The adage ‘good things come in small packages’ rings true for a little known product from Samoa that is catching the attention of a niche market inNew Zealand.
Samoa is not known to export tea, more so blended tea.
However, thanks to the Women in Business Development Incorporated (WIBDI) in Samoa, its Tea Garden initiative is connecting small family businesses to Espresso Cafes in New Zealand.
C1 Espresso is a business located in Christchurch that has had a longstanding relationship with WIBDI supporting on-ground agricultural product development, value addition opportunities, reliable market access, and fair price points.
The initial stages of the project has been to assess product sourcing strategies, this meant that WIBDI had to calculate fair price points for families based on the amount and type of raw product purchased;
processing techniques to ensure visual and quality traits remain intact; and packaging to maintain a high-quality dry-good end product that is robust during transport to meet the specified needs of the café and other end-users.
Out of this, WIBDI developed a Tea Garden design that will be set up with families to up-scale certain products, including Lemongrass, Ginger, Turmeric, Fragrant herbs and Flowers.
The package includes a bucket irrigation setup to ensure the risk associated with a lack of water access during extended dry periods, especially in certain microclimates, is minimized.
The programme is also currently growing seedlings to distribute to families over the coming months.
Lemongrass is a key plant that WIBDI is encouraging, as it will have a two-fold use: tea components and distilled to extract high-value oil.
As a marketing ploy to engage customers, the organisation can further assess the economics of upscaling production.
frequent the Espresso Cafes in New Zealand, a video was developed to pump the awareness with a particular focus on the products used as an educational outreach to promote ‘The story behind the story.’
So when someone is sipping a cup of Samoa tea in New Zealand, they can make a direct connection to WIBDI and families they are supporting back in the Polynesian island nation.
This also allows them to actively make choices to purchase and support vulnerable livelihoods strengthening programmes.
Both WIBDI and C1 Espresso can use this promotional tool to showcase community partnerships and actions that can positively affect change where it is most needed – starting with a family in a village and progressing from there as upscaling of demand and supply is catered for.
As part of its entrepreneurial support, the WIBDI processes 10kg of product to undertake all aspects of the production cycle: sourcing, processing, drying and packing.
It has negotiated a fee of NZ$50/kg for a range of dried products. This is an important financial benchmark from which the organisation can further assess the economics of upscaling production.
At this time of reporting, it is estimated that another 10-15 kg of product will be produced over the next quarter to both coincide with efficient economies of scale in transportation and improved air freight flexibility and choice as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
With the resumption of exports following limited capacity to access international air freight schedules during the state of emergency in Samoa in 2020, WIBDI sent a consignment of dried tea components consisting flowers, fruits and spices to New Zealand.
According to Programme Manager, Gillian Stewart it was well received by the clients.
The WIBDI is hoping this venture will grow exponentially
with a more regular supply and broader range of products and amounts planned.
All these have been made possible through a joint partnership between the European Union (EU), the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of states, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Pacific Island Farmer Organisations Network (PIFON) for the project called Farmer
Organisations for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (FO4ACP).