Smallholders’ Tea Week was held in Jogja for the first time, with the support of the Indonesian Tea Marketing Association (ITMA), TeaLOGi Sky View, Business Watch Indonesia, Paguyuban Tani Lestari, and NRG on Tea which all have a concern for the sustainability of Indonesian people’s tea.
For many years, tea smallholders only earn their income from selling tea shoots, which was declining due to decreased production and competition with imported tea. However, some progress has been seen in the smallholder tea business, among which most of the tea farmers are organized in groups and have their own processing units, so they can make their own tea products and no longer just depend on selling tea shoots.
However, the emerging tea business by smallholders still needs support from various parties. The Smallholders’ Tea Week which took place on December 17-18 2022 aimed to increase community support for Indonesian tea farmers, one of which is through increasing consumption of tea produced by Indonesian farmers.
A series of activities were arranged to enliven this event, including exhibitions of smallholders’ tea products, business meeting, and tea blending competition. The tea products on display came from various tea-producing regions, including Purwakarta’s white tea, Pekalongan’s Parama Tea, Tasikmalaya’s Mimitea, Cianjur’s Oreatea and Banjarnegara’s Teh nDeso.
