A KEMFSED-supported mangrove conservation initiative by a women’s group in Kwale County is yielding benefits for members and the community. The women are not only reafforesting degraded areas but have improved their houses and built a social hall, an important asset for the community.
When her daughter started building a family house, Siddhani Athman was elated. The walls came up fast and the house was roofed. However, the building stalled when the daughter lost her job during the COVID-19 pandemic as the hotel where she worked closed down.
Nevertheless, 53-year-old Sidhani and her ailing husband moved into the partially completed house at Munje in Kwale County.
“We had used mud to seal the spaces left for windows, we could not afford a door so the house was always open,” she says. “Sometimes a madman would sneak in and take our food and there we many mosquitoes. We persevered.”
Luckily for the family, help came from the Tunusuru Conservation Women’s Group. With her share of income from the group’s projects, she installed a metal grill door and is in now fitting the windows.
The group has 30 members and Sidhani is one of over 10 women who have improved their homes by building brick-and-iron sheet houses or better toilets. Many of the members have started small businesses. They include Fatuma Mwanjenje, who bought a freezer and is making money selling juice and ice pops.
“Building is a priority for many members. We decided as a group to start by improving our homes and then ensure every member starts her own small business,” says group chairperson Mwanadiwani Yusuf.
The women started the Tunusuru group in 2019. They volunteered to conserve the rapidly degrading mangrove forest and clean up the Munje beach under the local beach management unit. They soon added handicraft-making to generate income and table banking to encourage members to save
Several organizations supported them by buying mangrove seedlings for environmental campaigns.
In 2022, Tunusuru received a KEMFSED Sh4.9 million grant to expand conservation and venture into beekeeping in the mangrove forest, which is said to produce the best honey. The group built an apiary and bought 93 hives and honey-handling equipment including a centrifuge, safety gear, and materials for packaging honey. The KEMFSED team trained members in beekeeping, management, procurement, financial management, and marketing as part of ongoing technical support to build the group’s capacity. In the apiary, 20 of the hives have been colonized and the group hopes for a good harvest.
Says Mwadiwani: “We harvested 20 kilos that we quickly sold at Sh800 because there was a ready market. Once the drought ends and there are plenty of flowers, I am sure we will harvest more.”
Through the KEMFSED grant, Tunusuru women planted over 50,000 in the degraded areas of Munje Bay. Other community members were also involved in the reafforestation, a critical contribution towards addressing the challenges of climate change and improving critical habitats for marine biodiversity.
By April 2024, the group had established five tree nurseries with over 400,000 seedlings at sites targeted for reafforestation, greatly increasing its capacity to meet its own needs and supply other conservation partners. Members are paid Sh500 a day for their labor. Through the proceeds Tunusuru women received from the sale of mangrove seedlings under the KEMFSED grant, they built a Sh750,000 social hall. They have also two 100-seater tents and 100 portable chairs for hire. Besides hosting group meetings, the hall is also leased at Sh5,000 a day for events such as training workshops and weddings.
