Embedding worker-led approaches into human rights due diligence

three Mexican men in baseball caps looking at a tablet computer.

Image Caption

Mexico coffee farm managers attending training session. Credit: Quizrr and Rainforest Alliance Implementation Teams

Project overview

Direct engagement with rightsholders is no longer a nice to have for companies, particularly for those operating in high-risk sectors and geographies – it is increasingly mandated by Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) regulation such as the EU CSDDD.

This project responded to the critical need for ‘bottom-up’, scalable approaches to HRDD, through building rightsholder capacity to participate in these processes.

In partnership with Quizrr, Rainforest Alliance created and piloted a four-module digital training programme on understanding grievances, grievance mechanisms, solutions and prevention. This was adapted to local contexts through translation into Assamese, Spanish and Indigenous languages, and supported by audio for low‑literacy users.

Training was delivered via tablets across tea plantations in India and coffee farms in Mexico, reaching more than 7,300 workers and managers.

Two Indian women sit, interacting with a tablet computer.

Image Caption

India tea workers after training session. Credit: Quizrr and Rainforest Alliance Implementation Teams

Learnings

Key lessons from development and rollout include:

Contextual adaptation: Language diversity, literacy levels and digital familiarity required simplified content, audio support and translation. In Mexico, adapting the content into Indigenous languages helped reach women who had often not previously received training in a language they fully understood. In India, older workers were paired with tech-savvy younger workers for group training.
Agricultural realities: Seasonal labour cycles and dispersed smallholder farms, particularly in Mexico, required flexible planning and integration with existing farm visits.
Digital effectiveness: Offline functionality was important in both India and Mexico, enabling training sessions to be held without internet connection. Interactive formats – including infographics, live-action films and quiz questions – kept the training engaging despite literacy barriers.
Iterative refinement: Direct input from farmers and workers in the training design ensured training was accessible, relevant and focused on what users need. Feedback from workers and trainers led to improvements in translation clarity and quiz length.
Data insights: Dashboard data helped identify knowledge gaps and track knowledge gains following the training, while assessing wider impact through grievance case data proved more challenging due to parallel training initiatives in India and limited grievance recording and data sharing in Mexico.

Two farmers sit in a field with a tablet computer.

Image Caption

Mexico coffee farmers. Credit: Quizrr and Rainforest Alliance Implementation Teams

Impact

The project demonstrated that accessible, locally adapted digital training can enhance HRDD by improving awareness and understanding of rights and grievance mechanisms. Anonymised data presented in a clear dashboard helped identify knowledge gaps across different groups and inform targeted intervention, supporting compliance with due diligence requirements.

The approach also promoted inclusion by reaching marginalised workers, including women accessing labour rights training in their native languages for the first time. By making grievance processes more visible and understandable, the project strengthened the foundations for more trusted and effective grievance systems in agricultural supply chains.

Building on the project’s success, the partners are exploring new funding to expand and scale the training across new regions and sectors. They also see opportunities to build on the existing training approach – adding content on new topics such as ethical recruitment and employment practices and gender-related risk.

Project outputs

Lessons Learned Report: Embedding Worker-Led Approaches to Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in Agricultural Supply Chains | Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance (RA), in collaboration with Quizrr, developed and piloted a set of digital training modules for workers and farm management on RA-certified tea estates in India and coffee farms in Mexico. The digital training focused on grievance mechanisms and salient human and labor rights risks, with particular attention to gender-based risks and barriers to access to grievance mechanisms in agricultural settings. Learn more about this project, supported by the ISEAL Innovations Fund, between January 2024 to March 2026.

This report consolidates lessons learned from the development, piloting, and results of the program in both regions. Its purpose is not only to document implementation experience, but also to identify practical lessons for future worker-centered HRDD training in agricultural supply chains.

Lessons Learned Report: Worker-Led Approaches to Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in Agriculture | Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance (RA), in collaboration with Quizrr, developed and piloted a set of digital training modules for workers and farm management on RA-certified tea estates in India and coffee farms in

Report

PDF

723.78 KB

White

Embedding worker-led approaches into human rights due diligence

Embedding worker-led approaches into human rights due diligence

Lessons Learned Report: Embedding Worker-Led Approaches to Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in Agricultural Supply Chains | Rainforest Alliance

Supported by