Fair trade initiatives are promoted as a way to foster greater equity in international trade, enabling certain disadvantaged producers to realize a fair return for their work and enjoy decent working conditions. Yet to date, there has been no in-depth analysis of the effects of these schemes in Africa, where fair trade initiatives have been introduced across a range of commodities. This project is an inter-disciplinary, multi-sited study of Kenyan fair traded tea. It is a collaborative undertaking between a US-based anthropologist and a geographer at the University of Nairobi. The project has two main objectives. First, it aims to examine the socioeconomic effects of fair trade schemes on household and gender relations in Meru North District, Kenya. Research carried out in other regions suggests that fair trade schemes can render positive benefits for participating producers and their communities, however the relevance of these findings to fair trade in Africa is open to question. Similarly, while gender equity is a core principle of fair trade, evidence from Africa suggests that new marketing systems such as fair trade may create gender-differentiated impacts, with potentially deleterious consequences for women. Second, the project will map the actors and activities in both Kenya-UK tea commodity chains (conventional and fair trade) to determine how the structure of the commodity chain shapes opportunities for farmers, producers and exporters. The research includes fieldwork conducted in both the UK and Kenya. Methods of data collection include structured surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation with Kenyan producers, as well as interviews with agencies, companies and fair trade organizations engaged in the Kenya-UK tea commodity chains. The knowledge generated through the study will be relevant to a wide audience, including academics, policy makers and fair trade organizations.
