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seaweed mamas

By Lauren Hassani | Photos by Marco Javier

In Zanzibar, seaweed farming provides a path to empowerment for women of all ages.

Notes of crisp lemongrass, spicy cinnamon, and sweetly floral ylang ylang permeate the production facility at Mwani Zanzibar. Women of varying ages dressed in identical azure-colored dresses are busy cutting long blocks of fragrant soap into business card-sized bars and wrapping them neatly in packaging made of banana leaves. The magical ingredient in this hand-crafted soap, which boasts anti-inflammatory and regenerative properties? Seaweed. Specifically, Eucheuma denticulatum (spinosum), a species of spiny, bushy red algae that grows in the shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, just steps from the workshop.

The nine women employed at Mwani, located in the village of Paje, on the southeast coast of the island of Zanzibar, are skilled in every aspect of the production process — from growing and harvesting the plants, to making the company’s line of small-batch, high-end beauty products. They are just some of many seaweed “mamas” of Zanzibar, so called because of the female-dominated seaweed farming industry on the island.

For many women, the cultivation of seaweed has been a boon, allowing them to significantly improve their quality of life and that of future generations within a conservative Muslim society that offers them little autonomy or financial security.

Seaweed farming in Zanzibar is an intergenerational practice, with skills typically passed down from mother to daughter. For many women, the cultivation of seaweed has been a boon, allowing them to significantly improve their quality of life and that of future generations within a conservative Muslim society that offers them little autonomy or financial security.

Across the island, there are examples of businesses attempting, with differing approaches, to create a more sustainable and equitable path forward for the seaweed farming industry and the women who depend on it.

However, the job also comes with increasing hardships, including the negative effects of climate change, market fluctuations and uncertainty, and often backbreaking labor for lower pay, that make the future of this unique practice tenuous. Across the island, there are examples of businesses attempting, with differing approaches, to create a more sustainable and equitable path forward for the seaweed farming industry and the women who depend on it.

Just 15 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania, the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago is comprised of two large islands (Unguja, also known as Zanzibar Island, and Pemba) and many smaller islands. They are collectively referred to as the “Spice Islands” because of the predominance of the spice industry — specifically, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper. However, in recent years, seaweed has come to rival spices as a top export; 92 percent of Africa’s seaweed exports come from Tanzania. The global demand for seaweed and seaweed products continues to grow, with extracts like carrageenan used widely in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics as emulsifying agents.

Although Zanzibaris have harvested wild seaweed for many generations, commercial farming did not arrive until the late 1980s with the introduction of new varieties of seaweed from the Philippines. Today, there are some 23,000 seaweed farmers in Zanzibar, 90 percent of whom are women. Most of these women are small-scale farmers from rural areas and make approximately 30 USD per month (far below the region’s 150 USD minimum wage average) for full-time work, with no health care benefits.

Mwani founders Andrew Anthony and Klaartje (Klara) Schade.

Mwani headquarters in Paje offers visitors the chance to see the production process and purchase Mwani’s line of products.

Operations Manager Pius Mwaisumo, 53, explains the intricacies of seaweed farming.

Mwani (which means “seaweed” in Swahili), is one of the local businesses looking to change this model. Originally a struggling NGO called the Mwani Seaweed Center, Mwani was revitalized and turned into a sustainable, luxury skincare company by co-founders and partners Klaartje Schade and Andrew Anthony over the course of the last decade.

“There is a lot of seaweed farming in Zanzibar. It’s not unique to us,” explains Schade. “But what is unique to us is that we’re the first company to actually produce something from it.” The brand enjoys a large following in France and recently expanded to the U.S. market; on Zanzibar, they produce custom soaps for various luxury boutique hotels. The Mwani Mamas have become skincare artisans, which, according to Schade, “puts them in a whole different bracket of income and training.” Although they still farm seaweed, 80 percent of their time is now spent in production.

At Mwani, the Mamas make 250-300 USD per month, roughly twice the minimum wage and about 900 percent more than their seaweed farming peers. The company also provides full benefits, including maternity and sick leave. As a result, all of the women have flourished, becoming breadwinners at home and respected leaders within their communities, with salaries that have enabled them to purchase land, build houses, and send their children to school.

Schade and Anthony have exercised a careful, culturally sensitive approach that takes to heart the Swahili phrase “pole pole,” meaning “slowly, slowly” — a common mantra in this region that permeates all aspects of life. In this case, the Mwani founders understood that for the business to work, they would need to proceed with the utmost respect for local traditions, thus earning the trust of their employees. Early on, they relied on some of the more senior women as guides — for hiring and managing the others, and for navigating any culturally specific challenges.

Although the initial intent did not include building an intergenerational workforce, one formed quite organically. The women range in age from 22-54 and many of the current employees are daughters of the company’s first employees. The unique dynamic between the women has proved to be an important and unexpected factor contributing to the enterprise’s success.

Patima Haji Pandu is a production manager at Mwani and has been with the team since the company’s inception. Her daughter Salama, 25, also works for Mwani as a seaweed farmer and product artisan.

Despite having six years at Mwani under her belt, Hadija Nassor Mwalim, 28, still considers herself a relative newcomer. According to Mwalim, having a mix of older and younger team members is beneficial not just in terms of work, but also with life. She and her younger colleagues frequently look to the more senior women for both professional and personal advice.

Mwalim, who has four children ages 12 and under, recounts a time that she felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities of motherhood and full-time work and considered leaving Mwani. Patima Haji Pandu, who at 54 is the most senior of the Mwani Mamas, gave her some tough love. “She said, listen, this is how life is. There are challenges everywhere,” recalls Mwalim. “Without the money from this job, will your husband be able to fulfill your financial needs?”

After listening to Pandu’s lecture, she agreed to keep working. “This is why I am still here, because of the advice from her and the older women. If I was by myself, I would have left.”

In Tanzania, older people are respected for their wisdom and life experience, and this holds true within the close-knit Mwani headquarters.

In Tanzania, older people are respected for their wisdom and life experience, and this holds true within the close-knit Mwani headquarters. “It makes sense that our team would reflect the culture of the greater community,” Schade says.

Safia Hashim Makame, 60, has been involved in seaweed farming for more than 30 years. With the money from her business, she was able to provide for her six children.

Aisha Bakar Makungu, 31, has assisted her mother in the business since age seven.

At the Isha Products headquarters in Bweleo, the team processes the seaweed and creates a wide variety of seaweed-infused products.

The company makes handcrafted soaps, along with scrubs, oils, and balms.

On the other side of Zanzibar Island, in the village of Bweleo, another intergenerational company is breaking the cycle of poverty through seaweed. Isha Products is the collaboration between mother and daughter duo Safia Hashim Makame, 60, and Aisha Bakar Makungu, 31. Their family-run business produces a range of seaweed-based products, including soaps, body lotions and scrubs, shampoos and hair oils, as well as food and beverage items. They sell their offerings at their shop in Bweleo, and through other retailers in Tanzania.

Makame, who began farming seaweed in the early 1990s, transitioned to producing value-added seaweed products in 2006 after attending a workshop through the nonprofit organization Zanzibar Seaweed Cluster Initiative (ZaSCI). Her business quickly grew, allowing her to build a house and send all six of her children to school. All the children were introduced at an early age to the business, including Makungu, who started following in her mother’s footsteps at age seven.

“I didn’t want my children to experience the same struggles I had,” says Makame. “That is my motivation for starting the business and helping them to become independent.”

Both Makame and Makungu contribute product ideas that appeal to their respective age groups, and Makungu handles much of the brand’s marketing through social media channels. They have become an inspiration to female entrepreneurs in Zanzibar and lead classes to train others in the skills they have learned over the years. In another effort to pay forward their success, the business hires local, unemployed women; currently they have four such women, all in their 20s and early 30s, who help with everything from production to marketing.

“Women are denied opportunities when it comes to employment,” says Makungu. “We like to support young women, especially the widows with children, because they have so many responsibilities.”

Aisha Bakar Makungu was able to grow her business with initial help and training through the HerStart Innovate the Future program, run by nonprofit organization Youth Challenge International.

“All the blessings that come to my daughter extend to me,” her mother, Safia Hashim Makame says, smiling proudly. “I’m happy that I can inspire her generation to do even more.”

Their longer-term vision is to obtain the proper certifications so that they can expand Isha Products into other countries, and to other industries, including cosmetics — no small feat for a business of their size. They have been waiting for two years to receive an approved certificate and license, but struggle with the mountain of requirements and costs to bring their facility, equipment, and production process up to code.

Plans for a new, TZS 8 billion (3 million USD) seaweed processing facility on the island of Pemba, part of the Zanzibar archipelago, offers some hope for businesses like theirs, and for smallholder farmers. The factory would be the largest of its kind in all of Africa, capable of processing more than 30,000 metric tons of seaweed annually. The Zanzibar Seaweed Company (ZASCO), a state-owned firm, is backing the project, with assistance from Tanzania’s NMB Bank, in an effort to boost the region’s seaweed farming industry.

Under the new agreement, farmers affiliated with ZASCO will be eligible for loans, financial literacy programs, and technical training. All of this signals the government’s interest in the continued growth of seaweed exports, which increased by 123 percent in 2023 alone.

This government-backed support, along with the achievements of Isha Products and Mwani, are proof of the profitability of seaweed-related businesses — and that this success can be both sustainable and fair to all involved. These two businesses also stand as proof that the intergenerational aspect of seaweed farming is alive and well, and an important factor in the continuity of the industry.

Aisha Bakar Makungu envisions a future where she is able to build her own home, just as her mother did. But she has far more ambitious dreams, including building a larger production facility for Isha Products and taking the company global

“All the blessings that come to my daughter extend to me,” her mother, Safia Hashim Makame says, smiling proudly. “I’m happy that I can inspire her generation to do even more.” ●