{"id":142981,"date":"2025-10-27T19:24:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T19:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution"},"modified":"2025-10-27T20:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T20:04:18","slug":"women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution","title":{"rendered":"Women Leading Zanzibar’s Seaweed Farming Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. <\/strong><\/span>Under the equatorial sun, women wade knee-deep in the turquoise waters off Paje beach, their colorful kangas rippling in the breeze. In their hands are baskets filled with seaweed \u2014 the marine algae that has quietly become one of Zanzibar\u2019s biggest exports.<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an idyllic image that draws the lenses of curious tourists. Yet behind the postcard view lies back-breaking labor and growing environmental challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main challenge of this work, as you can see, is this seaweed needs sticks, ropes, and ties. You have to prepare and stick the poles until they are spread out. When you stand up, your back aches,\u201d says Pili Khalid Pandu<\/b>, a seaweed farmer from Mwani Zanzibar.<\/p>\n

Seaweed farming has long been a pillar of Zanzibar\u2019s coastal economy. But today, a global boom \u2014 driven by demand from the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries \u2014 is giving the island\u2019s farmers renewed hope. The algae\u2019s natural thickening and stabilizing agents are found in everything from toothpaste to face cream.<\/p>\n

A Women-Led Industry<\/b><\/p>\n

An estimated 25,000 people, most of them women, make their living from seaweed farming across the archipelago, according to Zanzibar\u2019s government. The trade ranks third in export value after tourism and spices.<\/p>\n

In a society where fewer than half of women are formally employed, seaweed farming offers independence and income \u2014 though often at a steep physical cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are risks when working in the water during farming,\u201d explains Mwanaisha Makame Simai<\/b>, another seaweed farmer. \u201cSometimes you may be bitten by sea creatures like pufferfish, catfish, or sea urchins \u2014 and if you stay out too long, you can\u2019t go back to the ocean for farming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long hours in the water also cause back pain, dehydration, and skin irritations. For many women balancing household duties, the work can feel endless. Yet, they persist \u2014 driven by the promise of better livelihoods and pride in sustaining their communities.<\/p>\n

Climate Challenges Beneath the Surface<\/b><\/p>\n

What was once a near-shore activity is now being pushed further out to sea. Rising water temperatures linked to climate change are making traditional shallow-water farms less viable.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo these seaweed farmers, now they are forced to go in the deep water, away from the coast, so that they can get to the proper area where the seaweed can grow well,\u201d says Waziri Mhando<\/b>, project manager at the Milele Zanzibar Foundation<\/b>. \u201cBecause of climate change and other challenges they face, one of the most important skills for seaweed farmers now is swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milele\u2019s programs now include swimming lessons for women farmers, aiming to reduce accidents and drowning incidents that have increased in recent years.<\/p>\n

Turning the Tide Through Innovation<\/b><\/p>\n

Efforts to make seaweed farming safer and more profitable are underway. At Mwani Zanzibar<\/b>, a boutique seaweed company based in Paje, women are being trained not only to farm seaweed but to turn it into soaps, lotions, and other cosmetic products.<\/p>\n

By shifting more of the value chain onto the island, such initiatives are helping women capture greater profits \u2014 and spend less time battling the elements.<\/p>\n

Global players are also taking notice. In 2020, commodity giant Cargill<\/b> partnered with The Nature Conservancy<\/b> to invest in Zanzibar\u2019s seaweed sector, aiming to improve yields and raise incomes. Meanwhile, international bodies like the Global Seaweed Coalition<\/b> are promoting sustainability and fair labor standards as production scales up.<\/p>\n

A Blue Economy with a Human Face<\/b><\/p>\n

For Zanzibar\u2019s semi-autonomous government, seaweed sits at the heart of its \u201cblue economy\u201d<\/b> agenda \u2014 a plan to grow prosperity through sustainable use of marine resources.<\/p>\n

But for the women in Paje and across the archipelago, that \u201cblue economy\u201d is more than policy. It\u2019s their daily reality \u2014 one of hard labor, quiet resilience, and hope for a future where their work is valued as much as the shimmering waters they harvest from.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Tanzania<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Tanzania. Under the equatorial sun, women wade knee-deep in the turquoise waters off Paje beach, their colorful kangas rippling in the breeze. In their hands are baskets filled with seaweed \u2014 the marine algae that has quietly become one of Zanzibar\u2019s biggest exports. It\u2019s an idyllic image that draws the lenses of curious […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":142980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[14903,10862,14904,711,603],"class_list":["post-142981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-cosmetics-industry","tag-ecology","tag-seaweed","tag-tanzania","tag-zanzibar"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen Leading Zanzibar's Seaweed Farming Revolution - Tanzania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Under the equatorial sun, women wade knee-deep in the turquoise waters off Paje beach, their colorful kangas rippling ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women Leading Zanzibar's Seaweed Farming Revolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Under the equatorial sun, women wade knee-deep in the turquoise waters off Paje beach, their colorful kangas rippling ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T19:24:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T20:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2025\/10\/sm_1761582775.511724.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Women Leading Zanzibar’s Seaweed Farming Revolution\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-27T19:24:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T20:04:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\"},\"wordCount\":652,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2025\/10\/sm_1761582775.511724.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cosmetics industry\",\"Ecology\",\"Seaweed\",\"tanzania\",\"Zanzibar\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/women-leading-zanzibars-seaweed-farming-revolution\",\"name\":\"Women Leading Zanzibar's Seaweed Farming Revolution - 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