The Bombay Burmah Trading corportation Limited, first obatianed Fair Trade Certificate for the Singampatti group of Estates in 1995 under the name "Singampatti Foundation". Later "Mudis Foundation". was established in Mudis Group. Our Herkulu estate at Usambara Group, Tazania was also certified by Fairtrade in the year 1997. In 1998, our estate at Dunsandl, Niligiris was brought under this label. We were keen to sell teas throught the Fairtrade network so as to assist the workers in building community programmes and help in starting up self-helf and sustainable projects.

The benefits of Fairtrade have helped in augmenting the funds available for workers' welfare, to the money spent by the company, and the funds thus received are utilized in the following areas, by a joint Committee set up for the same.
a) Scholarships for all college-going children of our workers.
b) It is proposed to invest the Fairtrade funds in a Retirement fund for the benefit of our workers
c) Roofing sheets were provided to all workers at our Herkulu Estate in Tanzania for their own housing.
d) School books were distributed to the children of the villages surrounding our Herkulu Estate.
e) Dispensary was built for the villagers out of funds available from Fairtrade scheme.

Apart from the above a maize mill and Fairtrade shop has been set up using Fairtrade funds.

A decision was taken in 1954 to spread the Corporation's tea interest to East Africa, and following a visit by an experienced planter, two areas in Tanganuila were considered suitable and negotiations for purchase were commenced. In January 1956, Herkulu Estate in the Western Usambara Mountains was purchased. a small factory has been in operration sicne October 1961, and teas are being sold at the London and Nairobi Markets.

Since 1989/90. the Herkulu Estate (230 Hectares) has been organically cultivated without application of chemcials and fertilizers. The estate is certitified organic according to EEC Regulations 2092/91 since February 1994 by the Institute of Marketecology, Switzerland.

The second estate of marvera is situated in the Eastern Usambara in Muheza District.

The development of these estates continue. The production in these estates for the period 1st April, 1997 to 31st March,1998 was 6.20 Lakhs Kgs. and resulted in a profit of Rs.56.13 Lakhs.

Herkulu Estate in the Western Usambara Mountains in Lushoto District of Tanga region in Tanzania is spread over 603 Ha, of which the 230 Ha is covered, with Tea, at an. elevation of 5000 ft above sea level, giving the Tea a distinctly unique flavour. Herkulu is situated in one of the last rainforests of Africa and has a veritable assortment of giant tree ferns and other species.

At the time of purchase, the Estate had sparse coffee and virgin jungles. The coffee was uprooted and some of the jungle cleared to plant Tea. The planting was completed 1967. The company took great care to preserve the ecological balance of the area by ensuring that each field has its own jungle belt. This apart from preserving the eco system, prevented soil erosion and helped greatly in isolating any pest attack.

Herkulu Estate is an undulating estate with the tea fields surrounded by Virgin Jungle and Eucalyptus Clearings planted by the estate. All the operations on the estate are carried out manually and no chemicals or artificial fertilizers are used. In order to ensure optimum nutritional input to the tea bushes, compost is produced at the estate using green matter collected from the estate and cow dung from the company's Cattle herd. The milk produced on the estate is supplied to the emp1oyees on a 'no profit no loss' basis.

Herkulu Factory was commissioned in 1961 and currently has an annual capacity of 160,000 Kgs of Organic Tea. Herkulu Estate has been certified Organic since April 2002 by IMO of Switzerland.

Herkulu Estate is also certified under the Fairtrade scheme. The factory processes teas from green leaf purchased from the small holders in the villages surrounding the estate. All the privileges of the Fairtrade system are also extended to these small holders, who supply the green leaf.

The Fairtrade premiums received are distributed, based on the intake of green leaf from the small holders (village wise) and the estate. Each of the villages / small holders have their own independent committees, who decide on the usage of the funds thus received.

Over the years, these committees have invested the funds to built dispensaries, classrooms, housing for para-medical staff and teachers. The premiums have also been used utilized to procure roofing sheets for local school buildings

The premiums apportioned to Herkulu Estate has been used for distributing roofing sheets and cement to workers (as they do not live in the company provided accommodation), setting up of a Fairtrade shop where suppliers are purchased at wholesale prices from the towns and sold to the workers on a ‘no-profit-no-loss’ basis.

The premiums have also been used to install a maize mill to grind maize, which is the staple diet

It must be noted that the company has invested its own funds to build the structures that house the Fairtrade shop and the maize mill. Further, the workers are issued supplies from the Fairtrade shop on credit and the cost recovered at the end of the month.

The current trenche of premiums have been used to buy sewing machines for all the estate workers which have been recently distributed