The Majola Tea Estate – which has since been incorporated into the Magwa™ Tea Estate – was established with the explicit goal of creating employment opportunities for the unemployed rural people of Majola Administrative Area and especially women whose husbands had migrated to work outside the Eastern Cape Province.
The tea estate is situated at the Majola Community land in the Manzamhlophe Tribal Assembly in Port St. Johns. It’s incorporation into the Magwa™ Tea Estate was motivated by the need for business and economic efficiencies; the two estates now operate as a single economic unit.
Like its sister Magwa™, the Majola Tea Estate has gone through ups and downs since inception. Its first decade witnessed growth and expansion, leading to the opening up of a factory in 1977. However, in the next seven years, various the tea estate faced numerous challenges and the operations ground to a halt. There were attempts to restart operations, but it was not until 2016 that revitalization plans were started by the government through the Eastern Cape and Rural Development Agency (ECRDA).
Despite the challenges faced by Magwa™ Tea Estate, after down-pruning, the tea regenerated very strongly showing that the variety of tea bushes planted had adapted very well to the area, the soil type and depth. The rapid revitalization confirms that the climatic conditions and are not readily prone to pests and diseases.
Majola™ Tea Estate is now on track to play a major role in the tea industry nationally and internationally. It has huge potential as it sits on a total of 385 ha of land planted with tea bushes, as well as seedling tea. Other assets that have been revitalized include factory buildings, conservation areas, residential buildings, roads and pathways, water dams and empty spaces.
As part of the revitalization of Magwa™ Tea Estate, over 200 hectares of tea were rehabilitated and another 100 hectares are producing quality tea. This ensure a viable supply to the factory at Majola Tea Estate which is handling the combined harvest from the two estates.
FAMILY OF TEA PRODUCTS
The uniqueness of our tea products is that we focus on black tea production. Our premium tea brand – Magwa™ is designed with the understanding that black tea leaves are the bedrock of health drinks including the much healthier green tea. As a company, our strategy is to contribute to the health of our country while positioning ourselves as a major player in the global black tea market.
FAMILY OF TEA PRODUCTS
The uniqueness of our tea products is that we focus on black tea production. Our premium tea brand – Magwa™ is designed with the understanding that black tea leaves are the bedrock of health drinks including the much healthier green tea. As a company, our strategy is to contribute to the health of our country while positioning ourselves as a major player in the global black tea market.