By Khelef Nassor
Asha Ali Hamad is a farmer from Kiuyu Minungwini village, Pemba, who is playing an active role
in climate adaptation through agroforestry. By managing her own land and
integrating food crops with tree planting, she demonstrates women’s leadership
in adaptation at household and community level.
Asha is a wife and a mother of seven children, two boys and five girls. Like
many women in rural Zanzibar, she carries the responsibility of caring for her
family while striving to secure a better future for her children.
Before joining agroforestry, Asha relied on small-scale informal
businesses to support her household. While these activities helped meet basic
needs, they were unstable and highly vulnerable to economic and climate-related
shocks.
One of the greatest challenges Asha faced, like many women in Zanzibar,
was access to land ownership. Cultural norms, and limited financial means, continue
to restrict women’s ability to own and control land.
At the time, Asha owned a cow, her most valuable asset and a symbol of
economic security. She knew that selling it would put her at risk, yet she also
understood that meaningful change required a bold decision.
“I knew that selling my cow meant losing my only safety net, but I also
knew that without land, my dreams of farming could never come true,” Asha recalls.
With determination and vision, Asha sold her cow and used the money to
purchase land. The decision shocked many people in her community and challenged
long-standing beliefs about women and land ownership.
Instead of encouragement, she faced ridicule and doubt. Some openly
questioned her judgment, insisting that land ownership and farming decisions
should be left to men.
“People laughed at me. They said I was foolish for selling my cow to buy
land. But I chose to listen to my inner voice, not the noise around me,” she says.
Through courage and sacrifice, Asha succeeded in owning one and half
acres of land, an achievement that remains out of reach for many women due to
lack of capital and discriminatory systems.
This milestone enabled her to join the Zanzibar Women Leadership in
Adaptation (ZanzADAPT) project, implemented by Community Forests Pemba (CFP) in
partnership with Community Forests International (CFI).
Through ZanzADAPT, Asha received training in agroforestry, sustainable
land management, and climate-resilient farming, learning how to integrate food
production with environmental conservation.
“ZanzADAPT opened my eyes. I stopped seeing farming as just survival and
started seeing it as a solution to climate change,” she explains.
On her three-acre farm, Asha practices diversified agroforestry, planting
a wide range of crops and trees, including banana plants, pineapples, avocado
trees, jackfruit, mangoes, guavas, cinnamon, neem trees, and cloves.
This diversity has strengthened her farm’s resilience, improved soil
fertility, reduced erosion, and created a balanced ecosystem that can better
withstand climate variability.
Recently, Asha began harvesting produce from her farm. She has already
harvested bananas and pineapples, earning more than 200,000 Tanzanian shillings,
with more harvests expected as production continues.
“Selling my first harvest showed me that this land can truly change my
life. Selling my cow was not a loss, it was an investment,” she says confidently.
The income she earns helps cover school expenses for her children, daily
household needs, and allows her to save money for the future, something she was
rarely able to do before.
Asha’s husband plays a supportive role in her journey, occasionally
assisting with farm activities. His support reflects a growing shift toward
shared responsibility and recognition of women’s leadership within households.
Beyond economic benefits, Asha has become an active environmental steward,
contributing to climate change mitigation through tree planting and sustainable
land-use practices.
The same community that once laughed at her now looks at her with
admiration. Many people seek her advice and express interest in adopting
agroforestry themselves.
“Those who laughed at me now come to ask how they can start. That makes
me proud,” Asha says.
Asha has become a source of inspiration for other women, encouraging them
to fight for land ownership rights and to take an active role in decisions that
shape their livelihoods and communities.
Her long-term goal is to purchase a larger piece of land to expand her
agroforestry activities and strengthen her family’s economic security.
“I want women to believe in themselves. Land is not only for men, the
environment belongs to all of us,” she emphasizes.
From small informal businesses to owning land, practicing agroforestry,
and contributing to climate resilience, Asha Ali Hamad stands as a powerful
symbol of women’s leadership in climate adaptation, a woman who dared to act
when others doubted.
0 Comments