“Growing up in inland Tanzania, I lived far from any large water bodies, let alone the ocean. When I first moved to the coast, to join the University of Dar es Salaam as an undergraduate student, I was drawn to the sea. I quickly switched from studying crop science to studying aquatic science and fisheries, graduating in 2023.
In this photo, I am working with two seaweed farmers from a coastal community on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. I’m in the middle, with Dali Kombo (right) and Bi Asha Hamud Makungu (left). This is part of my job at the Aqua-Farms Organization (AFO) in Dar es Salaam: I’m working on a development project empowering women to secure a fair income from seaweed farming.
Women in Tanzania’s coastal communities have a long history of seaweed farming, but the income from selling their raw harvest has always been extremely low. We train them to farm seaweed more productively and sustainably. We also show them how to turn their harvest into value-added products ranging from shampoos, body oils and scrubs, to nutritional powders and even hot sauce.
