We’re helping to fund a project that empowers women farmers in Tanzania, connecting them with the tourism industry and helping them access the fruit and vegetable supply chain within the hospitality sector.
Sustainable incomes
Traditionally, farmers in Tanzania compete in local markets to sell their produce to middlemen at very low prices. Dealers then sell this on to the hotels that support the lucrative Kilimanjaro climbing and safari markets. The UK-based charity Equality in Tourism is empowering 120 women to establish their own farming enterprises and form the WAMBOMA Co-operative, which allows them to develop new business partnerships with the tourist and local agricultural markets. Through improved training and access to information, these women are able to secure increased and sustainable incomes.
Strong, collective voice
Working in a funding partnership with Eva Reckitt Trust, Halcrow Foundation is providing training and equipment that will help them improve and sustain their business. The women are also given greater knowledge of their legal rights which allows them to engage with the community and gives them a strong, collective voice.
The photo above shows a WAMBOMA meeting of women from Kimushuku village, as they are trained in saving money. Saving is very new to them, and they are taught to save a mandatory minimum of 1,000 Tanzanian shillings a week, which is approximately 30p. The savings for all 30 women in the group amounts to around £60, and sums of £10-30 can be borrowed from this savings pot at an interest rate of five per cent to buy seed and fertiliser for their crops.
About Equality in Tourism
Working across the tourism and hospitality sectors, Equality in Tourism promotes gender equality around the world. It promotes information sharing, networking and research, and the development of pilot projects that can be replicated or adapted in tourism settings. You can find out more about Equality in Tourism here.
