When I started Fly Girl Goods in 2023, I knew that I wanted sea moss to be my primary product. I had been taking sea moss on and off for a few years at that point and realized how important it could be for people who struggle with getting a wide range of nutrients every single day.
I would buy sea moss from health stores but I never actually knew where the companies I shopped with were getting their sea moss from. Most people claimed Jamaica or St. Lucia, my thought process at the time literally was "who has the cleanest waters?". No offense to the Caribbean Islands, but that quest led me to learn about Zanzibar. I found an African American woman living in Tanzania with a wholesale sea moss business. I was amazed. She was actually there! Touching, tasting, and breathing in the fresh East African Ocean waters. I purchased sea moss from her immediately.
After some time I still felt like I wanted to be more hands on with my business. I wanted to cut out the middle man and go straight to the source. This past February, I traveled to Zanzibar and was surprised to learn how important the seaweed economy is for women there.
In an environment where the main source of income is tourism and many women engage in domestic work, it is challenging to make additional money outside of the home. According to the Borgen Project, women have been historically excluded from fishing and tourism jobs. In droves, women have been turning to seaweed farming which require no need for a boat or knowledge of how to swim.
Seaweed is now one of Zanzibar's largest exports with women making up 90% of sea moss farmers.
Unfortunately, climate change has presented some issues to the seaweed industry. The UN warns that “climate change is creating shorter growing seasons and warmer waters, leading to a decrease in commercial seaweed yields.”
During my trip to Zanzibar, I stumbled upon a women's operated seaweed cooperative that had about 30 members who worked together to farm, harvest, sell, and produce their own seaweed products. This way, they can offset some of the unpredictable costs caused by environmental factors.
When you support the Tanzanian sea moss industry, you are directly impacting the lives of thousands of women. If you find yourself in Zanzibar any time soon, make sure you shop locally and purchase some of their sea moss cosmetic products!