Afternoon tea in the elegant setting of Bettys Café in Harrogate or Ilkley seems a world away from a mountainous country in central Africa, still recovering from its violent past.

But the origins of Yorkshire Tea, made by Taylors of Harrogate which owns Bettys tea rooms, lie in sprawling fields across Rwanda, bordering the country’s only remaining substantial expanse of rainforest.

Bradford photographer Tim Smith has been exploring how tea links North Yorkshire and the troubled African country, which is undergoing a transformation thanks to its now-thriving tea industry.

Last year Tim travelled to Gisovu, Mata and Kitabi – three tea estates supplying Taylors, home of Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Gold – which lie among mountains rising to 10,000 feet along Rwanda’s borders with Burundi and Congo.

Tim photographed each stage of the tea manufacturing process, from farming to factory production, and discovered how the industry is transforming Rwanda following its bloody recent history.

“Tea is playing a pivotal role in Rwanda’s development,” he says. “The genocide of 1994 decimated the tea industry, particularly in the South West region, but now tea is the country’s biggest export earner. Rwanda is the biggest tea exporter in Africa.

“It’s a beautiful, lush country; a combination of mountain climate and rich volcanic soils produce some of the world’s best tea. I drove for miles and saw sprawling tea estates, each tended by 10,000 farmers. Whole communities rely on the tea industry.”

Inspiration came to Tim while he was enjoying a cuppa in a tea shop in the Peak District one day. “I saw this little string attached to the tea bag with Taylors of Harrogate written on it. Tea is our national drink and Yorkshire Tea is drunk nationally, and is linked to Bettys, the genteel tea room,” he says. “I’m interested in people and places that have a link with Britain in some way. When I discovered that the most important ingredient of Yorkshire Tea is from Rwanda, I was keen to explore the link between North Yorkshire, home of the most quintessential of British tea brands, to remote communities in this country in the heart of central Africa, which has suffered dreadful atrocities.

“It’s a connection people aren’t aware of. Mention Rwanda here and most people think of genocide, but the tea industry is key to the transformation of this tiny country and its people.” Tim met people affected by the Rwandan genocide, and attended a remembrance service during his three-week visit. “My driver lost his parents and brothers and sisters. Everyone suffered in some way,” he says.

In 1994 the mass murder of primarily Tutsis, carried out by Hutu militias, resulted in an estimated 800,000 people killed over 100 days. Those who killed, those who survived and those whose relatives were killed are now living in the same communities, brought together by working in tea fields and factories.

Tim’s photographs offer a revealing portrait of communities relying almost exclusively on the tea produced by Gisovu, Mata and Kitabi, the estates which consistently command the top three prices of any teas grown in Africa. Purchased by Taylors, the tea is a vital ingredient of Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Gold, blended in Harrogate.

A nationally-renowned photographer, who has exhibited in the UK and overseas, Tim’s work as a photographer and writer has been showcased in ten books. His Rwanda photographs are displayed in Tea: From The Land Of A Thousand Hills, an exhibition running in Harrogate. He plans to tour it and produce schools’ packs with Taylors.

The exhibition also focuses on the partnership between Taylors, the tea estates, the Government’s Depart-ment for International Development (DFID) and the Rainforest Alliance helping to improve livelihoods and living standards of tea farmers and their families. The partnership is training tea farmers and estate workers in methods of improved, sustainable farming and processing, increasing the quantity and quality of tea produced by the Rwandan estates, safeguarding the future of tea-growing communities and protecting the neighbouring Nyungwe rainforest, the country’s major source of water. Taylors is also developing educational opportunities for children in tea-farming communities.

Anthony Butera, director of the Rwanda Tea Authority, says tea is playing a vital role in helping to build his country’s future.

“Rwanda has gone through a very difficult time. We’re living in the aftermath (of 1994), and a lot of hearts have been broken,” he says. “One of the things which brings people closer is working together in the tea gardens and factories, it’s part of the reconciliation process. That’s a very important role of tea.

“It’s part of a new era that the country is entering; engaging people in useful work rather than bad talk. That leads to development of the country.”