NAKURU, Kenya, Sep 8 – Tea Machinery Engineering Company Limited (TEMEC) has just concluded field trials of new tea plucking baskets that could offer relief to hundreds of farmers in the country.
TEMEC General Manager, Michael Cherutich said the company was conducting the trials to pave way for the introduction of Monofilament Green Leaves Tea Plucking Baskets (TPBs).
He said the trials were conducted in Kangaita and Kagochi Tea Farms to establish efficacy of using the TPBs in comparison to the conventional baskets.
He said the baskets were made with hygienic, virgin, food grade quality High Density Polythene (HDPE) and are UV stabilized to make them resistant to UV radiation.
Cherutich said the unveiling of the new bags which are an improvement of the previous version was a ray of hope for thousands of tea pluckers who have been using cumbersome baskets which are heavy and unstable on their backs.
“The equipment is not only user friendly, it is durable, accessible, affordable, promotes healthy living and friendly to the environment,” he said.
Cherutich the Monofilament Green Leaves Tea Plucking Basket were highly durable since they are resistant to tearing and abrasion adding that they maintained their shape even under stress.
“The conventional bamboo woven tea plucking baskets loses shape when heavy and rolls on the back of a tea picker which makes it uncomfortable,” he said.
The GM added that the flexibility and natural fee of the monofilament bagsl, combined of with good aeration properties, made them ideal for currying and transporting freshly plucked tea leaves.
“The baskets are made with hygienic, virgin, food grade quality High Density Polythene (HDPE) and are UV stabilized to make the resistant to UV radiation,” he said.
He revelead that TEMEC introduced the bags following numerous concerns with the current conventional bamboo woven tea plucking basket.
He added that the basket also adds weight during wet season and become weak, hence getting damaged quickly compared to the new invention.
“Monofilament green leaves tea plucking basket weighs of 0.9kg compared to 2.6kg of conventional bags and has a higher carrying capacity of 14kg compared to 8kg of conventional bags,” he noted
Cherutich added thatt besides their heavy weight, the conventional bamboo plucking tea basket absorbed water when rained on hence weakened faster and gained while the new invention was free draining.
“In terms of cost, the initial cost of monofilament basket which lasts more than 3years may appear high because it is selling at Sh1,500 but the bag is more affordable in the long run due to its durability,” he said.
He said each each tea leaves plucker bought two conventional bamboo tea plucking baskets annually at an average cost of Sh500.00, thereby spending Sh1,000 annually and a total of Sh3,000 in three years.