BACKGROUND
Given the recent refugee crisis in Europe, the abysmal 70% unemployment rate amongst refugees living in the UK, and the fact that nearly a quarter of them have no friends or relatives here when they arrive, the situation in the UK for those fleeing their home countries is not much brighter. We decided to do something about it, and hence Chaigaram was born.
WHO WE ARE
We are a social purpose business focused on empowering refugees by providing them with employment and leadership opportunities through our tea business. They are integrated into our business alongside people who are passionate about coaching them through job training and work experience. Refugees take on jobs throughout our business, from helping to blend and pack the tea to selling fresh chai in London’s food markets.
Working in partnership with resettlement agencies such as Transitions London and Breaking Barriers, we aim to help refugees achieve a better quality of life and to feel more at home in the UK. We also support the Fairtrade movement by only selling teas from the Fairtrade-certified Borengajuli tea estate in Assam, India. The estate helps farmers secure sound working conditions, offers training for improved farming practises, and bolsters healthcare and education in their community.
We have set up tea stalls across several food markets in London that are run by refugees and local community members seeking employment alongside Chaigaram volunteers. This gives the refugees an opportunity to regain confidence, practise teamwork and communication skills, prepare for finding a job of their choice, and better integrate into society in general. Over time, we also envisage the refugees becoming owners of our tea stalls, enabling a social franchise model and promoting entrepreneurship amongst refugees.
OUR PRODUCTS
At a retail and wholesale level, we sell a variety of chai blends - Masala chai, Cardamom chai, Ginger chai - that are hand-mixed and hand-packed by refugees to capture the growing market of specialist teas. 
We also offer a chai syrup to cafes and restaurants for chai lattes and iced-teas, helping us capture a further share of the growing market of 'out-of-home' tea drinkers. We have now reached out to bars and mixologists across London are using our chai syrup to shake up some amazing "chai cocktails"!!
TEAM
We have an amazing team of volunteers, refugees and full-time staff on board to take this venture forward and make the impact we have set out to! We have a total work experience of over 50years+ amongst us across Branding, Strategy, Sales, Product Development with expertise knowledge of the Food & Beverage industry!
FUTURE
We believe that everyone in the UK, both refugees and economic migrants, should have the same chance for a decent quality of life and the opportunity to contribute to London and its development. We have begun our journey towards achieving this vision and need YOUR support to get there!
GET IN TOUCH
Website: www.chaigaram.org
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @chaigaramuk
Twitter: @chaigaramuk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chaigaramuk/
