The Wood Foundation Africa Tea Scholarship Programme

Opening Date: September 7^th2015

Closing Date: September 21^st2015

Background

The Wood Foundation (TWF), in partnership with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, launched the Imbarutso Programme in March 2011. This 6 year program is introducing a portfolio of interventions to increase management and agronomic skills at the farm level, support government in creating a proper regulatory environment, and assist processors in creating farmer services that boost factory profitability and farmer incomes.

It is in this context that the following scholarship opportunity has been established.

The Scholarship Opportunity

The Wood Foundation Africa, through its Imbarutso Programme and in partnership with NAEB and participating tea companies, seeks to identify 15 Rwandan candidatesto undergo a rigorous theoretical and practical training programme that will cover all aspects of tea production and manufacture from bush to cup including:

- Field Operations – Tea nursery establishment and management, general crop husbandry, sustainable tea production, identification and management of pests and diseases, greenleaf quality management and field logistics

- Factory operations – covering all aspects of tea manufacture from receipt of greenleaf at factory to despatch of made tea including tea tasting, quality management and machinery maintenance

The initial 3 month residential training will take place at the Tea Research Institute in Kenya and this will be followed by a paid internship at various tea factories in Rwanda. Successful candidates will be required to travel to Kenya for theinitial 3 month period and this will be followed by a 12 month internship to be undertaken at participating tea factories in Rwanda. Upon successful completion of the first 15 months of training, the trainees’ will be evaluated based on previously agreed indicators and successful candidates may be offered a permanent role within the relevant tea companies. During the 12 month internship, in addition to direct supervision from within the relevant tea company, trainees will also receive ongoing technical backstopping support from the Tea Research Institute of Kenya and the Imbarutso Programme.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidates we seek for this opportunity will have:

- Within the last two years, successfully completed an undergraduate degree (Bachelors) in Agriculture, Food Science or related fields.

- Written and spoken proficiency in English and Kinyarwanda with knowledge of Kiswahili being a definite advantage

- Demonstrated interestin improving smallholder farmer incomes, rural economic development

- Will have obtained an overall grade of at least 85% or higher in their chosen field of study

- Previous experience in the tea value chain or agricultural extension services with a focus on smallholder farmers and perennial crops

 Application Requirements