JAMBIANI, Zanzibar, Mar 05 (IPS) – Within the early morning, because the tide pulls away, Zulfa Abdallah ties her scarf tightly round her head. She adjusts her goggles, locations a snorkel throughout her brow, and wades into the chest-deep waters off Jambiani village in Zanzibar. The Indian Ocean is her livelihood now, its waves providing a lifeline to girls like her who confront challenges of poverty and local weather change.
Years in the past, Abdallah would have been hauling heavy bundles of salt-encrusted seaweed. Seaweed farming had lengthy been a lifeline for Zanzibar’s coastal girls, however rising ocean temperatures have made the crops practically not possible to develop. Of their place, farmers have turned to sea sponges.
“It’s a miracle crop that has given me my life again,” Abdallah mentioned one Saturday afternoon as she inspected the porous orbs hanging from polyethylene ropes of her underwater farm. “They want persistence and care—similar to elevating a child. And like with youngsters, you get a lot in return.”
At 34, Abdallah, a divorced mom of two, has been farming sponges for 4 years, studying the craft by means of coaching applications run by Marine Cultures, a Swiss nonprofit. Her farm is a community of ropes suspended between floating buoys, every dotted with porous sponges that sway gently with the currents. Each sponge should be cleaned, monitored, and guarded in opposition to predators. It’s laborious work, but it surely has modified her life.
A New Starting
Abdallah as soon as earned lower than USD 30 a month from seaweed farming, barely sufficient to assist her mom and her youngsters. Now, sponge farming triples her revenue. She has renovated her mom’s home, purchased new furnishings, and saved cash for buying her personal plot of land.
“Many ladies right here have been hesitant at first due to worry or custom. They thought I used to be losing my time,” she says, recounting the early doubts of her neighbors.
Abdallah’s story is an element of a bigger narrative alongside Zanzibar’s southeastern coast. Over the previous decade, Marine Cultures has educated a dozen girls in Jambiani to farm sea sponges, offering them with the instruments and data to transition from struggling seaweed farmers to profitable aquaculturists. These girls are pioneers, navigating the challenges of a brand new business and the societal expectations of a conservative, patriarchal neighborhood.
“For a very long time, we have been informed that ladies belong at residence,” says Nasir Haji, one of many trainers concerned in this system. “These girls have proved that they’ll work and earn a great revenue for his or her households.”
The sponges, bought for USD 15 to USD 30 every in tourism outlets, are utilized in cosmetics, bathing merchandise, and child care. An area farmers’ cooperative ensures that farmers hold 70% of the sale value, with the remainder protecting operational prices.
“It feels higher to earn your individual revenue. You’re free to make use of it as you please,” says Abdallah.
Overcoming Challenges
The transition to sponge farming hasn’t been with out hurdles. In 2018, a inhabitants explosion of brittle sea stars—tiny starfish-like creatures that burrow into sponges—devastated the farms, killing practically half the sponges. The next yr, a thick bloom of inexperienced algae threatened to suffocate the younger sponges, forcing farmers to spend additional hours cleansing the ropes. Every season brings new challenges, however the farmers have discovered to adapt.
“We study new ways from time to time to maintain away pathogens and guarantee our sponges are wholesome,” says Abdallah.
The resilience of those girls has drawn consideration from throughout the globe. Marine Cultures has begun working with communities in mainland Tanzania, Madagascar, and the Seychelles to duplicate the mannequin. The group’s founder, Christian Vaterlaus, believes sponge farming may remodel coastal economies whereas defending fragile marine ecosystems.
“Sustainable, community-based aquaculture is a win-win,” Vaterlaus mentioned. “It offers revenue for individuals who want it most and helps protect the setting.”
Leonard Chauka, a marine scientist on the Institute of Marine Sciences, College of Dar es Salaam, agrees. “Sponge farming is a lifeline for ladies, offering steady incomes with out depleting marine assets,” he says. “Ecologically, sponges are nature’s filters—they clear the water and create habitats for marine life.”
Chauka defined that the easy farming course of requires minimal gear and no exterior feed, making it reasonably priced and sustainable.
Ripples of Change
Chauka’s feedback are echoed by Vaterlaus, who sees sponge farming as a sustainable answer to financial and environmental challenges.
“These girls are displaying us what’s doable,” Vaterlaus says. “If you put money into communities and the setting collectively, everybody advantages.”
In contrast to wild sponge harvesting, which has harmed ecosystems in different components of the world, farming sponges is environmentally benign. The sponges filter water, assist marine biodiversity, and should even assist fight local weather change by enjoying a task in regulating the ocean’s carbon cycle.
A Brighter Future
For girls like 31-year-old Hindu Rajabu, the stakes are deeply private. As a mom of two, Rajabu struggled to assist her youngsters on the meager revenue she earned rising seaweed. Sponge farming modified every part.
“I’ve earned good revenue, and I’m utilizing a part of it to construct my very own home,” she says, as she gently clears algae from a sponge. “I’m pleased with myself.”
The initiative hasn’t cleared all obstacles. Many in Jambiani nonetheless view swimming as taboo for ladies. Marine Cultures has made swimming classes necessary, a important talent for farmers working underwater.
“I used to be very scared to get into the ocean. However after studying swim, I really feel assured, and I truly take pleasure in being on the market tending my sponges,” says Abdallah.
Again onshore, the ladies collect at a small processing heart to arrange their sponges for market. They clear, kind, and bundle each, their laughter and chatter filling the salty air. Each sponge carries a label: “Sustainably Farmed in Zanzibar.”
A Lifeline
At sundown, Abdallah walks residence along with her gear slung over her shoulder. Her youngsters run to fulfill her, their laughter mingling with the sound of the waves.
“The ocean is giving us an opportunity—an actual likelihood—to construct one thing higher,” she says.
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