• Tanzania
  • Resources
  • Capacity Building
  • Empowerment
  • Empowerment

Quick information guide

Why women empowerment?

Compared to men, Tanzanian women are subjected to various setbacks that affect their ability to conduct development activities perfectly.

  • Limited access to social justice
  • Limited access to social services such as education, health and water
  • Low participation in economic development
  • Gender based violence incidences such as sexual harassment and domestic violence
  • Limited access to financial services

Women empowerment actors have put in place women empowerment programmes that include soft and hard skills:

  • Digital literacy
  • Financial inclusion
  • Livelihood skills
  • Human rights and civil society
  • Environmental stewardship
  • Micro enterprise
  • Women’s health

Women empowerment programmes in Tanzania

Women economic empowerment in Tanzania is vital as more than 50.56% of the population is made of women who are responsible for daily food security and other social economic activities.

It is critical to empower women economically for national economy to grow at a desired pace. Women are often deprived of means of production and this leads to a generalised development issue for the whole country.

Different development actors have taken cognizance of this issue and have set up empowerment programmes.

National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC)

supports women to access justice in the formal court 

Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS) Trust

PASS empowers business women the agricultural sector
angle-left ZANZIBAR SEAWEED CLUSTER INITIATIVE (ZaSCI)

ZANZIBAR SEAWEED CLUSTER INITIATIVE (ZaSCI)

EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS

 

 

ZANZIBAR SEAWEED CLUSTER INITIATIVE (ZaSCI)

SUMMARY

ABOUT ZaSCI

Zanzibar is the third producer of seaweed in the world after Philippines and Indonesia. It produces about 15,000 tonnes of seaweed from different farmers and a kilo of seaweed is sold at TZS700 - 1,200. Seaweed is exported to the countries like Denmark, China, US, France and Belgium and it is the third largest industry in Zanzibar after tourism and cloves which bringing in about $2.5 million annually.

Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative (ZaSCI) is a non-profitable Organization established in 2006 by researchers from Institute of Marine Science which provide skills and technical supports in the implementation of seaweed projects to seaweed farmers in Tanzania. The Cluster Initiative work closely with seaweed partners including government institutions, farmers, processors, exporters and NGOs to put mechanism of increasing seaweed production which result in the increase seaweed prices in local and global market.

More than 24,000 people (85% are women) are engaged in seaweed farming in about 50 villages in the coastal areas in Zanzibar. The aim of the ZaSCI is to address problems and tap the scientific information for the benefit of the farmers and the country at large. ZaSCI believe that there is a possibility to increase seaweed production through modifying the farming technique and adding value to the produced seaweed.

Nevertheless, the number of items from seaweed, locally produced, has increased from one to 50 including those consumed as food and those used as ingredients in food baking, medicine and cosmetics since the establishment of this Initiative.

List of Services Provided

Innovative methods: Zasci use advanced methods to modify the farming technique to produce more seaweed especially to the high priced seaweed species called Kappaphycus alvarezii (Cottonii)

 

Value addition: The Cluster Initiative looking for ways of using the produced seaweed within the country through adding value to the seaweed by using semi processing and full processing methods.

Training: Cluster Initiative provide training to seaweed farmers using modern techniques (using tubular nets) in order to increase seaweed production.

 

Eligibility criteria

ZaSCI work closely with all seaweed stakeholders including farmers, processors, exporters and other NGOs. Any person who wishes to do seaweed farming is welcome to joining the Initiative especially women who live in the coastal areas.

Benefits of the programs

  • Enable the farming of new seaweed species that would add income to the farmers.
  • Ability to create income generating activities
  • Source of income

Public Events

  • Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative organize Seaweed exhibitions day that occurs every on 23rd July in Zanzibar.
  • Women Trade exhibitions
  • Nane Nane Trade exhibition

 

Contacts Details

Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative
Department of Trade Building, Forodhani
P. O. Box 3794
Zanzibar
Tel: +255 777 490 807