Swabrina Self-Help Group has seen significant growth in its fishing operations since extending to deeper waters. The group is harvesting more fish of a wider variety than before. Members who are fish traders have a steady supply for their businesses.
The Swabrina Self-Help Group, which was founded in 2020, has gone quite well. It was established with two key objectives: Environmental conservation and improving members’ welfare through a savings scheme. Consisting of 30 members (23 men and seven women), the group began by organizing monthly beach cleanups and establishing a “merry-go-round”, where each member contributed Sh100.
Over time, it diversified its activities to include fishing to increase income. The members distributed roles among themselves. Fifteen, some of whom were foot fishers, went out to fish using a hired boat, while others prepared basket traps or collected seaweed to use as baits.
The seven women members are all fish traders, locally known as mama karanga, operating in their stalls.
However, the fish they caught did not meet the local demand. “The fish was not enough to meet the demand in the village,” says Mwanaharusi Mwafitina. “Sometimes we would wait at the beach for fishermen for many hours and return home with few fish or nothing.”
A KEMFSED project grant is the solution to this challenge. The group received Sh2.9 million and bought a fiber-glass boat and fishing gear, including gillnets, long lines, trays, a fish finder, and a GPS unit. safety equipment a freezer and two cooler boxes.
The boat was a game-changer, especially for Hamisi Mbwana, one of the oldest members. He sold his dugout canoe to become the boat captain and mentor to younger members such as Juma Mwana, a coxswain recently trained with KEMFSED support. The 63-year-old is highly skilled in deep sea fishing but lacks a suitable boat that could withstand the strong waves in the near offshore fishing grounds. He became the group’s captain and mentor to the two newly trained coxswains.
On their first fishing trips, Juma and his crew set out three hooks on a long line just beyond the reef. They brought home 151kg, which they sold at Sh200 a kilo.
The Swabrina Self-Help Group has seen significant growth in its fishing operations since extending to deeper waters. Between January and March 2024, the group caught 975kg of fish, including valuable fish species such as sharks and snapper, making a profit of Sh75,000. The group plans to further increase its catch using 30 hooks on future trips.
For the mama karanga such as Mwanaharusi, this venture has been a huge success. They now have a consistent supply of fish, allowing them to balance household duties with their businesses.
Former foot fisher Omar Mustafa and others have also benefited immensely. Instead of struggling with small catches, he now enjoys a steady income from the group’s efforts.
The group has opened a fish shop in the village, where they use their freezer to preserve the surplus after selling to the mama karanga who are members. They also sell on retail to community members, ensuring a steady supply and higher profits.
Treasurer Fatuma Bokari hopes the group will save Sh500,000, which will be sent to members. Fatuma hopes to take a loan to increase stock in her own shop, reflecting the benefit of empowering its members.
Swabrina is among the 44 groups in Kwale that received over Sh111 million in the first phase of KEMFSED grants. So far, 136 groups the county have received more than Sh535 million. A total of Sh1.76 billion has been disbursed to more than 1,200 groups spread across Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River, and Lamu counties.
