ALGAE FARMING AT MLINGOTINI VILLAGE

Mlingotini village is located 19km by road and 10 km on the coastline south of Bagamoyo town. The villagers formed Msichoke seaweed farming group in 1999. The group consists of 58 people of whom 47 are women and 11 are men.

The farming is done in a semi-enclosed shallow lagoon near the village. The lagoon is well protected from water currents of the open sea which is one of the important conditions for successful algae farming.

“We experience high tidal variations in the lagoon every day which, results in good water flow, and since there is no direct freshwater flow into the lagoon, the algae grow very well.” says Mama Kishindo Khamis, who is the chairperson of the group.

In the fishing communities, women are neglected and bound to household activities. Recognition and involvement of women in planning and decision making have not been the case ever since. However, seaweed farming is report to significantly employ many women than men.

“Our men feel that seaweed farming is inferior to fishing but in reality, we feel that with the farming one is able to realize more profit with less work than in fishing,” says Mwanasha Mrisho, a member.

Another member, Machano Ally, who was once a fisherman and left it for see weed farming, said fishing is more tiresome since it involves many hours of work, one hardly has proper schedule. It requires hard working day and night.

“Fish like hiding in the algae fields. This encourages evil fishermen to destroy the farms and sometimes cut the lines for fishing purposes. As a group, we have presented this to village government but no action so far,” says Mama Kishindo Khamis.

Msichoke Seaweed Farmers Group lacks a permanent office building, a warehouse for storing the algae and has no access to bank loans. They complain on the local market price offered to them by the buyers who come to buy from them to be very low.

“We sell at Tshs 260 per dry kg of the algae but hearsays tell the prices to be extremely higher in the international market,” says Machano Ally.

The seaweed is mainly exported to The US, China and The Philippines.

Apart from the problems the group is facing, Mama Kishindo Khamis, the chair person, says the group contributes and is used by many researchers, learners and students from different universities in the world but these undertakings hardly benefit their group. END!

Abdallah Mwinyigogo, a member, boards the 

Msichoke vessel for off shore algae harvesting.

Machano Ally drops an anchor for the vessel to stop.

Mwanasha Mrisho and Machano Ally, stretch a line with tied with algae seeds.

Machano Ally brings to the vessel the collected seaweed

Mama Kishindo Khamis, the Msichoke chair person, 

dries the harvested algae.

Fish like hiding in the algae fields. 

Machano Ally shows a crab that 

he stamped on during routine check up of the algae lines.