25/08/2026
In the studio with Lee-Ann Olwage 💙
For the Cape Town Photo Festival
Mwani Zanzibar
‘For generations the Mwani Zanzibar Mamas - a collective of women - have practiced intergenerational seaweed farming on the island of Zanzibar. Guided by the rhythms of the moon and tides, they farm using ancestral knowledge, passed down from mother to daughter. This wisdom enables them to harness the seaweed’s natural benefits, including its use in traditional remedies and skin care.
They first came together as a collective to empower and grow their ability to support themselves resulting in economic independence and empowerment. At Mwani Zanzibar the women expand their skill set to not only farming seaweed, but to processing and producing skin care.
Their experiences and wisdom offer invaluable insights into sustainable living and environmental stewardship, illustrating the power of local conservation action and indigenous knowledge in the face of climate change. Their stories, derived from a lifetime spent in the sea, are critical to the climate change narrative.’
__
