Seaweed, Sex and Liberation

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 June 2018

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a conservative corner of east Africa, thousands of women have gained more control over their lives thanks to seaweed. In a traditional island village there is a surprisingly high divorce rate and women have safeguarded their interests with earnings from this salty crop which has given them a much needed income and new independence. At first the husbands were outraged – they complained that seaweed farming made women too tired for their matrimonial duties. The women eventually prevailed but their hard won freedom is now threatened by climate change. Lucy Ash meets the seaweed farmers of Paje village and looks at the ways they are fighting to save their livelihood and raise their families.

Image Credit: Chloe Hadjimatheou

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm walking through the village with a guy who's barefoot in a strippy shirt.
0:08.0	Can you introduce yourself?
0:10.0	My name is Mohammed Rajabh bumsale. I'm living in Padja in east coast of Gansiba.
0:17.0	There is coconut palms, some banana trees.
0:22.0	The streets of Padre were white saints. It's very nice to walk with the
0:27.0	outs rules.
0:28.0	Mdori, Sala.
0:30.0	And Yamishkamani.
0:32.0	Mohammed greets some old women sitting in the shade outside their homes, a tall
0:37.1	soft-spoken man with a big belly, he's a community leader and knows everyone
0:41.9	here, so he's the ideal guide for us.
0:45.0	People of parje involved in the planting seaweeds.
0:50.0	There are many sewage farmers in the village.
0:53.8	Seaweed they got a big story of Padia.
0:56.4	They bring a lot of changing.
0:58.6	Big change.
1:01.0	You're listening to seaweed, sex and liberation this week's assignment on the BBC World Service with me Lucy Ash.
1:08.0	This village on the island of Zanzibar may look like a quiet traditional place but under the surface
1:15.5	it's another story. Unusually for a conservative corner of East Africa the
1:20.8	seaweed businesses run almost exclusively by women.
1:24.0	Mohammed takes me to meet some of them. So when Aisha Cihava and Hifazi are working on a stone bench outside their house and they're making what looks like bunting and it looks like they're getting ready
1:44.4	for a celebration but actually they're just getting ready to go to work.
	...

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