In Nepal, where Zensho is engaged in fair trade tea production, the "Zensho Scholarship Project" is implemented, funded by social development costs ^*. In May 2023, we were able to visit the country for the first time in four years and participated in a stationery donation ceremony held at a school attended by the children of tea producers. We then handed out school backpacks, stationery, and other items to each of the 65 recipients.

* social development costs: This refers to the portion of the raw material purchase price that is allocated to various activities aimed at improving the lives of local people.

The children looked nervous until they received their stationery, but after running to their parents, they were all smiles, putting their stationery into their backpacks and jumping around to check how comfortable they were to wear.

And after the presentation ceremony, as the children walked home along the mountain school route, they turned around, smiled, and waved. Seeing them, I was reminded once again of my desire to continue bringing new hope to rural life through fair trade.

In addition, during a meeting with our partner organic farm owner, we discussed the future of the tea industry. We proposed developing climate-resilient varieties to achieve sustainable tea cultivation, and also suggested implementing the "Tea Terakoya Project," a program where children could learn specialized agricultural skills such as tea cultivation and processing, as a way to address the future of Nepal's tea industry. The farm owner readily accepted this proposal, and we are now in discussions to determine the specific implementation details.

Zensho will continue to value local voices and work with its partner farm operators to create initiatives that benefit the future of children and local communities.