The Zanzibar women driving the seaweed farming economy

As global demand for seaweed rises, thousands of women in Zanzibar’s women are driving a new ‘blue economy’, cultivating seaweed that is powering global beauty and wellness industries. Yet behind the promise of prosperity lies hard labour, fragile ecosystems, and an uncertain future, reported AP News and other agencies on 28 October.

On the shallow reefs off Paje beach, women wade through turquoise waters, gathering strands of seaweed destined for skincare products around the world. The idyllic scene masks a tougher reality: as demand grows, Zanzibar’s seaweed farmers, are staking their livelihoods on a fragile marine economy.

According to AP News, most of Zanzibar’s 25,000 seaweed farmers are women, notable in a society where fewer than half of women are employed, according to a government census taken in 2021.

Seaweed cultivation has long been part of Zanzibar’s coastal economy, but a new wave of global demand from the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries is transforming it into the archipelago’s third largest export contributor, after tourism and spices.

But as investors, NGOs, and local companies move into the industry, many women farmers worry they’ll be left behind, stuck at the lowest level while others profit from processing and branding.

“I experience pain in my back, waist and chest due to the labor in the sea. There are also risks of being stung or bitten,” said one farmer, Mwanaisha Makame Simai. “Sometimes strong waves sweep you away. I have personally witnessed three cases of people drowning.”

Long days spent in waist- or chest-deep water expose farmers to sun, dehydration, stings from sea urchins, sea creatures, and unpredictable tides. Many do not have protective gear or proper safety training.

As sea temperatures rise and shallow reefs become less hospitable, farmers are being forced into deeper water zones. That often means navigating stronger currents, greater uncertainty, and higher risk.

“Climate change is forcing women to go into deeper water” for collection of seaweed, said Mhando Waziri, project manager at the nonprofit Milele Zanzibar Foundation. Milele now includes swimming instruction in its training programs in order to combat what Waziri called a growing drowning crisis.

One of the central tensions now is who captures value in the emerging seaweed economy. Many farmers sell raw seaweed to middlemen or exporters, receiving minimal margins, while those with access to capital, infrastructure, or networks reap the gains of processing, packaging, and branding.

Simai expressed concern that seaweed farmers like her are too far down the value chain to benefit from the new investments in the local industry. “Most of the money ends up with those who have office jobs, rather than the hardworking farmers,” she said.

Some farmers are transitioning within Mwani’s operations. Fauzia Abdalla Khamis, 45, said she has progressed from farmer to supervisor in the factory over the course of more than a decade.

According to Waziri, processed seaweed products locally can fetch up to ten times the value of raw exports.

However, the shift is still uneven. Many farmers, especially in remote regions, remain disconnected from processing facilities, capital, and marketing channels.

Scaling the seaweed sector sustainably demands investment in infrastructure such as drying facilities, cold chains, transport, quality control, and regulatory frameworks and without them, volumes and consistency suffer.

The effects of climate change like rising sea temperatures, shifting currents, and marine ecosystem changes could undermine the viability of seaweed farming in traditional zones. These changes could make it harder or even impossible to grow seaweed in the usual coastal areas where farmers have always worked as the ocean conditions they depend on are no longer stable.

Social equity remains unsettled. In Zanzibar, fewer than half of women hold formal employment, making seaweed one of their few income avenues. Many women remain excluded from decision making or benefit only marginally from development.

According to Africa News the government of Zanzibar has placed seaweed at the centre of its “blue economy” agenda, aiming to balance marine resource use with conservation and sustainable growth.

But for the women in Paje and across the archipelago, that “blue economy” is more than policy. It’s their daily reality, 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.

AP News, Africa News, Maghrebi.org