On Mafia Island, Tanzania, where tradition runs as deep as the ocean the coastal community protects and depends on, a new chapter is being written. In Kanga Village, the Hiari Women Group is stepping out of traditionally-defined roles, transforming their newly found skill for seaweed farming into a living evolution of their community’s heritage. With support from WWF Tanzania through the Norad Mangrove Project, the group has turned sustainable seaweed farming into thriving small businesses. In doing so, they are strengthening household incomes, building resilience to climate change, and redefining what leadership looks like in their community.
Their story is not only about economic empowerment — it is about heritage in motion. As women learn to farm, harvest, and craft seaweed products, they are weaving new meaning into long-held traditions. On Mafia Island, empowerment is evolving culture — proving that when women rise, communities, ecosystems, and heritage rise with them.
Perched on the crystalline waters off the east coast of Tanzania, Mafia Island is no exception. Fathers and husbands are expected to meet all household needs, providing food, clothing, education, and other essentials, while women take the lead on domestic duties, focusing mainly on childcare and household responsibilities. As a result, many coastal women have historically had limited engagement in income-generating activities. But as coastal spaces face the escalating impacts of climate change and unsustainable fishing, these norms are increasingly challenged. For communities on Mafia Island, income from fishing is no longer sufficient to support families, and more and more women are stepping up to provide for their households, and their communities.
But evolving a traditional way of life and changing a deeply rooted mindset requires deliberate effort. It begins within the communities themselves, and the true transformation happens when community members become role models and ambassadors of change.
The Hiari Women Group
This is the story of the Hiari Women Group, a collective of 21 members from Kanga Village in Mafia District. As their community’s income from fishing has dwindled, these remarkable women have redefined their traditional roles. Through their hard work, determination, and resilience, they have become powerful economic actors and drive thriving businesses based around seaweed farming.
The group’s journey began in September 2024, when they travelled to Bagamayo, a town just 50km north of Dar es Salaam, to participate in training on sustainable seaweed farming and seaweed value addition, an opportunity conducted as part of theNorwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) Mangrove Project in collaboration with WWF Tanzania. Over the course of the training, they gained practical knowledge on environmentally sustainable seaweed cultivation. Going one step further, the training provided them with the skills to produce seaweed bar soap, body oils, shampoo, jelly, flour for cooking, and more – products that they can market and sell. Beyond seaweed, they were engaged in other conservation activities, such as beekeeping, and activities that would support the wellbeing of wider coastal ecosystems. For example, they were supplied with engine-powered fiber boats, protective gear, and technical skills to restore and protect mangrove ecosystems, which are closely linked to coastal health.
The Flourishing Seaweed Businesses of Kanga Village
With great enthusiasm and courage, they began producing seaweed-based products and selling them locally in Kanga Village. Although they started with limited capital, they were confident that this first step would open doors to greater opportunities in the future. That opportunity soon appeared. Through the NORAD Mangrove Project, the group received essential materials and equipment to support seaweed farming and the creation of seaweed products. These included wax, fragrances, oils, packaging materials, ropes, refractometers, protective gear (boots, gloves, masks, hats), cooking pots, tools, and storage boxes. These products are made using simple procedures. After cultivating and harvesting, they collect the raw materials, such as dried seaweed and other ingredients, and boil them. The final product is then packaged into different sizes and prepared for sale. The growing local demand for seaweed soaps and skin oils has allowed them to scale up their businesses, and each member of the Hiari group now earns between TZS 100,000 and 150,000 per month.
“Part of the income we earn from seaweed products is reinvested to sustain the business, while another portion is shared among members to support our families. This income helps us pay school fees for our children, cover medical expenses, buy food, and meet other household needs. Today, many women in our group are no longer fully dependent on their husbands. Having a reliable income from seaweed has made our families stronger and more stable.” says Fatuma Shemsa Bakari, Secretary of the Hiari Women Group.
Although the group is still operating on a small scale and mainly serves the local market (Kanga Village and Mafia District), the impact has already been transformative. Salma Khatibu, another member of the Hiari Women Group, explains how their products directly serve the needs of Kanga Village, “We have ensured the availability of seaweed-based bar soap and body oil, which we sell at a fair and affordable price. This allows community members to access locally produced products instead of relying on imported ones, which are more expensive than our locally made alternatives.” Seaweed farming has enabled these women to do things they once thought impossible, providing for their families and meeting essential needs through their own efforts.
The financial independence they have created for themselves has also become a way to build resilience against climate change, and increasingly frequent destructive weather patterns. The central and southern coasts of Tanzania are particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones that bring torrential rain, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. As a result, communities face a succession of knock-on impacts that affect everything from their food security and livelihoods to gender equity and social welfare. The extra income the women earn from the sale of seaweed products not only provides for their families day-to-day, but allows them to build a financial safety net to fall back on when climate-related events – from major disasters to unpredictable weather patterns – damage their coasts and community spaces, and hinder their traditional way of life. As they create a future for themselves, they are also building the resilience of their entire community.
When women are empowered, the whole community rises
The Hiari Women Group is now well known for seaweed farming and seaweed products. As the success of the Hiari Women Group continues to grow, so does its place in the fabric of Kanga Village. Younger women and girls in the community are seeing their mothers, sisters, and aunts stand tall as income earners and community leaders. While training on seaweed production and entrepreneurship are set to continue, the true legacy of this work is seen in the intergenerational transfer of skills that is gradually transforming seaweed farming into more than just an income-generating activity. The knowledge of these women is shaping the present and laying a foundation for future generations. The Hiari Women Group stands as living proof of the saying: when a woman is empowered, the whole community rises. The group is a powerful example of how evolving cultural tradition can benefit communities, individuals and nature. In this way, heritage is not static; it is a living, adaptive, source of knowledge, identity, and pride.
