Community
We support environmental sustainability and biodiversity and contribute to the communities affected by our business.
We continue to contribute to our surrounding communities wherever possible in the passionate belief that the well-being of the community has a positive impact on our operations.
We must coexist with the community, because it is the community that gives us the license to exist.
Simon Odhiambo
Our Policies
Consult the local communities affected by our businesses and ensure that all comments are responded to and, where appropriate, acted upon
Understand how our businesses can most effectively support the needs of the local community and contribute to local programmes and initiatives
Ensure the social effects of major investments are assessed and monitored at the planning stage
Our Employees (Our People)
Kakuzi PLC has ensured the safety, health and welfare of its employees as far as it is reasonably practicable, and in accordance with the law and in line with SDG 5-Gender equality, SDG 8-Decent work and economic growth, and SDG 4-Quality education. The Company operates health and safety programmes through the Health and Safety Committees in each workplace. There are several workplaces in the farm and that help in safety inspections to ensure that workers are operating in healthy and safe environments.
The Company regularly conducts health and safety risk assessments. Kakuzi PLC aims to engage in fair employment practices and aims to maintain a workplace free from any kind of discrimination, harassment or intimidation, and respect for Kenyan labour laws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Employees have the right to freely organise, voluntarily and collectively negotiate their working conditions as established in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 87 and 98 and in line with the national laws. The Company respects the rights of all employees to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively. Also, during the reporting period, female employees increased by 5 percent as a result of the Company’s security department undergoing a shift to increase the number of female watch keepers and female lead watch keepers.
The Company has signed a recognition agreement and a CBA with the Kenya Plantations and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU). Kakuzi has adopted a positive approach towards the trade unions’ activities and an objective attitude towards their organisational activities.
Safety and Health
In our commitment to provide decent work, we maintain a comprehensive occupational health and safety programme that a senior member of the management team oversees. The programme is guided by the Health and Safety Policy which is reviewed periodically to reflect industry standards, organisational needs, and legal requirements.
The components of the programme include workplace risk assessment, joint health and safety committees, workplace inspections, first aid implementation, fire safety implementation, annual third-party health and safety audits, health and safety training. The entire programme aims to increase awareness, build a safety culture, and make everyone responsible for safety.
We continue enhancing the safety culture through training and distribution of safety and health materials as well as employee hand book to all workers.
Capacity Development
Enhancing staff capacity is a crucial determinant of Kakuzi’s success, as they are often the “face” of the Company to customers and stakeholders. Maintaining a well-trained, well-qualified workforce is a critical function of individual managers and Kakuzi. Management analysis and development is a key ingredient in designing and deploying staff development programmes that have tremendously helped improve the overall organisational productivity.
We ensure the provision of basic services to our employees and their dependents including;
Access to running, potable fresh water
Ensuring that resident children of employees of primary school age are in school
Access to primary health care for employees and their dependents
Access to company housing that meets or exceeds local norms or statutory requirements
Good Health and Well Being
We have two dispensaries, manned by qualified medical
personnel, on our estates offering medical services and
care to employees, their dependents and emergency
care to the surrounding community.
Health Care
With two medical facilities and 3 qualified healthcare professionals, Kakuzi provides its employees and their dependents with free primary and curative healthcare. We also run several social programmes aimed at supporting our employees, the youth, and the wider community. These include:
- Mother and Child Health (MCH)
- Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing
- Reproductive Health Programme
- Nutrition and Mental Health Awareness
- Tabasamu Menstrual Hygiene programme
- Stand Against Alcohol and Substance Abuse (SAASA) programme
- Sexual Harassment Awareness Reporting and Prevention (SHARP)
The company holds two annual medical camps and sponsors medical camps with stakeholders, to cater for the healthcare needs of the surrounding communities.
Tabasamu menstrual hygiene programme
The programme addresses social and environmental-related (water and sanitation) barriers in relation to managing monthly menstruation. These barriers hinder girls’ performance in schools and women’s contribution in the workplace as well as affecting their health and wellbeing. To address this, we rolled out a menstrual hygiene programme known as TABASAMU (Swahili for Smile) for our female employees and school girls in the surrounding community. The programme is run by a steering committee made up of female managers and incorporates champions from all divisions.
The objectives include:
- Menstrual hygiene/health education
- Access to safe and clean menstrual absorbents
- Water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure
- Safe disposal of menstrual absorbents Through the program, the employees are able to access free sanitary towels as well as a supportive workplace environment for menstrual hygiene management.
In the neighbouring community schools, the company is running a similar program to ensure that no girl misses school due to periods and thus impact academic performance.
Sexual Harassment Awareness Reporting and Prevention (SHARP)
As Kakuzi we recognize that sexual harassment in the workplace will not stop on its own and therefore choose to be part of the solution. Reporting any form of sexual harassment at the workplace is a critical step in addressing cases of sexual harassment. We do not want victims to endure sexual harassment because of fear of inaction, blame, fear of disbelief of their claim, or retaliation.
The SHARP campaign is aimed at building open teams and encouraging everyone to have a voice. Employees are empowered through provision of relevant information on our sexual harassment policy and are encouraged to participate in revisions to the existing policy, reporting mechanisms and comprehensive programme. Kakuzi hopes to shift focus on sexual harassment to a participatory issue which co-workers, supervisors, clients, and customers all have an active role to play.
Decent work and Economic Growth
We directly hire our workforce, providing them with legally binding employment contracts, signed by both parties, detailing their obligations, rights and terms and conditions of employment. The exception is when a contractor is able to provide specialized or temporary services under the same environmental, social and labour conditions required by the laws of the country.
Health and Safety
Kakuzi maintains a comprehensive occupational health and safety programme that a senior member of the management team oversees. The programme is guided by the Health and Safety Policy which is reviewed periodically to reflect industry standards, organizational needs, and legal requirements. The components of the programme include workplace risk assessment, joint health and safety committees, workplace inspections, first aid implementation, fire safety implementation, annual third-party health and safety audits, health, and safety training. The entire programme aims to increase awareness, build a safety culture, and make everyone responsible for safety.
Free Housing
Standard free housing is provided to our employees and their dependents to ensure adequate and decent housing in a suitable living environment. Our housing units surpass ILO housing requirements of at least 3.6 square meters per person and are designed to accommodate than four persons each. Each unit also provides enough room for a standard kitchen compound for the purpose of developing a kitchen garden for food security. Each house has a sanitation facility and a standpipe for water. Quarterly inspections are carried out to ensure houses are clean, habitable, and maintained in a good state of repair to minimize health risks.
Education
We ensure all children of school going age are in school. We have donated land where schools and other institutions of learning have been constructed. We offer attachment and internships to students from local institutions to enable them acquire practical skills.
The opportunity they give to new students really turns around not only their life, but also the life of the community and the development of our country.
Mohamed Malicha, Internal Audit Assistant Kakuzi,
Beneficiary of Kakuzi Sponsorship
Quality Education
Kakuzi maintains nursery schools and day care centres providing free education to children of employees, dependents and surrounding communities. By ensuring all children of school going age are in school, this supports our strict code of not using child labour in our operations. We also support education through scholarships, bursaries, and stipends and by providing funds to establish and improve the physical infrastructure and learning facilities for schools within and near our plantations.
Clean Water and Sanitation
Kakuzi has put up a total of 981 houses for its staff and their dependents at all levels. Each household has access to potable, fresh water and sanitation facilities. In addition, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities are provided in the workplace for both field and factory workers. Kakuzi has also protected and rehabilitated 4 community springs to ensure that surrounding communities have access to clean water.
Rainwater Harvesting for Schools
We successfully installed rain water harvesting systems in four schools and piped water to one school enabling storage for over 60,000 Litres of rain water. The project has benefited over 1,500 learners in the schools which are located in a water stressed region. The projects further sustain the schools feeding programme.
Sanitation for Schools
Kakuzi is working with schools to improve access to sanitation. In 2019 Kakuzi built 9 latrines for neighbouring schools which will support sanitation practices of the learners.
Economic Empowerment
Over the years, Kakuzi has partnered with the smallholder communities in key strategic economic empowerment programmes. The majority of our farmers come from the counties of Murang’a, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, and Embu, with growing interest and entrants from Meru, Nakuru, and Laikipia.
Earlier on I was earning very little and losing a lot. But when I went to Kakuzi, I'm guaranteed that I have to get something for my work.
Marion Marina, Smallholder Farmer
Kakuzi Avocado Smallholder Programme
The Avocado Smallholder Programme was started in 2012 to economically empower the avocado smallholders around Eastern and Central Kenya, by developing a sustainable supply of quality avocados through improved agronomic practices, technical assistance, and improved market access. The programme’s mantra is ‘tukurie matuda hamwe’ translated to mean ‘growing the fruit together’.
Under this programme, Kakuzi provides the marketing and quality assurance services, facilitation, and capacity-building for smallholder groups and individual farmers.
By directly purchasing from the smallholder farmers, Kakuzi enables them to earn a steady income twice a year. Kakuzi reaches the farmers through:
- Extension services through Field Extension Officers о Kakuzi Avocado Training Open Day with practical training
- Roadshows To date, a total of 3,092 farmers are registered in the programme, with 1,340 of them actively supplying fruit to our packhouse.
Beekeeping
The beekeeping project is one of the economic activities initiated by Kakuzi to help the community diversify their sources of income. The program is implemented through partnerships with self help groups where Kakuzi provides bee hives and training from experts on bee keeping.
The project has aided in sensitising the community on the importance of bees and bee products, diversified their income and improving biodiversity through improved pollination.
Stakeholder Engagement
We continue to engage constructively on a number of different topics with various stakeholders including:
- Our Employees
- Workers Union (Our social dialogue continues; Collective bargaining Agreements are up to date and fully implemented)
- Local Communities о Avocado Smallholder Growers
- Shareholders о National Government о County Government
- Civil Society
- Human Rights Groups
- United Nations Bodies
Areas of engagement include but are not limited to employee welfare, employee terms and conditions of work, economic empowerment to local communities, national and county government legislation. All feedback received from all stakeholders, whether positive or negative, is addressed by relevant parties. The stakeholder engagement process is active and on-going.
Buy Kenya, Build Kenya
Kakuzi supported local Kenyan companies and SMES by purchasing inputs worth KES 605 Million. The company also paid KES 78 Million to various Kenyan building contractors.
