TBK’s centenary celebrations kick off with plenty of actions lined up for November – Folks Day by day
The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) has lined up an inventory of actions in November because it celebrates 100 years of its existence and tea manufacturing in Kenya.
According to revelations from TBK, 100 years since tea rising began in Kenya, the business helps over 600,000 farmers and impacts roughly 6.5 million Kenyans, contributing 2% to the nationwide GDP and 4% to agricultural GDP.
“What started in 1903, with the planting of the first tea bush by G.W.L. Caine, has become one of the world’s leading exporter of black tea. Kenyan tea is now a symbol of national pride, shaping cultural, social, and economic dynamics across the country,” TBK states.
In honour of 100 years of tea manufacturing, two main occasions are deliberate to spotlight the historic significance, financial influence, and future prospects of Kenyan tea.
The occasions embrace the Heritage Week at Karatina University from November 6 to eight, 2024, and the Kenya Tea Summit from November 15 to 16, 2024, in Mombasa.
The occasions, beneath the banner of the Kenya Tea Industry Centenary Celebrations, goal to have fun the tea business’s wealthy legacy, honour its contribution to the nation, and chart its path ahead.
The Heritage Week will concentrate on the cultural, historic, and social elements of Kenyan tea. During the occasion, Karatina University will host a sequence of actions designed to interact the local people, academia, and tea stakeholders in exploring the journey of tea over the previous century.
Among the primary actions that may happen throughout the occasion in Karatina University embrace tea historical past exhibition, which entails displaying artefacts, pictures, and key milestones from 1924 to 2024, specializing in the colonial period, post-independence progress, and modern-day achievements.
The Karatina University occasion can even characteristic instructional excursions, tea tasting, workshops and panels and youth outreach.
Educational excursions will entail guided discipline journeys to native tea farms to offer individuals with firsthand insights into tea cultivation and manufacturing processes.
Tea tasting will see individuals expertise completely different styles of Kenyan tea, complemented by a cultural exhibition of conventional tea ceremonies from numerous communities whereas workshops will probably be targeted on sustainable farming practices, improvements, and the way forward for the tea business, that includes specialists, environmentalists, and business leaders.
Youth outreach will entail actions equivalent to tea recipe competitions, youth debates on tea’s position in environmental conservation, and digital content material creation selling tea.
“Heritage Week aims to showcase tea as more than just a beverage, positioning it as a symbol of national identity and sustainable development,” TBK states.
TBK summit in Mombasa
In Mombasa, the Kenya Tea Summit will carry collectively key gamers from throughout the worldwide tea business to replicate on Kenya’s 100 years of tea manufacturing and strategize for the longer term. The summit will concentrate on enhancing tea high quality, market competitiveness, and sustainability within the business.
The summit in Mombasa, which will probably be formally opened by President William Ruto, will entail a tea business convention/symposium, which can characteristic two days of discussions protecting subjects such because the Evolution of Kenya’s tea business, local weather change, sustainability, and market dynamics.
The summit can even talk about branding methods, overcoming non-tariff obstacles, empowering smallholder farmers and increasing Kenya’s international tea market presence.
It can even characteristic a showcase of numerous tea merchandise from Kenya and different tea-producing nations, together with interactive cubicles from tea firms, packers, equipment producers, and auxiliary service suppliers.
The summit will probably be topped by a Tea Industry Awards Gala Dinner to have fun excellence within the tea sector with awards equivalent to Tea Classes Competition, Specialty Tea Competition, Tea Masters Cup and Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The Kenya Tea Centenary Celebrations mark a pivotal moment in the country’s history. As one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange earners, tea plays a crucial role in national development, supporting both devolution and Vision 2030. These celebrations will serve as a platform to recognize tea’s immense contributions to Kenya’s socio-economic fabric, while also focusing on future sustainability and growth,” TBK acknowledged.
