Halcrow Foundation is helping to fund a project that empowers women farmers in Tanzania, connecting them to the tourism industry and helping them access the fruit and vegetable supply chain within the hospitality sector.
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 has already trained 120 women in new farming techniques, business, entrepreneurship, legal and martial and land rights, and the women have created the WAMBOMA Co-operative: Women Farming for their Future.
Greater opportunities
Working in a funding partnership with the Eva Reckitt Trust, Halcrow Foundation is supporting the WAMBOMA Co-operative by providing equipment for storing and transporting produce, as well as training and running costs. This means marginalised women farmers will have greater opportunities to establish and manage their farming businesses, as well as having access to capital through group savings and loan schemes.
Strong, collective voice
The Halcrow Foundation-funded project also helps the women to build productive partnerships with the tourist and local horticultural markets, and improves their understanding of how the local government processes work, including their legal rights. It also gives them a stronger collective voice and the means to increase their income, which gives the women and their families greater security.
Tumaini’s story
Tumaini (pictured above, outside her home) is a member of WAMBOMA Co-operative. She says that since joining the co-operative she has increased her knowledge and skills on modern, profitable vegetable cultivation which has increased her income. “In 2022 through the WAMBOMA shop, I was able to sell three buckets of red beans and green vegetables with a profit of 5,000 shillings every week that supports my household expenditure; for example, electricity installation that cost 28,000 shillings.”
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 and its work here.