Tea workers, smallholder farmers and their families often consume diets which lack diversity, leaving them nutritionally vulnerable. We worked with Unilever and GAIN (the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) to implement the Seeds of Prosperity Program. This program helped tea workers and farmers develop more balanced and nutritious diets.
In the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, Unilever Tea Tanzania employs over 6,000 people at peak season and works with 1,600 farmers. The Seeds of Prosperity program worked with both groups to combine nutrition education, behavior change and practical interventions to promote diverse diets.
Watch the video to learn more about the program in Tanzania:
Unilever employees learnt how to inform colleagues and their families about why a diverse diet matters and how to increase the diversity of their diet. Unilever also set aside land for vegetable gardens while the program provided seeds so households can cultivate vegetable gardens and fruit trees. The program reinforced key messages about the importance of nutrition through posters and messages on pay slips, as well as through community educators, such as local mothers with children in schools.
Nutritious diets to 300,000 people
Through the Seeds of Prosperity program, we have now brought more nutritious diets to 300,000 people in India, Kenya and Tanzania. We are proud to have worked with Unilever and GAIN to set the case for the tea sector to bring more nutritious diets to tea workers and farmers.
Improving the health of the farmers in our value chain is a moral responsibility, but it also secures essential supplies, expands the market for our products and increases the resilience of our business model. Without a healthy workforce, we can’t have a healthy business
Visit the Unilever website for more information about Seeds of Prosperity