Zanzibar fishermen get modern fishing gear to save environment

The project capacitated them with prerequisite skills on modern fishing gear.

Through the project, fishermen in the Indian archipelago were given modern fishing boats that facilitated them go into deep fishing, thus getting more fish, food and increased their income.

EBARR Project Coordinator in Kaskazini ‘A’ District, Alawi Hija said the procured modern boats enables fishermen to get into deep sea for fishing thus simplifying their activities compared to the previous time when they were used to hand-made canoes.

“Besides supporting them with modern boats, the project beneficiaries including women engaging in fishing activities have also been empowered with alternative activities to increase their income,” he explains.

Hija said that women groups from the villages of Matemwe Kijini, Matemwe Mbuyutende and Matemwe Jugakuu, have been trained and given equipment to make soap and other hygiene products.

“Such activities enable them to earn income and contribute economically to their households. This also improves their ability to withstand the impacts of climate change in their communities,” he added.

Kicked off in the 2018/2019 fiscal year and expected to end in 2024, the initiative which is under the Vice President’s Office is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and is being executed in North ‘A’ District of Zanzibar and four other five districts in Tanzania mainland—Kishapu in Shinyanga Region, Mvomero (Morogoro), Mpwapwa (Dodoma) and Simanjiro in Manyara Region.

EBARR National Project Coordinator, Dr James Nyarobi said the project is benefiting rural communities by supporting them to initiate income generating activities and has greatly helped to restore natural vegetation in the specific areas.

Dr Nyarobi said the project has helped fisherfolk in Kaskazini A Unguja with six fibre boats equipped with powerful engines and freezers for storing fish. He said the project has also provided fishermen with other equipment such as fish finders and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Dr Nyarobi added: “These technologies are useful to fisherfolk during their fishing activities. They help them to navigate easily using GPS, to determine the direction of their vessels and to return safely to the coast.”

He explained that the project provided freezers to the fishermen for storing their fish to ensure they remain of good quality upon reaching the market.

In Kishapu and Simanjiro districts, the project has established small-scale facilities for manufacturing leather products.

These products are made using locally sourced leather, which helps to boost the income of households involved in the leather industry projects, he said.

In other areas, groups engaging in beekeeping, poultry farming, soap making, mushroom and vegetable farming were all empowered to earn income. These activities help the communities to strengthen their resilience to the effects of climate change.

In terms of empowering pastoral communities in Simanjiro District, the EBARR project has enabled women groups in chicken husbandry, and Isiolo goat keeping. Isiolo goats are large breeds in nature, as compared to the local/indigenous breeds.

Dr Nyarobi said: “These goats will help improve the quality of local goats through crossbreeding. To ensure sustainability, the groups have established a system that when the goats reproduce and increase, they are given to someone who didn’t have one, with that logic, members of the group benefit from the project and immediately improve the quality of their local goats.”

EBARR Project Coordinator in Simanjiro District, Dr Swalehe Masaza said the groups have been empowered by building modern chicken sheds. He said villagers and the surrounding community can learn how to build a better chicken shed and improve productivity.

He said that so far, the groups have been supported with more than 850 chicks and professional training to conduct their activities professionally.

To ensure sustainability of the project even after the funding period ends, Dr Masaza said: “Authorities have been involved from inception of the project and we rely on these district councils to continue managing the activities that have been implemented in their respective areas, even after the project comes to an end.”

He said all the initiatives that are implanted under the project were recommended by beneficiaries themselves.

Dr Masaza clarified that the EBARR project’s major objective is to increase climate resilience among rural communities by strengthening ecosystem resilience and diversifying livelihoods.