Tanzania

/Tag: Tanzania

 

18 10, 2023

    In Rural Tanzania People and Ecosystems grow stronger together

    2025-05-24T21:50:31-04:00Country: |

    The Mazingira Group (Swahili for ‘Environment’) is Tanzania-based established in September 2020, comprising 8 men and 16 women. The group has collaborated with the CARE-WWF Alliance to implement several key initiatives spanning environmental conservation, demonstration farms, reforestation, riverbank improvement, and the depositing and lending of money. They have been working across several villages to replant water-friendly riparian trees to stabilize banks and clean the river which significantly impacts the local community, especially women and girls who gather water. Additionally, the group uses beekeeping to produce honey as a source of income for several villages. The demonstration farms operated by the Mazingira Group are part of a community education initiative to spread environmental farming knowledge and techniques.

    13 09, 2023

      Sea Sponges Offer Lifeline To Women In Zanzibar

      2025-05-24T22:06:50-04:00Country: |

      On the coast of Jambiani, Zanzibar, a group of 12 single mothers snorkel out to work on floating sponge farms in the Indian Ocean. Their occupation provides a lucrative alternative to the traditional, but increasingly difficult, seaweed farming, which has seen reduced yields from climate change-induced higher water temperatures. Sponges are more tough to hot temperatures than seaweed, and also act as natural water filters, reducing pesticide and sewage pollution in the sea. They also produce fatty and amino acids which benefit creatures living on the seabed below. The sea sponge farm initiative has meant that the women involved gain skills in swimming, diving, and using snorkeling equipment, as well as the financial elements of keeping the business afloat. Furthermore, the financial freedom the farm provides to women has allowed them to remodel traditional gender relations and move away from staying primarily in the domestic realm and relying on the incomes of their husbands.

      10 12, 2020

        A Wave of Change: Jamie Margolin and Jane Goodall

        2025-02-14T13:15:11-05:00Country: , |

        Jane Goodall, a primatologist known for her work to protect chimpanzees in Africa, shares insights about her career and thoughts on conservation initiatives with Jamie Margolin, the co-founder of a youth climate action organization called Zero Hour. Goodall highlights the interconnectedness of nature, where species respect one another and rely on each other for survival. They discuss ways we can learn from this relationship to support climate activism in urban environments, such as by planting native trees and preserving green spaces. Goodall also shares her experience working with communities in Tanzania during her chimpanzee research. She emphasizes that many people struggled to survive and could not afford to support conservation efforts. Goodall suggests that holistic approaches, community-based activism, and education are the keys to mitigating climate change. Both activists also highlight how young people have grown up learning about the effects of climate change, emphasizing how young activists' creative solutions are essential to protect the Earth’s future.

        8 10, 2018

          Yes, She Can! A Tale Of Two Women Transforming Their Local Energy Landscapes

          2025-01-25T11:23:21-05:00Country: |

          Diana Mbogo and Margaretha Subekti are two female entrepreneurs expanding energy access and transforming daily life for their local communities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and West Manggarai, Indonesia, respectively. In Dar es Salaam, where power outages are a persistent issue, Mbogo provides technical assistance and sells small-scale energy solutions to residents interested in renewable energy through her company Millennium Engineers. She is driven by the fact that energy is the backbone of development. In West Manggarai, Subekti empowers rural women and encourage sustainability through multiple people-centered businesses that she has founded. As a beneficiary and now leader of Kopernik’s Wonder Women program, she manages and supports over thirty women implementing recycling/upcycling projects and selling clean energy products in the community to foster economic independence. Additionally, Subekti’s Rumah Pintar offers community and guidance to neighborhood women and children and her local coffee shop maintains a strong business model of supporting local farmers.

          26 08, 2018

            From The Ground Up: An Exploration Of Energy Empowerment

            2018-08-26T15:20:07-04:00Country: |

            Across the world, most notably in developing Asian countries and sub-Saharan Africa, roughly 1.2 billion people do not have access to reliable energy. A lack of energy sources is directly related to global poverty, and it has been estimated that 70 percent of the world’s poorest are female. Because women, particularly in Asia and Africa, are tasked with feeding and caring for their families, experts maintain that energy access and poverty must be examined through a gendered lens. Indeed, when energy sources are not readily available, women are often tasked with either walking miles to find wood or purchasing cheap kerosene lamps despite their documented health and safety risks. The links become clearer still once energy and health care are considered. Across the world, an estimated 800 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in developing countries, and a lack of energy access only exacerbates the problem. Several entrepreneurial groups led by women, such as Solar Sisters, have been bringing light and empowerment to some of Tanzania’s most rural villages and becoming community leaders in the process. Photo credit: Various Pressures & Simon Black

            21 05, 2018

              Warming Waters Hurt Zanzibar’s Seaweed. But Women Farmers Have A Plan

              2021-02-16T20:51:24-05:00Country: |

              Seaweed farming in Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, is largely done by local women farmers. Most of the men find the work too hard for the small pay, but the income remains significant to women. As a result of their engagement in industry, women farmers and their family have significantly benefited. However, the Western Indian Ocean’s temperature is rising, which is leading to loss of the seaweed crop. The women farmers are responding to this adversity in various ways. One solution has been to farm farther in the ocean. This solution requires the participation of at least some strong swimmers, but seeing as most women in Zanzibar do not know how to swim, many of the farmers are having to learn to swim as they go. Another solution the farmers have enacted is cooperating with local and international researchers. The hope is that fostering this dialogue will benefit both parties and that the seaweed industry will remain viable. Photo credit: Karen Coates

              20 01, 2018

                Climate Change Eroding Women’s Status in Zanzibar

                2018-03-02T20:05:14-05:00Country: |

                Women seaweed farms on Zanzibar’s coast are at the frontlines of climate change, as warming sea temperatures are causing massive die offs, and rural women are losing their main source of income. While most other jobs in this community are male dominated, seaweed farming is predominately female, with more than 80 percent of seaweed farmers being women. With the production of the major seaweed species Cottonnii down by nearly 94%, the financial independence and social status seaweed farming has provided women has been threatened. To defy these odds, Dr. Flower Msuya has, with the help of local women farmers, pioneered a new technology to adapt the shallow farming technique to deeper waters. Photo credit: Haley Joelle Ott

                12 06, 2017

                  Valentina Tiem – Solar Sister Entrepreneur

                  2018-01-12T13:54:36-05:00Country: |

                  Valentina Tiem is a Renewable Energy Entrepreneur who works in Haidom Village of the Manyara Region in Tanzania. Valentina believes that women should know how to manage their financial lives, and work with energy systems, as women are producers of future generation. Valentina has been successful in pursuing people to use renewable energy in her region, primarily because she has used her knowledge and trust and community relationships as a traditional midwife to connect with and educate her community members about  the negative impacts of fuels on their health, and positive impacts of using solar energy. Photo Credit: Solar Sister

                  18 02, 2017

                    East Africa: Women Bring Solar Power To Rural Tanzania

                    2017-09-21T21:04:54-04:00Country: |

                    In northern Tanzania, Esupat Loseku of Enguiki village and Leah Laiza of Ngarash village build clean energy cookstoves and install solar panels across their communities as part of their work with the International Collaborative Maasai Stoves and Solar Project. The Maasai women are able to earn a sustainable living from installations, while promoting the use of cleaner, more efficient cookstoves that improve local air quality and reduce adverse health impacts. Photo: Christabel Ligami

                    20 01, 2017

                      Fighting Back Against Criminalization Of Traditional Seed Exchanges In Tanzania

                      2017-07-18T00:02:47-04:00Country: |

                      Small-scale farmers in Tanzania, a largely female demographic, will now face heavy penalties or long prison sentences if they practice exchanging traditional seeds without government oversight. By limiting seed exchanges, Tanzania and other African governments that may follow suit restrict the freedom of farmers to choose what they grow, and build an alternative to the industrial food system through food sovereignty. La Via Campesina and their allies, defenders of women and small-scale farmers, are determined to respond strongly. Photo credit: La Via Campesina

                      13 10, 2016

                        Deodotta, A Solar Energy Entrepreneur Who Helps Students

                        2017-09-26T12:41:34-04:00Country: |

                        Like some of her fellow community members, Deodotta is a solar energy entrepreneur. At night, she opens her house for students who wish to continue their studies and have no light at home. It not only helps students in need, but also reduces the use of kerosene. In her community, over half of the population has already switched from kerosene to solar energy. Photo credit: Solar Sister

                        14 04, 2016

                          Solar Sister Stories: Neema, Beatrice, And Mpaji

                          2017-10-23T20:15:14-04:00Country: |

                          Local teachers Neema, Beatrice, and Mpaji are Solar Sister entrepreneurs in Tanzania, enabling families’ access to light and energy savings for reinvestment in their children’s education. As educators, they support a culture of trust and serve as a community resource for families that are interested in owning or already own solar lanterns. Photo credit: Serena Chan and Lindsey Allen

                          9 03, 2016

                            Eisha Mohammed, The Solar Engineer Who Overcame Prejudice In Tanzania

                            2017-10-01T17:35:33-04:00Country: |

                            Eisha Mohammed lives in rural Tanzania but traveled to India to receive training in solar entrepreneurship from Barefoot College. Despite her disability and prejudice from members of her community, she now works installing and maintaining solar equipment in her village. Overcoming her community’s resistance to her breaking gender norms and becoming a solar technician, she has proven to many the benefit of women’s involvement in solar energy, and her community is grateful for the improved access to energy. Photo credit: UN Women/Stephanie Raison

                            1 01, 2016

                              Jodie Wu Brings Renewable Energy To Tanzania

                              2017-10-02T23:14:39-04:00Country: |

                              Jodie Wu founded Global Cycle Solutions, a company that supports rural entrepreneurs to provide their communities with access to renewable technologies throughout Tanzania. Her team works with the distribution of products such as solar lanterns and clean cookstoves, reducing fossil fuel consumption and generating job opportunities in the renewable sector. Photo credit: Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Awards

                              5 11, 2015

                                Solar Sister Stories: Beatrice, Teaching, And Community

                                2017-10-23T20:12:56-04:00Country: |

                                Beatrice is a respected leader in Tanga, Tanzania, as both a head teacher and Solar Sister entrepreneur. By connecting with her students and neighbors, she has provided solar lights and clean cookstoves to most of her community, allowing students to study in the evening and reducing exposure to air pollutants. Photo: Solar Sister

                                5 06, 2015

                                  Zanzibar’s Solar Mamas Flip The Switch On Rural Homes, Gender Roles

                                  2017-07-17T23:26:59-04:00Country: |

                                  With the lowest electrification rate in the world, less than 10 percent of Africa's rural population has access to electric power. However, rural women in Zanzibar are taking steps to electrify their communities: these “solar mamas” have received training to install solar panels on their neighbors’ roofs. The solar-powered light reduces the risk of fires while enabling women to work after dark and young children to study at night. Photo credit: Sam Eaton

                                  10 06, 2014

                                    Mothers Light Up Homes In Rural Tanzania

                                    2017-09-22T16:01:24-04:00Country: |

                                    Arafa Mwamba, along with other women in her community, works as a solar engineer in Chekeleni, Tanzania. The women have been trained by Barefoot College in the field and can now perform all sorts of operations to install and maintain solar equipment. They have expanded their business to offer their services in nearby villages, including providing nighttime lighting which has improved public safety for women and girls.

                                    27 10, 2013

                                      Battle Over The Serengeti Pits Maasai Against Dubai

                                      2017-10-27T01:05:23-04:00Country: |

                                      Outraged Maasai activists, led by women, are opposing government plans to appropriate 600 square miles of their grazing land for a private hunting reserve for the Ortello Business Corporation (OBC), owned by Dubai’s royal family and operating in Loliondo for over two decades. This would mean the eviction of 30,000 herders in the in the Loliondo area and the destruction of their livelihoods. Women will suffer the most from the mass removal of Maasai herders, as witnessed during the 2009 drought, when Maasai women left behind to care for the children were denied access to water by OBC security forces. Photo credit: Jason Patinkin

                                      Copyright © 2017-2025 Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, International. | All Rights Reserved
                                      FacebookTwitter