The Nature Conservancy – Seeds of Change

The Nature Conservancy is currently working on project supported by The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation, to promote sustainable aquaculture in Kenya to restore coastal ecosystems and improve living conditions in coastal communities. We are honored to feature an insight from The Nature Conservancy’s work with their project “Accelerating restorative aquaculture in Africa”.  

Seeds of Change: Accelerating Restorative Aquaculture in Africa 

Along Kenya’s coast, sandy beaches at the azure edge of the West Indian Ocean look like paradise. Yet many people who live in coastal villages face chronic poverty, and though seaweed is a major export here, most seaweed farmers – 90 percent of whom are women – fall below the poverty threshold. Meanwhile, unsustainable farming practices are damaging sensitive coastal habitat that supports colorful fish and starfish, green sea turtles, and more. 

With funding from The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a global not-for-profit organization, is supporting small-scale seaweed farmers to increase their production, reduce impacts on 500 hectares of habitat, and build greater resilience for both people and nature in the face of climate change impacts.   

Demonstration farms in three participating villages serve as in-the-water classrooms and enable farmers to see for themselves the benefits of restorative aquaculture practices. To date, TNC has trained 121 farmers (74 women and 47 men) towards the project goal of 300. Participants learn best management practices including harvesting and reseeding, proper handling of seaweed, use of lower impact-higher yield equipment, and quality harvesting and storage methods. Seedlings from demonstration farms have enabled 71 farmers to cultivate their own plots. In addition, 18 farmers (16 women and two men) along with four officers from the Kenya Fisheries Service graduated from a three-month Leadership and Management Program to support women’s participation in conservation with a focus on leadership skills, business management, and financial literacy.  

Concurrently, TNC scientists are monitoring species abundance, species diversity, water quality, and seaweed yields to ensure that the project achieves the goals.  

To accelerate uptake of best practices beyond the pilot project communities, TNC provides ongoing mentorships to 18 “trainers of trainees” – farmers who serve as coaches for other farmers, essentially re-seeding the best practices they learned and amplifying the impact of The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation’s support. 

The project is part of The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation’s initiative “Coastal Ecosystems”, which aims to contribute to the biodiversity of coastal ecosystems and their ability to protect against the negative effects of climate change along the coasts.