Exploring the Island’s Culture in Jambiani and Paje.
By Erin Coyle
While taking pictures of the rippled sand at Paje beach, I noticed tall brown sticks placed around, forming a large rectangle. At least five women were in the water, bent over and collecting something I couldn’t quite make out. There were dozens of these stick-like sections, and as I walked a little further, I noticed the sticks were protecting seaweed. Later I would find out that this is part of the women’s seaweed farming in Zanzibar so they can make a living. Let’s find out more.
Zanzibar is known for its flavorful food, turquoise-colored water, white sandy beaches, and laid-back vibe. Don’t be surprised when locals say ‘poly poly,’ meaning take it slowly. Visitors will realize that there is no rush while visiting. Many may not know there is more to the island than the sea and sand. My travel here also included a few cultural tours to learn how to farm seaweed and make string from the fiber of coconut. Here is everything you need to know about a seaweed farming company and a village where local women make string to use for products such as beds and roofs.
A visit to Mwani
I was looking forward to a cultural tour in Paje, about thirty minutes from Stone Town. Mwani, meaning seaweed, was started by a Dutch African woman who saw the need for beauty products while being able to help local women earn income so they could support themselves and their families. The company does farming, processing, producing, and selling.
When walking toward Mwani, I immediately felt calm and relaxed, maybe because of the sandstone-colored open shop, with a brown triangular wooden roof surrounded by trees and plants. Guests are welcomed with cold hibiscus tea before the tour begins.
Seaweed farming
We walked five minutes to the sea wearing our croc-like water shoes and straw hats given to the tour group to meet Salama, one of the ten women who work here. She was in the water preparing the seaweed in her sky-blue cotton dress, white and blue scarf, and a straw hat with sunglasses. She had about seven bunches and was tying them together with tai tai (plastic strips) while placing them evenly on a thin rope. Once finished, it gets tied to the bottom of sticks placed in the water. Some farms will have five or six sticks about three feet apart.
The guide, Pius, told us it takes two months to harvest the seaweed, so the ladies must visit the sea daily to check on it. If it rains, the seaweed can get damaged by the rocks that come in, so they need to find another area to start again. I had a chance to take the slimy green parasites off the seaweed to understand how weeding works. Salama has worked at Mwani for three years and said this is hard work and especially hard on her back because of having to bend over so much every day. But still smiling, she said it’d been a way for her to earn a living to support her family. I admired her hard work and dedication and felt a deep appreciation for a job I had never considered.
Production
While heading into the production room, handfuls of pinkish-purple seaweed are drying on five rectangular-shaped covered screens. I learned that seaweed turns this color after it’s dried in the sun for two days. Once thoroughly dried after five to seven days, it’s turned into a powder and mixed with ingredients such as coconut oil and beeswax to make soaps, scrubs, and oils.
Three women were making soap in the production room. The room smelled like coffee and cinnamon. I could have sat here all day inhaling the air. As I walked closer to watch them produce the bars, I was ready to eat one because it smelled so good. After production, the soap goes inside the drying room. This is another place I could sit all day inhaling the smells of fresh lemon and mint as the latest batch of soaps was drying.
I decided to buy three 100-gram size soaps, including coffee, lemongrass, and turmeric. My suitcase had never smelled better! I might be crazy, but I would open the brown bag every few days and inhale the soap. I also knew that by purchasing the products, I was helping support the women working there. Having these soaps also allowed me to appreciate and recognize the women’s dedication to this craft.
A visit to Jambiani
After an hour and a half at Mwani, it was time to go to Jambiani, about a fifteen-minute car ride from Paje. Bi–Zainab, a woman who is maybe in her sixties and a woman of many talents. Wearing a pink dress with red and blue roses, and a green scarf covering her head, she motioned Mohammed, my guide, and Khlafan, my driver, to sit down with her.
Bi-Zainab
She was sitting cross-legged on the ground, explaining how she makes string from coconut fiber. The coconut sits in a hole in the water for three months. When it starts to rot, Bi-Zainab pulls the string out. After hitting the bunch and spreading it out, she takes two pieces, starts rubbing them together on her leg, and twists them with the palms of her hands.
It sounds easy, but for some reason, I could not make the string as tight as Bi-Zainab could. She kept laughing and tried showing me again and again. Bi-Zainab can make two bunches in one day. She sells one group for 5,000 shillings (roughly $2.60). People come to the village to buy it from her. The string is for putting beds together, tying roof pieces, and other day-to-day items. Bi-Zainab said she started this craft after getting married as a way to help support her family.
Seaweed farming
Bi-Zainab told Mohammed that she also does seaweed farming. After she harvests and dries it, she sells it on the road, or people come to the village to buy it. Bi-Zainab is another hard-working woman. I learned to appreciate the perseverance and effort it takes to make string and farm seaweed. Despite the hardships, she keeps smiling and says we can come to the village, M’buyuni, anytime.
Reasons to book a cultural tour
I enjoyed learning about Mwani and meeting Salama and also Bi-Zainab in Jambiani. I have a new appreciation for this kind of work. Now when I see seaweed, I think about it in a completely different way. The same goes when I see coconuts. I start to think about Bi-Zainab’s endeavors and the many uses for coconuts.
Cultural tours can give more insight into a way of life, and I recommend booking one or two when you’re in Zanzibar. These tours are also a chance to help support women and their communities.
Information
I booked both tours through a local guide, Imran Jape. You can reach him on Instagram @imran_jape or online. To book a tour directly with Mwani, contact +255 774 860 870.
About me:
Traveling with friends, solo and in group tours, Erin has explored Southeast Asia, Oceania, Europe, the Middle East, South America, East Africa, and South Africa. She is currently a freelance travel writer living in Sur, the Sultanate of Oman. She taught English in a foundation program at a university in Sur for four years. She is a member of Travel Writers University and TravMedia Middle East. Her website is erinshotpot or find her on Instagram @erinshotpot.
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