{"id":374530,"date":"2023-03-29T14:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T12:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/the-breath-of-the-ocean\/"},"modified":"2024-12-30T16:35:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T15:35:53","slug":"the-breath-of-the-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/the-breath-of-the-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"The Breath of the Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When there is low tide, in Jambiani, a small fishing village in the southeast of Unguja – the largest of the islands that make up the Zanzibar archipelago – it seems one can reach the horizon just by walking. The ocean stands apart beyond the reef. You can hear it mumbling in the distance. A group of women wrapped in their colourful kangas<\/em> and equipped with buckets, nets, snorkels, and masks walk towards the sunrise. They are the Sponge Farmers of Jambiani. They are all women. Most of them are single mothers, people often left on the margins of society because they have no husband to look after them. <\/p>\n\n

The first nursery was established in Jambiani in 2009 by a small NGO called Marinecultures. The two founders, Christian Vaterlaus and Connie Sacchi, aimed to create an activity that could provide an income for the local population, especially women, and that could be environmentally sustainable. Seas around the world are impoverished day after day. The situation is worst in those countries where much of the local livelihood depends directly on the resources provided by the sea. Overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and loss of biodiversity in these areas add up to poverty, lack of economic opportunities, gender inequality and unemployment. Something had to be done. <\/p>\n\n