Within the framework of tea sector development in Indonesia, BWI in collaboration with Solidaridad, and with support from the Indonesian Tea Council, held a 2-day workshop at the Papandayan Hotel, Bandung on 21-22 July 2008.
The theme of the workshop is “Development and Implementation of UTZ Certification in the Indonesian Tea Sector” with the aim of introducing the trend of tea certification in Indonesia, providing input on the UTZ Certified Tea Code certification and aiming to form a National Reference Group which will later function as an institution that provides guidelines for Indonesian tea producers in a certification scheme, so that they can be more competitive in the global market. Solidaridad is one of the UTZ Certified partners in the development of certification, especially tea certification
This activity was opened with an introduction by the Director of BWI, Henry Heyneardhy and the keynote speaker by the General Chairperson of the Indonesian Tea Council who is also the Main Director of PTPN VIII Bandung, Ir. Abdul M Halik, MM. This two-day workshop is filled with discussions about significant issues in the tea sector, sharing about the implementation of UTZ certification in the coffee sector and what can be done together to provide input to UTZ certification based on the local context in Indonesia.
This event was attended by around 35 participants who are tea stakeholders in Indonesia such as the Department, academics, business, farmers and various social groups. At the end of the second day, it was agreed to establish an Indonesian Tea Certification Forum (FSTI) or the Indonesian National Reference Group (NRG Indonesia) which will function to provide guidelines for Indonesian tea producers in the certification scheme so that they can be more competitive in the global market. The first step is to provide input regarding the UTZ certification.
