The rural area around Sorwathe is very densely populated as most areas in Rwanda seem to be. Most villagers practice subsistence small scale farming on plots averaging half an hectare. Crops mostly grown are bananas, maize, beans and sweet potatoes.
Since the genocide in 1994 tribal issues are a sensitive matter in Rwanda. As in most areas of the country the Tutsi are a minority, however this is not something that is easily talked about. In the area surrounding Sorwathe, every Thursday is reserved for “Gachacha”, the local village based tribunals that deal with the genocide and its perpetrators. Attendance is a must for everybody concerned. As a result of a “Gachacha “ ruling, the secretary of the Joint Body who was also the vice president of the workers’ representatives was taken by the police.
Sorwathe is located in Rwanda’s North Province, about 70 kms north of the capital Kigali.The rural area surrounding Sorwathe is very hilly and densely populated. As a result almost all the tea is planted in the valley in a drained swamp. Sorwathe owns a total of 280 hectares, 262 of which are planted with tea. The company also owns 443 ha of forest in little plots scattered all over the district. The factory produces approx. 3 million of made tea per year. In 2005, their export sales amounted to 3,005,500 Kgs of made tea and their national sales to 15,100 Kgs.
Summary of Certification decision
Sorwathe applied for FLO certification in December 2005. The inspection took place in January 2006 and they received the certification decision of pre-conditions with one year to comply in February 2006. The Estate complied with FLO Minimum requirements of Development Potential, Forced Labour and Child Labour Freedom of Association, Fairtrade Premium and Ability to Export.
However Sorwathe did not comply with some of the Minimum and Progress requirements. It was therefore recommended that Sorwathe was certified with Pre-conditions on documents followed by Regular Conditions.
Pre-Conditions are valid for Maximum one year. They must be complied to before a certificate can be issued. No Fair Trade sales can be achieved before Pre-conditions are met. Proof on compliance with Pre-Conditions can be demonstrated on documents.
Certification follow up by FLO
The FLO Liaison Officer initiated the visit in order to provide support regarding compliance to given pre-condition in April 2006.
‘Through a telephone conversation, the visit was agreed upon. Upon arrival at the Factory site, I was received by the technical director, Mr Santis; the internal auditor, Mr Murego Marcel; and the Medical assistant Mporanyisenga Jean de la Paix. I introduced myself and stated the main purpose of the visit, which was to assess and support SORWATHE to comply with the preconditions of the certification’ reports Pascasie Nyirandege.
Sorwathe had eleven pre-conditions and nine regular conditions. During her visit, the FLO LO went through each of the conditions with the manager of the plantation and the elected fair-trade officer (according the hired labour standards). She checked that objective evidence of compliance was available or in processing. For example, more than two fire extinguishers were in place, fire extinguishers had been serviced but, the management still had to send photographs and a letter to confirm the fulfilment of the requirement. The LO insisted on the urgency for fulfilling the preconditions and advised the management to take photographs and send them to FLO-Cert, as well as a letter of confirmation.
Sorwathe sent all the necessary documentary evidence to comply with the pre-conditions to FLO-Cert soon after the visit of the FLO LO. On 10th May, the FLO-Cert Internal certification committee decided to certify Sorwathe with regular conditions. All the pre-conditions were fulfilled within a month of the LO’s support visit. The General Manager of Sorwathe wrote:
‘I was delighted to receive your message confirming that we have been FLO Fairtrade certified. I wish to thank all those who worked with us to achieve this distinction.’
Market impact
Sorwathe fairtrade tea is now sold throughout one of the most established and respected names in British retailing with a history of over 130 years with a total of 420 stores nationwide. Its whole range of coffee and tea - a total of 38 lines - switched to Fairtrade. According to the chain, the expected increase of the value of Fairtrade tea will rise 30%.