collection and monitoring tea factory clerks who were creating conflict in what was seen as arbitrary rejection of plucked tea, among others. Table 2 below provides a sample of the Fair Cup monitoring chart and highlights the issues raised and actions taken.

21 Table 2: Sample of Fair Cup monitoring chart on issues raised by farmers and action taken FACTORY Committee Issues raised Persons Outcomes and gender addressed Collection compositn Centre GITUGI Male – 3  Poor attitude of the clerks  Field Services  Clerk reprimanded and warned Gitugi Female – 2  Late green leaf collection coordinator by management (One woman  Late fertilizer issuance  Truck schedule improved is committee  Inaccurate weighing  Fertilizer issued in a timely secretary) machine manner  Weighing scale changed CHINGA Male – 1  Representation of the  Field services Nyakone Females – 4 ‘mobile centre’ in the coordinator One woman committee was inadequate is treasurer CHINGA Male – 4  Late collection of tea  Quarterly  Improved scheduling of truck Gathafari Female – 1  Poor road to the centre meeting with  Laterite (murram) put on road The woman factory is treasurer management IRIAINI Male – 4  Conflict with clerk on quality  Field services  Collection centre committee Irio- Female – 1 of green leaf coordinator verifies all rejected green leaf Mathome  Errors in factory data for  Tea Extension  Fertilizer data updated fertilizer issuance Services Asst.  Matter of voting raised at AGM  Theft of green leaf among  Collection centre but shelved farmers Committees  Discontentment over voting  AGM system IRIAINI Male – 4  Theft of green leaf between  Committee  Committee solved issue of Mugaini Women – 1 farmers  Field Services theft using bylaws – introduces Woman is  Inaccurate weighing scale Coordinator sanctions for offending farmers the treasurer  Lateness in green leaf  Factory unit  Weighing scale replaced by collection manager management  Lack of loaders for green  AGM  Farmers created own fund to leaf.  Directors pay loaders  Lateness in issuance of  Fertilizer received on time fertilizer NDIMA Men – 5  Conflict with clerk due to  Collection centre  Committee has to verify all Kiangombe No woman rejection of green leaf on committee rejected green leaf quality issues  Field services  Better scheduling of truck for  Late collection of tea coordinator collection of tea  Delay in distribution of  Fertilizer now distributed after fertilizer by some collection all allocations received centre committees

The evaluation assessed that the project activities were not adequate to deliver the intended output of improving management and governance in the factories. The training workshop with management and particularly with directors present proved to be expensive as the directors required large emoluments and allowances (in excess of Kshs 50,000 or £130 each) to attend meetings. The Fair Cup team assessed that this would not be the best use of limited resources and only one forum was held.

The training forum with factory management was effective in broadening the support for the project among the factory leadership. However, the evaluation assessed that the fairly opaque governance and weak accountability to farmers that still characterized the factories emerged

22 from a culture that was cautious about or averse to accountability. Communication between the factories and the farmers had improved, but disclosure and problem solving did not seem to be done in the spirit of mutualism on the part of the factories. One collection committee member explained, “They shared with us the annual accounts of the company on time and before the AGM but it is written in accounting language so even understanding it is problematic. So even when the Company Secretary reads to us from laws that were written in [the year] 18-something when tea was controlled by the colonial government, how do we know what these are about. It seems as though they are giving us information but they are not really giving us information.”

However, most respondents indicated that there was a marked improvement in how the factories responded to complaints, particularly those related to tea planting, harvesting and collection. On key performance indicators, the evaluation could not establish that the incorporation of farmers rights in the key performance indicators of the factories were as a result of the training, rather than part of key performance indicators that the factories already had. Inclusion of farmers’ welfare in the factories’ key performance indicators is a good beginning, but the challenge lies in implementation of the standards. The factories have not yet shed off the attitudes that inhibit embracing openness and accountability to farmers. The project team commissioned a gender study to highlight the situation of women farmers and inform project staff and factory management on how to respond to the challenges identified. The report was completed and disseminated to factory management during a workshop and it was well received. This is positive as the factories also committed to incorporating the findings into their planning. However, the completion and dissemination happened towards the end of the project period and as such there was no evidence at the time of the evaluation of actual incorporation of the recommendations or a plan of incorporation of gender considerations. Other positive developments include holding a workshop in one of the factories in which the factory management invited an auctioneer from Mombasa to explain the tea pricing, selling and auctioning in Mombasa. The farmers indicated that more of these forums are needed. The improvements in the engagement by farmers resulted in a reciprocal responsive engagement on many of the tea planting, harvesting and collection concerns. These shifts point to a more open attitude towards engaging with farmers and the factories feeling less defensive when engaging with farmers. This may be the basis for greater strides towards accountability in the management, financial reporting and information sharing of the factories. Need for power analysis towards improved management and governance The conceptualisation and implementation of the output would have benefited further from a power analysis at the project design stage to inform the team on the level of effort, nature of activities, existing cultures and attitudes and achievable outputs within the timeframe of the

23 project. With this analysis, project activities may have included working with farmers to think through specific actions that gradually yet without contention build greater accountability from the factories while also scaling up the accountability of farmers to the factories. Output scoring – A Rationale – There were positive changes in the engagement from and responses of the factories but the ambition of the output exceeded the scope and resources of the project. The initiatives taken by the Fair Cup team did succeed in improving the engagement between the farmers and the factories, which is an essential building block towards improved governance, management and accountability.

2.1.4 Output 4 Tea farming households in the targeted tea factory catchment areas generate additional income through diversified enterprise activities The activities to achieve this output were, providing participatory support to farmers on effective ways of managing their non-tea enterprises, and providing coaching and mentoring to farmers to access market for their enterprises. The activities were done as stated and the output was achieved. A winning initiative The evaluation established that the Fair Cup training on non-tea income generating farming activities had gained traction, was popular and received significant praise from the farmers. Factory managers interviewed also acknowledged the importance of the diversification of income training to the stability of the tea farmer. In total 1,020 farmers were trained in non-tea income initiatives, of which 52 per cent were women. Young people within the group accounted for 6 per cent. Farmers interviewed during the evaluation were unequivocal on the value of the training on non-tea farming to their family and group incomes. At the start of the trainings, the farmers emphasised the importance of loans or other sources of capital to the farmers alongside the training. At the end of the project, the evaluation established that faced with the same question, the farmers prioritised the training, stating that it gave a skills development opportunity that could not be replaced merely by provision of capital. Building on existing structures and improving incomes The evaluation established that Fair Cup project conducted the training on non-tea farming initiatives among groups of farmers which gave opportunity for pooling resources among themselves as farmers with shared interests and skill sets. The groups had a nearly 50-50 balance of women and men, while some groups were of women only and others of men only. Working within existing cohesive units was a winning strategy for the project and eliminated

24 the difficulty of convincing individuals to form a group and thereafter embark on new non-tea farming ventures. The Kiganjo Mwangaza Self Help Group that participated in the diversification training raised capital on their own, asking each group member to raise Kshs 2000 (£14) to plant pumpkins and tree tomato plants for commercial production. One group member said he had earned an additional profit of Kshs 5000 (£34) for selling his pumpkins, aside from what the group was making. Among the 81 farmers interviewed, 47 had participated directly in the training on non- tea farming initiatives. Thirty-eight (38) confirmed that their income had increased as a result of the additional non-tea farming initiatives – individually, collectively or both. A resounding success During all the focus group discussions, this aspect of the Fair Cup project was most praised and received greatest requests for intensification and further training. In two focus groups in Gitugi and Ndima, two farmers who had not been part of the trainings stated that they realised they had missed a lot as they watched their fellow farmers doing well in their non-tea farming projects. They asked for the opportunity for further training. The trainings were undertaken on a voluntary basis. It was towards the end of the project when some of the yields of the groups that had applied the training to their non-tea farming practices became evident and the demand for the training increased. The value of the training for farmers was clear in the evaluation. Challenge of measuring income changes A challenge in measuring changes in income levels under this output emerged from the fact that the farmers, mainly for cultural reasons, were reluctant to disclose how much they earned. As such the project team revised the indicator to focus on the number of farmers who reported improvements. Output scoring – A++ Rationale – The farmers were enthusiastic about this initiative. Although this was not the major output of the project, it quickly gained traction and had tangible outputs for a number of the individuals and groups. The value of the training and skills building, even in the absence of adequate capital, was clear to the farmers as it created in them potential to generate more income. This output became a significant result of the Fair Cup project.

2.1.5 Output 5 Increase in capacity of local partner CPDA by the end of year 3 The activities to achieve this objective were, quarterly management teams meeting to review project progress; refresher training on project monitoring and evaluation; training workshop for

25 staff on performance management and goal setting; refresher training on ethical trading and fair trade methodologies; refresher training on measuring change and impact assessment for end of project evaluation. The activities were carried out and the output was achieved. Hands-on capacity enhancement Traidcraft invested in capacity building for its CPDA partner staff, including trainings on report development, project management among others. There have also been specific capacity support to ensure effective budgeting and financial management, as well as accountability and reporting. In addition, Traidcraft consciously adopted an inclusive approach to reviewing the project approaches and incorporating the learning from all the team members in shaping the project. This was important in a hands-on capacity building for CPDA staff in planning, developing and rationalizing implementation and output logic, and project management. One CPDA staff member pointed out that her negotiation skills improved vastly through the process of engaging with factory management and seeking support for the project. CPDA staff were also involved in developing the project reports, matrices and other technical aspects of the project which they indicate was important for their own capacity building. Technical skills building The project staff indicated that some technical skills related to cross cutting issues were not factored into the project design, such as youth and alcoholism; women and lack of access to land. However, there had been some support for responding to the gender concerns, including regular collection of disaggregated data. As a specialised skill area, staff pointed out that further training for a more comprehensive understanding of gender, power and culture would have been useful in enabling project staff to confidently analyse situations, identify issues that were actionable within the project, and translate them into achievable actions. Traidcraft also drew on its internal capacity to provide training for CPDA on financial management, budgeting, field expenditure management, reporting and audit preparation based on the specific grant requirements of the Civil Society Challenge Fund as well as general accounting principles. This helped to improve not only the project fiscal management and overcome the factors that led to delay in money disbursement, but also helped CPDA’s overall financial management. Output scoring – A+ Rationale – the project team incorporated both formal and on-the-job training for staff at the programming, implementation and financial management levels.

2.1.6 Outcome and Impact Assessment The outcome of the project activities and resulting outputs was expected to be increased incomes for 26,729 tea farming households in the catchment areas of the four targeted tea 26 factories through their increased capacity to demand their rights under the revised Tea Act, other applicable laws and through diversifying their sources of income. These milestones would have in turn contributed to the reduction of poverty and livelihoods improvement among tea farmers in the region.

Clear connection between project outputs and the project outcome The outcome identified a clear connection between capacities of the farmers to demand rights and the training in diversification of income as both critical in improving livelihoods. The evaluation established that the rights and responsibilities training had had a significant impact on the farmers’ confidence and capacities to raise questions, seek answers, while at the same time making the engagement between the factories and the farmers more effective. Importantly, the rights and responsibilities training also included training on better tea bush management to ensure greater yield. The project beneficiaries perceived that the impact of the project was in empowering farmers to understand they have the right to information and can expect accountability from the factory management. Kindling hope The farmers saw the project as kindling or re-kindling hope either in tea farming or in opportunities for supplementary income from other non-tea farming initiatives. Although it is difficult to measure the significance of hope, it is clear that poverty reduction and improvement of individual livelihoods requires hope in the possibility of change and positive outcomes within those who are beneficiaries.

Tracking change All the smallholder tea farmers in the catchment areas had been exposed to the rights and responsibilities training through direct training by the project team, training by volunteer leaders (farmers), discussions at collection centres, exposure to the rights and responsibilities posters, and discussions among farmers in their social groups (such as self-help groups, savings and credit entities, among others). Establishing the number of those who had benefited from the training on diversification farming activities and income generation and the actual income progress made was not easy. The project team recognised that farmers were not keen on disclosing actual incomes. This setback meant that actual baseline and progress data could not be collected to quantitatively track income from non-tea farming initiatives among the farmers. The indicator for the output was revised to focus on farmers who reported increase in their income.

27 Concerns raised The evaluation assessed that the project achievements were at a nascent stage and required follow up through further training and capacity support to strengthen the foundation for facilitating lasting change. The danger lay in reversal of a number of positive outputs without support from the project team. The farmers and factory management were of the view that the project needed to continue for a period yet in order to create the best possible chance of success and sustainability of the project outputs and outcomes. Outcome scoring: A+ Rationale: The project activities and outputs were directly relevant to reduction of poverty by increasing income options and incomes for the farmers. The trainings enabled farmers to be more confident and more strategic in raising concerns, pursuing their interests and asserting their rights with the tea factories. The project also focused on improving management and governance in the factories. The outputs on this target were less visible and more difficult to attribute to the project. With more opportunity for further engagement and more time and financial resources, the project may make a more robust contribution to leadership and governance in the factories.

2.2 Project Target Groups

The project worked with male and female farmers as the main beneficiaries of the project. In total, the project targeted 26,729 farmers of whom 16,037 were male and 10,692 were women. Among these, the project targeted a further 1000 individual farmers for additional non-tea income generating skills training, and 700 collection centre committee members training on management and leaderships skills. By the end of the project period, the project had reached these targets. The project also targeted 28 factory management and leadership for training on management and governance. The project reached this target despite a difficult beginning. The training for the farmers benefited them by improving their awareness of their rights as farmers and built in them greater courage to raise questions and raise their concerns with the factory management in ways that are both constructive. The factory management in all the factories pointed out that one of the biggest changes the project had achieved was to help create a more constructive dialogue process between the factories and the farmers. The farmers interviewed pointed out that the biggest change for them was realizing they have a right to information, the right to seek it and the right to receive it. One beneficiary stated that through the project, now they were all leaders, meaning the capacity to seek information and pursue their interests had been triggered through the project.

28 2.3 Risk

The project managed risks effectively. The risks identified were:  Lack of KTDA cooperation  Lack of support and influence from the Tea Board of Kenya  Local stakeholders (farmers) failing to engage  Decrease in export of tea prices  Alternative crop markets remaining viable When faced with a lack of cooperation by the factory management, the project adjusted its approach and opted to speak to the factories about the process and benefits of the rights training rather than stick to using the word “rights” which left the management uncomfortable in a context where there had been several demonstrations and protests by farmers. The project team also recognized the importance of winning the support and participation of the factory management and focused on gaining this which allowed the project to go forward after a shaky start. At the beginning of the project, he farmers, though often frustrated with the tea factory management, were nonetheless unwilling to participate in any project – including a rights training for their benefit – without the support of the factory management. The Fair Cup project team focused on building support among the farmers and including collection centre committees in the training, as well as holding the trainings in venues that were acceptable and accessible to the farmers.

Tea prices dropped sharply in 2014. However, the Fair Cup project had realized that it was more important for the farmers to speak up for their own interests and not for the project to be seen either as a mouthpiece for the farmers or for the factory management. The fluctuation of tea prices was beyond the control of the project. The project team managed this risk by supporting the farmers to develop the skills and the confidence to ask questions in a non-acrimonious way without being co-opted into becoming mouthpieces for the farmers. This allowed the project to retain support from the factories and the farmers despite difficult circumstances.

2.4 Value for Money

The assessment of the project value for money applied the DfID understanding of value for money which examines the economy of cost in achieving outputs at the best possible cost; efficiency in applying the project resources to deliver on the outputs and outcomes; and effectiveness of the outputs in achieving the poverty reduction outcome.

29 Economy of cost The project was efficiently run towards achieving the project objectives within the lowest attainable costs. Traidcraft retained two full time program staff members from CPDA as the lead implementers of the project, with an office driver and office car. Both Traidcraft and additional staff travelled periodically to the field to provide oversight and support in strategizing, trouble-shooting and implementation. This was economical and effective as it ensured adequate capacity to do the work while ensuring money consuming costs such as car hire were significantly reduced by retaining the driver and the project vehicle. Efficiency in use of project resources for results To carry out the trainings on rights and responsibilities of farmers, Traidcraft and its partner CPDA conducted the trainings within the existing structures in the tea farming areas. Trainings were held at collection centres, collection centre committee members were trained to provide further trainings to other farmers, and the posters on rights and responsibilities of farmers were developed simply and delivered to several public access points to expand the reach. The trainings and awareness processes left a lasting effect on the farmers that had already changed the dynamics of engagement between factories and the farmers. Effectiveness in achieving project results Training farmers on their rights created an interest and a new confidence in farmers to know more about the tea production and sales processes. It also directly contributed to the improved quality of tea plucking, fertilizer application and other good crop husbandry practices. The factory management in all four factories emphasized this as a tangible result of the trainings. At the same time, the diversification into non-tea farming for commercial purposes increased the income available to farmers and their family. This contributes to reducing poverty and improving the quality of life. The project results are on course to contributing to the reduction of poverty and improving livelihoods of smallholder tea farmers in Kenya.

2.5 Sustainability

Sustainability of the project was assessed as the capacity of the project outputs to continue without further support beyond the life of the project; the acceptance of the project; the effect of the project on power structures, attitudes, behaviours and practices and the potential for replicating the project; and the implications for ongoing work in the field. The assessment also included a judgment on the future of the project.

30 Iriaini Field Services Coordinator in a discussion on farmers’ rights and responsibilities with CPDA staff, Mercy Mwaniki and Grace Nderitu

Materials availed to ensure continued access to information on rights and responsibilities The project design and approach incorporated ways of ensuring access to information on rights and responsibilities would be available after the conclusion of the project. The posters were made simply, with drawings and in easy, quick to read formats. This ensures that farmers have access to information on basic rights and responsibilities even after the conclusion of the project. Continuity of leadership skills among collection centre committees The rights and responsibility training also created consciousness and demand for greater accountability from the factory management. The committees are elected every two years. It may be difficult for the trained leaders to pass on the skills and knowledge to subsequent committees without tools and written products. This context makes it necessary to ensure leadership skills are passed on regularly. The project team shared training manuals with the factory management in order to support further training of the collection centre committees during quarterly meetings after the conclusion of the Fair Cup project. If implemented, this will be a useful and sustainable way to ensure leadership training for collection centre committee members is sustainable. In addition to manuals shared with the factory management, continuity of the leadership and management skills building would in future benefit from simplified, easy-to-use booklets and materials (similar to the posters produced for rights and responsibilities training) provided to the farmers’ that speak to proper holding and documenting of meetings; recording, circulating and confirming minutes; recording complaints and communicating decisions; requirement of integrity in leaders, etc. Potential for replication Working with diverse stakeholders – The project is replicable. A significant factor in the success of the project was in building support for the project from all stakeholders. The project provided simple interventions that have had far reaching effects because the project team constantly reviewed the project-operating context and factored this into the project design. Pragmatism of the project approach – The project addressed the social and economic concerns of the farmers as well as their individual rights, demonstrating the interdependence of the two aspects and remaining practical and relevant to the farmer communities targeted. Working with KTDA in other factories – KTDA manages 63 tea factories across the country. The success of the project in Nyeri and Kirinyaga and the buy-in by KTDA provides opportunity to replicate, adapt and improve the project in other factories.

31 2.6 Capacity building

Women and men farmers These are the primary beneficiaries. The project targeted 26,729. Their capacities were built as follows:  Knowledge of their rights and responsibilities, including farming practices that improve tea production (including fertilizer application, proper tea plucking  Capacity to raise their concerns with factory management, engage constructively; confidence to ask for information and make suggestions  Greater interest not only in tea bonuses but also in the management of the tea factories that they are affiliated to

Collection Centre Committees These are farmers elected representatives. Their capacities were built as follows:  Enabled to understand their roles as representatives of their fellow farmer  Equipped with knowledge on management and leadership skills that they previously did not have  Knowledge on the value of taking minutes, documenting committee process, documenting complaints and providing and recording responses and solutions to issues raised

Factory management  Appreciation of the need to provide information to farmers  Appreciation of the importance of holding regular meetings with farmers representatives to solve challenges and address concerns  Christian Partners Development Agency This was Traidcraft’s local implementing partner. The staff capacities were enhanced as follows:  Training on project management, reporting, monitoring and documentation through formal training and through regular discussions and reviews with Traidcraft during the course of the project  Enhancing conflict resolution skills by working with and winning over previously reluctant or hostile factory management and farmers, and constantly reflecting on the process with Traidcraft throughout the project period.  Financial management capacity management through specific training and partnership in the CSCF project

32 2.7 Gender Mainstreaming

 The project understood that the experiences of male and female farmers were different. The project targeted trainings for farmers based on understanding how women and men meet collectively. The project made use of the farmer field school sessions which have groups of women and men as well as separate groups of women and separate groups of men.  The project realized in its training and interaction with farmers that women farmers are at a disadvantage when the tea factories collect tea late in the day as they safety when travelling from the tea collection centres is precarious late in the night. The project team worked with the collection centre committees to address this concern with the factories and tea collection now happens at a more conducive time.  The project undertook a gender study, which was concluded and disseminated to factories. However, the analysis and findings were disseminated late in the project period and effective follow-up actions could not be carried out during the life of the project. It is recommended that a gender analysis should be part of the context analysis and baseline assessment that informs project activities.

33 2.8 Outcome and Output Scoring

DfID Scoring System – DfID assesses the performance of projects based on the following scale Description Scale Outputs substantially exceeded expectation A++ Outputs moderately exceeded expectation A+ Outputs met expectation A Outputs moderately did not meet expectation B Outputs substantially did not meet expectation C

OUTCOME A.0.1 Outcome: Increased incomes for 26,729 tea farming households in the catchment areas of the four targeted tea factories through their increased capacity to demand their rights under the revised tea Act, other applicable laws and through diversifying their sources of income A.0.2 Outcome Score: A+

A.0.3 Write in full each outcome indicator, the milestone, and state progress Explain any over or under achievement. Outcome indicator 1: % increase in the average income from tea for tea farming households in the catchment areas of four targeted tea factories Milestone 20% - (15,400/=) Progress at end of project: Income from tea generally declined by the end of the project across the country due to factors affecting international tea market but outside of the control of the project.

Outcome indicator 2: Number of significant issues raised by tea farmer representatives, per factory, that have been dealt with by the targeted four tea factories to the satisfaction of the tea farmers. Milestone At least 5 (segregated per factory) Progress at end of project: At least 8 significant issues addressed in each factory

34 Outcome indicator 3: % and number of tea farmers, (from those supported to diversify their incomes and take concrete steps to improve their business) who report an increase in income from their non-tea enterprise Milestone 75% (562 out of 750) who took concrete action to improve their enterprise) Progress at end of project: 65% or 334 out of 520 A.0.4 State the evidence that supports progress described

 Outcome indicator 1 – self-reported income increase and monitoring reports by Traidcraft  Outcome indicator 2 – Issues addressed include disputed weight counting by clerk; late tea collection; late distribution of fertilizer; poor access road to farms; among others. Reported by collection centre committees and in Fair Cup monitoring logframe  Outcome indicator 3 – 75 of 200 reported various an increase in come

OUTPUT 1 A.1.1 Write Output in full Smallholder tea farmers, tea factory management & directors have increased awareness of farmers rights under the revised Tea Act A.1.2 Output score (C – A++) A+ A.1.3 Write in full each output indicator, the relevant milestone, and state progress Output indicator 1.1 – % and number of farmers, disaggregated by gender, that can clearly state their rights under the revised Tea Act and applicable laws (freely & fairly elected officials, access to information, services, inputs, and choice of where to market their tea) Milestone: 90% of 26,729 farmers Progress: 100% of target farmers trained and all of them (16,037 male and 10,692 female) can articulate their rights

Output indicator 1.2 – All tea factory directors, appropriate managers (those who deal with the farmers) and field service teams that can clearly state the rights of smallholder tea farmers under the revised tea act Milestone: 100% of 28 Directors and Managers Progress: 100% of factory management aware of farmers rights A.1.4 State evidence that supports the progress described

 Output indicator 1.1 – All farmers trained and at least 90% of those participating in evaluation can articulate their rights  Output indicator 1.2 – Interviews with all 4 factory managers, including 1 who did not directly participate in the training indicate they are aware of farmers rights and have posters pinned up in strategic office and public locations; interview with KTDA official confirms the same

35

OUTPUT 2 A.2.1 Write Output in full Increased capacity of targeted smallholder tea farmers groups to take action to demand their rights A.2.2 Output score (C – A++) A+

A.2.3 Write in full each output indicator, the relevant milestone and state progress Output indicator 2.1 – Number of farmer representatives (Collection Centre Committee members) out of the total that are effectively lobbying on behalf of tea farmers through regular attendance in the meetings with factory board Milestone: 90% (630/700) of farmer representatives regularly attending and lobbying effectively Progress: 639 farmer representatives (179 women, 460 men) from 639 CCCs drawn from four factories (Chinga, Gitugi, Iriaini and Ndima)

Output indicator 2.2 – Number of issues from the eight sets of key tea farmer rights that were discussed in each of the factory board meeting, disaggregated by factory, out of those raised by farmer representatives Milestone: At least one issue from each of five sets of rights (100%) Progress: At least 8 farmers rights issues discussed during management training

Output indicator 2.3 – % of collection centre committee (and other farmer committees) members that are women Milestone: At least 30% of total CCC members (238 out of 795) Progress: Of 28 Collection Centre Committees sampled from the 4 tea catchment areas (140 members) 25% of the membership is women. A.2.4 State the evidence that supports the progress described

 Output indicator 2.1 – reports from the Collection Centre Committees (record books) indicate committee members attend scheduled meetings. Factory management confirms the meetings  Output indicator 2.2. – reports from Traidcraft after the workshop with directors indicate at least 6 issues taken up  Output indicator 2.3 – monitoring logframe from 28 tea collection centres indicates membership

36 OUTPUT 3 A.3.1 Write Output in full Improved governance and management of targeted tea factories ensuring greater accountability to smallholder farmers A.3.2 Output score (C – A++) A A.3.3 Write in full each output indicator, the relevant milestone and state progress Output indicator 3.1 – Number of scheduled meetings that take place as agreed between tea factory directors and farmers' representatives Milestone: Two out of three documented formal meetings per factory (100%) Progress: 100% of scheduled quarterly meetings between the factory management and farmers’ representatives were held

Output indicator 3.2 – Number of KPIs in each of the four factories' annual targets, disaggregated by factory, that are related to farmer rights Milestone: 8 Progress: Factories more diligent on meetings with farmers; factory KPIs include clauses that focus on farmers rights

Output indicator 3.3 – Proportion of farmers in the four targeted factories, disaggregated by factory that perceive director elections were democratic and fair according to company policy and in line with national legislation. Milestone: 80% Progress: 100% of farmers sampled during evaluation were of the view the CCC member elections were fair. None of those sampled felt the director elections were adequately representative and felt they have too little influence on the outcomes.

Output indicator 3.4 – Mini survey of the challenges and opportunities of women tea farmers in the catchment area of the four target factories completed, findings shared with all four factory management and action taken in line with the recommendations Milestone: Study findings and recommendations discussed with managers and issues identified for action Progress: The gender study was completed in quarter 3 of 2014 and disseminated to the factory management at a workshop at the end of 2014 A.3.4 State the evidence that supports the progress described

37  Output 3.1 – Reports by Collection Centre Committee members, confirmed by different levels of factory management interviewed in the evaluation.  Output 3.2 – Report by Traidcraft indicates factories KPIs contain at least 4 clauses the promote farmers rights.  Output 3.3 – Oral confirmations by farmers interviewed during evaluation indicated all were satisfied with the manner of conduct and length of term of the Collection Centre Committees. None of the respondents were happy with the director elections.  Output 3.4 –Gender study report

OUTPUT 4 A.4.1 Write Output in full Tea farming households in the targeted tea factory catchment areas generate additional income through diversified enterprise activities A.4.2 Output score (C – A++) A++

A.4.3 Write in full each output indicator, the relevant milestone and state progress Output indicator 4.1 – Number of farmers, disaggregated by gender and age group, that are supported to initiate or improve their non-tea enterprises Milestone: 1000 out of 1000 [at least one third of whom are women and half of whom are youth] Progress: 1020 farmers trained: 530 women (52%) and 490 men (48%). Of this total

Output indicator 4.2 – Number of farmers, disaggregated by gender and age group, who take concrete steps to improve their business after the support they receive from the project Milestone: 750 out of 1000 [at least one third of whom are women and half of whom are youth] Progress: 104 out of 204 farmers sampled

A.4.4 State the evidence that supports the progress described

 Output indicator 4.1 – Traidcraft monitoring reports on farmers trained  Output 4.2 – Traidcraft monitoring reports on farmers trained and supported

OUTPUT 5 A.5.1 Write Output in full Increase in capacity of local partner CPDA by the end of year 3

A.5.2 Output score (C – A++)

38 A+

A.5.3 Write in full each output indicator, the relevant milestone and state progress Output indicator 5.1 –% of activities CPDA delivers to the agreed scale Milestone: 100% Progress: 100% of planned project activities delivered after initial targets (26,729 farmers in 4 tea catchment areas) scaled down in view of challenges faced at the initial stages of the project CPDA remained the local implementing partner carrying out the on-the-ground activities as well as participating in the planning alongside Traidcraft

Output indicator 5.2 – % of training participants that express overall satisfaction with CPDA training events Milestone: 90% Progress: At least 7 CPDA staff participated in training activities including project management, monitoring and financial management, as well as on-the-job training during implementation. All CPDA interviewed indicated satisfaction with the training.

Output indicator 5.3 – % of project activities delivered within agreed budgets Milestone: 100% Progress: 100% of the activities were implemented within the budget A.5.4 State the evidence that supports the progress described

 Output indicator 5.1 – project reports, interviews with CPDA staff and Traidcraft staff, and interviews with farmers and factory management indicate that all project activities were carried out  Output indicator 5.2 – Interviews with CPDA staff indicate satisfaction with the training  Output indicator 5.3 – Financial reports indicate activities were conducted within budget

39 2.9 Key Achievements of the Project

1. All farmers in the area (26,729) had participated in the learning on rights and responsibilities of farmers by the conclusion of the project. At least 90 per cent of the farmers participating in the evaluation could articulate their rights and responsibilities. 2. Project staff secured the support and the endorsement of KTDA and the factory management and the boards of directors in all four factories to undertake the rights and responsibilities training, despite the initial hostility and resistance to the project that had paralyzed implementation. 3. The project contributed to the improvement of communication between farmers and the tea factory management and de-escalation of the acrimony that had defined the engagements among the stakeholders. 4. The project contributed directly to increase in the quality of leaf plucking (two leaves and a bud) and effective use of fertilizer among farmers. Factory management acknowledged that while they had made repeated efforts to get farmers to be consistent in the quality of tea harvested, the reiteration of the messages through a discussion of farmers’ rights and responsibilities communicated effectively to the farmers. 5. The project addressed the social and economic concerns of the farmers as well as their individual participatory rights. Socio-economic rights and the rights to participation in all aspects of community are linked and relevant to any efforts aimed at reduction of poverty. 6. The Fair Cup project built goodwill among the KTDA officials, factory management and farmers, thereby making the project replicable in other factories since KTDA manages 63 factories across the country. 7. The project contributed to a positive transformation in the collection centre committees conduct of business and engagement with the factories on behalf of their fellow farmers. Committees began to record complaints, provide feedback, attend scheduled meetings with farmers and seek more information for the benefit of the farmers.

2.10 Challenges Faced in the Project

1. The project lost a significant time in the first year of implementation as a result resistance from KTDA and the factory management. They were initially hostile to the concept and suspicious of a rights approach in a context where relations between the farmers and the factories had been strained. Due to the time lost, the project had to be scaled down to achievable outcomes – from an initial target of 30,000 farmers in 6 tea areas to 26,729 farmers in 4 areas.

40 2. The on-the-ground project staff both from Traidcraft and CPDA that designed the initial project and commenced its implementation had all left their respective organisations by the start of the second year of the project. This meant that the project team in the second year had to start building relationships while facing any lingering antagonism that may not have been resolved. 3. Initially, the project team did not adequately document the difficulty of building goodwill among the farmers and factory management yet this took significant time, planning and effort. The project design had not originally anticipated the level of effort and time required to build partnerships and support in order for the project to take off and initial project reports did not adequately capture this process, thereby misrepresenting the actual progress of the project.

2.11 Lesson Learning on Approaches

1. The Fair Cup project succeeded because the project team invested in building support and overcoming suspicion. It spoke to the rights and responsibilities of both farmers and factories and was not seen as one-sided.

o The project initiatives were relevant to tea production, which is the primary concern of both the farmers and the factories. The project was also relevant to the context and employed an approach that did not antagonise the stakeholders. Support or buy-in for a project determines how open the targeted communities are and whether the project will facilitate real change.

2. Retaining flexibility in the project design and implementation while keeping the goal of the project clearly in sight is important to implementing activities in difficult contexts where there is or has been distrust and animosity. o The process and outcomes of the Fair Cup project may have been unsuccessful if the project team had not recognised and addressed the real reasons for the resistance, without compromising on the goals of the project. Focusing on a training of “rights and responsibilities” and using other words to describe rights won over those who were had concerns about rights training.

3. Understanding the power structure and dynamics within a particular context is necessary in determining the best approaches and interventions to employ in pursuing social justice within limited time, financial and human resources. o Ideally, the farmers should have been free to determine whom they would or would not engage with, but the reality was that for the project to proceed, endorsement was necessary from all the stakeholders including the farmers themselves. Securing

41 the support was a means to an end but was also fact of the realities of the power structures within the tea sector.

4. Poverty reduction goes beyond investing in economic activities. It requires investment in the self-empowerment and self-advocacy of the target population so that they are able to address the socio-political and power structures that would otherwise impede economic efforts to reduce poverty.

5. Gender constructs and power relations occur within particular social, economic, political and cultural contexts. A baseline assessment preceding implementation of a project would benefit from an analysis of how the power and disempowerment situations manifest, the context and the available responses. o The smallholder tea-farming sector is dominated by older men, by virtue of the patterns of land ownership, succession and inheritance, as the dominant way of land transfer. Women farmers are therefore not represented in equal numbers and also do not have comparable voting power in tea management. However, women are the bulk of the labour force that manages the tea bushes. Project definitions of the target groups, as well as when, where and how activities are carried out should take into account these factors.

6. Monitoring and evaluation are continuous processes that, if the project flexibility allows, can help to reshape project approaches and ultimately increase the likelihood of achieving project goals. Both quantitative and qualitative data are useful in tracking progress and results.

7. Working within existing structures is useful in ensuring cost-effectiveness of a project and also gaining broader acceptance of the project by the target beneficiaries. Working within the structures requires cultivation of goodwill and partnerships with diverse entities that would facilitate building on and working through the systems and physical infrastructure that already exist. This must be balanced against the project objectives to ensure ultimately the goal of the project is not compromised.

8. Beyond the project design, the project leadership, management and implementation are central in the determining the success or failure of a project. Even where a project is poorly designed, it can be salvaged if the project team is flexible, adaptable and responsive to the context, and the project leadership is clear, focused and driven. o Traidcraft employed a consultative and inclusive project management approach that entailed regular reviews of progress, incorporation of lessons and ideas from the entire project team, prioritizing interventions based on the context, and building goodwill among stakeholders.

42 2.12 Project Accountability (Beneficiary Feedback Mechanisms)

The project team collected feedback from their beneficiaries through follow-up visits and monitoring and evaluation reports. For example, farmers who were trained in additional income-generating initiatives sought capital injection and markets. It was beyond the scope of the project to provide markets for produce and capital. The project team encouraged the farmers to work together and seek markets as a group rather than individuals. Some of the feedback received came at the end of the project and as such was not able to be addressed within the project life. For example, collection centre committees realized that as elections take place and committee members change, they would require materials that they can use to perpetuate the principles and values of leadership and management that they had learned. They asked for materials that were easy to understand but these arose after the life of the project.

2.13 Contribution to CSCF Objectives

CSCF Objective Fair Cup Contribution

1. Building capacity of  In understanding their rights and responsibilities and Southern civil society to gaining confidence to raise concerns, seek information engage in local decision- and assert their interests, the project enabled farmers to making processes. improve responsiveness of the tea factories to their concerns  Farmers’ collection centre committees are now documenting complaints, raising substantive issues with tea factories, and following up for solutions. This is increasing the levels of accountability of tea factories to the farmers.

2. Service delivery in difficult  The project used the training on rights and environments. responsibilities to overcome resistance and negative connotations of the concept of “rights” in an acrimonious context.

 The smallholder tea sector has been afflicted with antagonistic relationships and distrust between farmers and tea factories, with farmers feeling they are neither

43 CSCF Objective Fair Cup Contribution heard nor considered in the management of the tea sector.

3. CONCLUSION The Fair Cup project on reducing poverty and improving the rights and livelihoods of smallholder tea farmers was significantly successful, despite taking off to a faltering start which paralyzed implementation of the project in the first year. The project team invested in building acceptance and support from the factory management, KTDA and the farmers by involving the stakeholders, clearly explaining the intended results of the project and remaining flexible in the project activities. The project team demonstrated effective leadership and management by turning the situation around. The project activities were relevant and succeeded in giving farmers greater awareness of their rights and responsibilities as farmers, as well as confidence to raise substantive questions in less acrimonious ways. At the same time, factories are responding with more solutions to the issues raised by farmers regarding tea planting, harvesting, collecting and selling. Although challenges of information sharing and accountability for management of the factories, fiscal management and trade and auction issues remain, the project makes important initial steps and adds value to previous efforts by the farmers and the factory management to build mutually respectful, accountable and profitable relationships The support from the KTDA, factory management and widely acknowledge success provides a platform for the team to replicate the project in other smallholder tea farmer factories ran by KTDA.

4. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Traidcraft should explore possibilities of embarking on a second or further phase of the project within the same areas with the following objectives in mind: a. to consolidate the positive changes that have occurred in the farmers’ levels of awareness, confidence and in asserting their interests, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the project outputs; b. to provide capacity support for farmers to improve their income through non-tea farming activities, and to explore the question of access to markets as a way to enhance sustainability;

44 c. to guide and monitor factory management on incorporating the gender study in management of the tea sector in a way that diminishes the disadvantages faced by women farmers or women farm workers.

2. In addition to the manuals on leadership and management for training collection centre committees handed to the factory management for support in further training of subsequent committees, Traidcraft should invest in additional simplified materials (such as posters) and booklets specifically for the farmers’ collection centre committees, which summarise key principles, important practices of leadership and management and in accountability in a way that is easily accessible to the farmers.

3. The project should consider in subsequent phases investing in negotiation and advocacy skills-building among collection centre committee members and farmers. This will enhance the efforts towards greater accountability from the factory management and boards of directors, better representation of farmers interests and concerns, and more effective handling of discussions on difficult or contentious issues.

4. Traidcraft should documenting the process of moving from resistance to support in implementing initiatives aimed at empowering farmers in a context of difficult relations between farmers and their factory management. There are rich lessons emerging including the process of making training in “rights” acceptable in a context that was originally averse to the idea.

45 ANNEX

A. List of Documents Reviewed

1. Original project proposal, budget and Gantt chart 2. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework 3. 2012 Baseline Survey Report in Nyeri 4. Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 project Annual reports 5. Mid-term Review Report, September 2013 6. Traidcraft Case-study reports (6 cases: 4 men, 2 women farmers) 7. Gender Study – Challenges and Opportunities for Women in the Tea Sector in the Fair Cup Project Target Areas, 2014 8. Monitoring Table of Collection Centre Committees (Issues, actions, outcomes and gender composition)

46 B. Profile of Evaluation Respondents

Key informant interviews DESCRIPTION WOMEN MEN 1. Traidcraft Exchange staff Program staff and management in Nairobi 1 1 2. CPDA Staff Project staff in Nyeri 2 3. Chinga Factory Management Factory manager and field services coordinator 1 1 4. Ndima Factory Management Factory manager and field services coordinator 2 5. Gitugi factory management Factory unit manager 1 6. Iriaini factory management Factory unit manager 1 7. KTDA representative Located in Iriaini 1 8. Individual farmer Assessing impact through a more in-depth 1 engagement with an individual farmer Subtotal 5 7 Group Discussions DESCRIPTION WOMEN MEN 9. Chinga Participated in diversification training 3 8 (additional income initiatives). Chair of the group is a young man (under 35). 10. Chinga All farmers; one young farmer (under 35) 8 among them 11. Collection Centre Committee All men 4 – Ndima 12. Kiangumara group – Ndima All women. Representatives of 8 different 16 women self-help groups 13. Iriaini FGD Farmers and beneficiaries (family members), 8 4 including one elderly women and elderly man (both over 72) 14. Farmer field school group, Several women’s groups 14 Iriaini 15. Gitugi group Farmers who have participated in field school 5 5 training. Group included a young woman (24) who had left an urban city for farming in Nyeri. 16. Collection Centre Committee 2 4 in Gitugi Subtotal 48 33 TOTAL 53 40

47 C. Declaration

I, Eva A. Maina Ayiera, hereby declare that I am not nor have I been an employee or consultant for purposes of implementation of the Fair Cup project at any stage of the project. I am independent from the Traidcraft and Christian Partners Development Agency project team and I conduct this evaluation in my capacity as an independent evaluator.

Eva A. Maina Ayiera 28 June 2015

48 D. Evaluation Schedule

FIELD SCHEDULE ARRIVAL – 3 MAY 2015 DEPARTURE – 6 MAY 2015

Day Mon 4 May Tue 5 May Wed 6 May Time 9am Expected 40 minutes each Expected 40 minutes Expected 1hr 30 minutes Chinga Factory Manager (or Iriaini FSC discussion CPDA staff meeting Chinga FSC) (expected 40

minutes) KTDA regional manager if available 11am – Expected 40 minutes each Expected 40 minutes Expected 40 minutes 12.30pm (together or each) FGD Chinga 1 – women+men Iriani FGD 1 – women Iriaini FUM FGD Chinga 2 – men Iraini FGD 2 – women+men Iriaini FSC 12.30pm Lunch and travel to next venue as needed 2pm Expected 40 minutes Expected 40 minutes Ndima FSC Gitugi FGD – women+men 3pm Expected 40 minutes Expected 40 minutes Ndima CCC – FGD (or Gitugi CCC – FGD or discussion with 3-4 pax) discussion with individuals 4pm – Expected 40 minutes Expected 40 minutes 6pm Ndima – meeting with case Gitugi Case study meeting study person OR with women OR with additional FGD group or with young farmers Notes  FGDs are of 5 to 8 persons  The location days can be changed based on availability of targeted persons and location of site – field staff can assist  The case studies can be in different places – to be confirmed after conversation with field staff and review of case studies documented.

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