Buying blow Pemba

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Buying blow Pemba

As ocean temperatures rise, single mothers and divorced women in Zanzibar switch from seaweed to sea sponge farming to stay afloat. As a gentle morning breeze blows across the Zanzibar shore, Hindu Simai Rajabu walks through knee-deep water to reach a shallow lagoon off the coast of Jambiani, Tanzania, where her floating sponge farm is located. Sporting shiny goggles and with a snorkel placed on top of her headscarf, Rajabu wades through the Indian Ocean, her laughter at the experience of being filmed mingling with the sound of the crashing waves. As the tide rises, the year-old mother of two swims and submerges to the depth of the buoys which hold the floating sponge farm in place. The quest for prosperity has led Rajabu and 12 other divorced women and single mothers from Zanzibar's Jambiani village into the Indian Ocean to grow climate-resilient sponges. Farming sea sponges has become a lucrative business for these women in recent years. Many women in Jambiani farm seaweed , but low yields due to rising sea temperatures have started to make it difficult to earn a living. In ,some women began switching to growing puff-like soft sea sponges : primitive aquatic animals that, when harvested, are used for bathing and cleaning. Sea sponges are more resilient to warmer temperatures and filter pollutants such as sewage and pesticides out ofthe water. Local women's rights activists say sea sponge farming is helping to improve gender equality in Zanzibar and has lifted these women out of poverty. The farmers themselves say their quality of life has improved. This article in the Climate Guardians series was supported by funding from the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. When Rajabu reaches the buoys, she adeptly propels herself forward to inspect the juvenile sponges on the ropes. She briskly starts scrubbing a thick polyethylene rope with a clasp knife and removes lurking bacteria from baby sponges bobbing there. To prevent the sponges from becoming overheated by the sun or damaged by motorboats, Rajabu ensures they always remain underwater. She spends four hours every day in the ocean, tending to the farm. In the afternoon, she goes to the office to sort and label dried sponges for sale. Rajabu dropped out of school when she was 17 because her mother could no longer afford to pay for her studies, crushing her dream of becoming a doctor. When her husband left her after nine years, Rajabu refused to be defined by her circumstances. She started seaweed farming to support her two children. In , Rajabu approached Marine Cultures to explain her difficult situation and seek a job. She was swiftly taken on board and started earning a higher income. Sea sponges have a shell-like layer, riddled with tiny pores which allows water to flow in and out. The marine creatures are thought to have existed for over million years. Scientists have identified over 15, species globally. Marine Cultures, a Swiss non-profit, established sponge farming in Zanzibar in to enable poor women to earn a better income and help protect the region's natural resources. Until the early s, the seaweed industry was a backbone of Zanzibar's local economy, employing 20, women farmers, lifting their standard of living and social status. But the seaweed industry has been battered by rising temperatures, says Vaterlaus, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of farmers in Zanzibar. Watch a report by BBC News about how local women on Mnemba island, part of the Zanzibar archipelago are trying to preserve their coral reef alongside their own livelihoods. A study by researchers at the University of York in the UK found seaweed yields and quality had dropped drastically in the area due to rising temperatures, stronger winds and erratic rainfall. In his bid to help cash-strapped seaweed farmers in Jambiani, Vaterlaus introduced the idea and method of growing sponges to the area. Seaweed is highly vulnerable to climate change , but sponges can tolerate warmer temperatures, allowing them to thrive in hot conditions, Vaterlaus adds. Aziza Said, a marine biologist at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania, agrees that sponges are more resilient to hotter temperatures , adding that they also require less maintenance and fetch a higher market price than seaweed. By providing an alternative to fishing, sponges also reduce pressure on natural resources and protect the environment, Said says. And they enrich the sea bed by spitting out fatty and amino acids for other organisms to absorb, she adds. Research has also shown that the spongy creatures play an important role themselves in combatting climate change. Their skeletons break down into microscopic pieces of silicon, which helps control the carbon cycle in the ocean and reduces the greenhouse effect , experts say. Dissolved silicon is critical for the growth of diatoms, tiny organisms which absorb large amounts of CO2 in the ocean using photosynthesis. According to Said, diatoms grow well when there's a large enough supply of dissolved silicon in seawater. Sea sponges also effectively filter sea water and reduce marine pollution , according to another study. A single sponge can pump thousands of litres of water per day through a maze of channels and pores that trap impurities and organic substances, the researchers note. According to another study, up to 24, litres 5, gallons of sea water can be pumped through a 1kg 2. The women in Jambiani are trained by Marine Cultures before they start harvesting sea sponges. Since , 13 women have been trained, according to Ali Mahmudi Ali, who manages the farm. The training involves teaching the women to swim, dive, use the equipment and gear, how to clean and care for the sponges, book-keeping, marketing and grading the sponges for sale, he says. They are sold to souvenir shops, tourists and hotels in Zanzibar and abroad. Sponge farming is helping to redefine traditional gender roles in the Jambiani community of more than 1, women who are traditionally confined to childcare and domestic chores, and has ushered in a financially stable future for the women involved, says Nasir Hassan Haji, a female sponge farmer and chair of the farmers' cooperative. We are very proud of this initiative,' says Haji, a year-old mother of four. She says that sponge farming has helped the women to break free from financial dependence on men, which made them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. We should not just wait for our husband to bring food on the table,' Haji says. Now that they are earning a steady income, their influence in family decision-making has increased, she adds. The emissions it took to report this story were 30kg CO2. This covers the emissions from the car journey, but not the ferry to Jambiani km due to a lack of available data. The digital emissions from this story are an estimated 1. Find out more about how we calculated this figure here. Rajabu's hard work as a sponge farmer has paid off. In just two years, she has earned enough money to buy a plot of land on which she is building a three-bedroom house. Rajabu says her rapid economic rise has sparked curiosity among her neighbours. Like Rajabu, Haji finds sponge farming far preferable to the seaweed farming she used to do. For 15 years she hauled heavy seaweed from the sea, facing a harsh reality of extreme weather. However, sponge farming has brought in money and made her smile, she says. Hard work pays. She was left to care for two children after her husband divorced her when she was Abdalla's former husband remarried and never supported his children, leaving her to raise them singlehandedly, she says. She turned to hat weaving to earn money. When Abdala found a job as a sponge farmer, she had to learn to swim. This success enabled her to buy a bed, dressing table and wardrobe. The global sea sponge market extends well beyond Zanzibar, with thriving cultivation and harvesting in various regions worldwide, including the Federated States of Micronesia and Tunisia. These sought-after sponges, valued for their natural beauty and sustainability, serve as natural alternatives to synthetic sponges and are widely used in households globally. Marine Cultures plans to expand sponge farming to other regions in Zanzibar and across Tanzania, says Ali. Due to its lucrative nature, sponge farming offers an alternative to fishing and helps reduce stress on coastal ecosystems, he says. It can also provide an eco-friendly alternative to harmful synthetic sponges, which contain microplastics that may harm aquatic life, he adds. In some areas of the world, however, there are concerns around overharvesting of the natural sea sponges found in the ocean. Sea sponge farming offers an alternative but scaling it up also presents challenges. Vaterlaus says the growth of the sea sponge industry faces obstacles due to a lack of financial resources for research and investments as well as limited expansion of hatcheries to grow baby sponges. The real economic impact of the sponges is low due to scalability problems, he adds. Future Planet's series Climate Guardians spotlights the stories of those on the frontline of the climate crisis. Using on-the-ground, local reporting, it delves into the climate solutions being pioneered by women and indigenous communities in the Global South to learn what they can teach the rest of the world. It also investigates how they can alleviate other problems such as gender inequality, food insecurity, health and poverty. Despite the environmental benefits of sponge farming, production and distribution is challenging due to high costs, says Leonard Chauka, a molecular biologist from the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Chauka suggests that increased public awareness about the environmental risks of plastic products will help promote the use of natural sponges. Growing sea sponges is also a lengthy process, however. Farmers must wait a full year for the sponges to grow to maturity and are very reliant on the availability of natural seeds. I think research efforts should focus on developing fast-growing and high-quality sponge varieties,' says Chauka. Research has also indicated that some sea sponges are susceptible to marine heatwaves. Despite these challenges, the market for Zanzibar sponges is good, Vaterlaus says. He says that Marine Cultures plans to introduce sponge farming on Pemba Island and the coastal city of Tanga later this year. As a call for prayer from a nearby mosque echoes in the air, Mkasi Abdalla says sponge farming has caused ripples of excitement in her community. With her savings, she has bought a plot of land to build her dream home. Like Rajabu, Abdalla's life has been a rollercoaster. After her first husband died, Abdalla, a former seaweed farmer and mother to seven children, became the breadwinner for her family. But her situation improved when she remarried a pottery artist who supported her cause. The story of Abdalla and other women shows the power of sponge farming, providing economic independence and gender equality, while conserving marine ecosystems. Join one million Future fans by liking us on Facebook , or follow us on Twitter or Instagram. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. Skip to content. US Election. Sea sponges offer lifeline to women in Zanzibar. Lauraclara Cosmas. Sea sponge farming is offering a lifeline to single mothers and divorced women in Zanzibar Credit: Lauraclara Cosmas. Watch: How sea sponges clean Zanzibar's oceans. Sea sponge farming has helped women in Jambiani break free from their financial dependence on men Credit: Lauraclara Cosmas. Women in Jambiani switched from farming seaweed to sea sponges as they are more resilient to warmer ocean temperatures Credit: Lauraclara Cosmas. Carbon Count The emissions it took to report this story were 30kg CO2. Zulfa Abdalla says she was struggling to eke out a living. Her income also allowed her to renovate her mother's house. Climate Guardians Future Planet's series Climate Guardians spotlights the stories of those on the frontline of the climate crisis. Sea sponges play an important role in combating climate change by controlling the carbon cycle in the ocean Credit: Lauraclara Cosmas. Future Planet. Climate Guardians.

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Buying blow Pemba

Pemba Sherpa keeps this photograph of his first summit of Mount Everest. He's wearing his father's old down suit and holds a blessing card from Lama Geshi. Memories of the killer avalanche endure, but Pemba Sherpa is also worried about the Tibetan calendar. She crinkles her nose skeptically and shakes her hands in a 'so-so' gesture. Last April 18, Ngawang Karma's year-old son, Pemba, was guiding a client through Mount Everest's treacherous Khumbu Icefall when a massive avalanche killed 16 Nepali high-altitude workers. It was the deadliest avalanche in the history of the world's tallest mountain and led all the commercial expeditions to leave the mountain before attempting the summit. Without such assistance, the vast majority of mountaineers wouldn't have a chance of successfully scaling Mount Everest's 29,foot 8, meters summit, the veritable top of the world. Pemba escaped unharmed, but he says he is not going back this year. His mother worries that her son hasn't recovered from the emotional experience of being so near the avalanche and knowing all the men who died. But that's not the reason he's missing Everest this year. For Pemba and his client, a man from Alaska in his mids, the goal that day was to get acclimatized to the increasingly thin air on Everest by hiking from Base Camp, the makeshift village of tents at 17, feet 5, meters that serves as a staging ground for climbing expeditions, to an area known as the Football Field, a relatively flat expanse of snow and ice at 18, feet. For climbers, it is the only respite from objective hazards like collapsing seracs and rock and ice fall, as well as the grueling climb up the icefall's 2,foot gauntlet of massive, shifting ice formations. Pausing to sip water at the edge of the Football Field, Pemba felt a strong gust of wind blow down the valley. Later he would regard it as a warning, like the exodus of animals before an earthquake. Five minutes passed. Then he watched in awe as building-size blocks of ice tumbled off Everest's west shoulder. Clip in! A cloud of pulverized snow and ice ballooned and funneled down the narrow valley toward them. Pemba and his cousin Phinjo Dorje Sherpa, who was just behind Pemba on the fixed line, crouched down and hoisted their packs overhead as shields against the shower of debris. Then their world went dark. When Pemba and Phinjo Dorje rose, a blast of fresh snow had covered them. They quickly gathered their clients and began descending. I couldn't talk,' Pemba says. Bundled for transport, Ang Kami Sherpa was one of the three survivors from the avalanche that claimed the lives of 16 Nepali workers in the Khumbu Icefall last year. He heard the voice of Mingma Tshering Sherpa, also from Pemba's village of Phortse, who he knew was carrying loads closer to the avalanche's main impact zone, scratch over the radio:. Pemba tallied up the people he recalled seeing on the mountain earlier that morning, and realized that each one who came to mind could be dead. None of the 16 men who were killed was a close friend, but Pemba knew all of them. Nearly a year later, 'I still have them in my eyes,' Pemba says. For Pemba and the hundreds of other Nepalis working in the mountains, the decision to climb is often not necessarily a simple one. But for each man, myriad factors are at play, as nuanced and complex as the icefall these men traverse. This wasn't Pemba's first time dealing with death in the mountains. His second season on Everest, in , he helped carry the body of a friend down from Camp III, which is at 23, feet 7, meters. But that fatality was the result of a medical condition, he says. The morning of the avalanche, 16 miles away in the small village of Phortse, Pemba's family learned of the tragedy from trekkers who were staying in their guesthouse, the Namaste Lodge. By mid-morning, family members finally reached Pemba by cell phone. Pemba didn't want his mother worrying, so he lied and said he was fine and that he'd taken a rest day at Base Camp. They were saying things like, 'We don't need the money; we need you to come back. We'll work hard in the fields; we'll survive; come down,' ' Pemba says. The next evening, when Pemba returned home, his mother greeted him in tears and his father, Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa, did so in a silent hug. Lhakpa Dorje, a seasoned sirdar, or lead guide, and veteran of 34 Himalayan expeditions above 8, meters 26, feet , understood the depth of what had happened and the potential impact on his son. Like many men in the Khumbu, Lhakpa Dorje worked hard in the mountains so his children wouldn't have to. Lhakpa Dorje and Ngawang Karma were determined that Pemba, their youngest child and only son, would receive an excellent education and opportunities far beyond the reach of the high mountains that had confined them. Sherpa tradition dictates that the youngest son inherits the family land and looks after the parents; daughters traditionally move to their husbands' homes. Lhakpa Dorje began portering at age Food was scarce in Ngawang Karma's large family, and she would often leave home for kitchen jobs with mountaineering expeditions, hoping for a solid meal. They wanted a different life for their children and saw education as the key to a better future. When Pemba turned eight, his parents enrolled him in a top-notch boarding school in Kathmandu, a two-day walk and minute plane ride away. Like an increasing number of Sherpa children, he grew up far from his cultural and ancestral home, and his time with his family and in the Khumbu was limited. But while many of his Sherpa classmates gravitated toward the kinds of jobs not available to them in the Khumbu—such as medicine, business, and aviation—Pemba increasingly thought about returning to the mountains. Of the estimated adult men in Phortse, more than 90 percent of them have summited Everest. Most of them have done so multiple times. Although Lhakpa Dorje vowed never to return to Everest after an expedition left him for dead high on the mountain as he struggled to descend with a dull ice ax in hard ice, he has climbed many other high Himalayan peaks. Pemba's maternal grandfather, Nyima Tenzing Sherpa, worked on nearly 20 expeditions. His paternal grandfather, Karma Tshering Sherpa, supplied yaks to the expedition of Edmund Hillary, who along with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay in became the first to reach Everest's summit. Including Pemba's uncles, the family's tally adds up to more than a hundred high-altitude expeditions, and that's not counting cousins. The village of Phortse sits on a high plateau overlooked by the peak known as Ama Dablam center. Of Phortse's estimated adult men, 90 percent have summited Everest with commercial mountaineering teams. In nearby villages such as Namche and Kunde, most families are prosperous enough that their men are no longer tempted by the paydays garnered on Everest. But many families in Phortse and Thame, towns farther off the tourist track and less developed, still need the work that Everest provides. Those expedition earnings often are used for the next generation's education, as Pemba's family did for him. He's benefited from a good education, but the next step is uncertain. The expense of a university degree didn't feel worthwhile when Pemba knew he'd be returning to Phortse, where a diploma has no direct correlation to wages. According to Sherpa tradition, as the youngest child and only male child in the family, Pemba will eventually become responsible for the well-being of his family and their lodge. Pemba could have worked in the lodge or stuck to the safer trails as a trekking guide, but neither would be as lucrative as high-mountain guide work. And for Phortse men, the historical ties to Everest and other high mountains in the region are long and illustrious. Young Sherpas can recite the members of early expeditions and their sirdars like baseball fans recollecting World Series lineups. The draw is understandable. Three years ago Pemba, determined to understand his father's work, approached a Pangboche sirdar for a position on an Everest expedition. He was intent on going despite the tears and anger that followed when he told his parents of his plans. Pemba worried that the years in Kathmandu——being away from tsampa , the fortifying Sherpa porridge, as well as the rigorous life that the Khumbu demands—would put him at a disadvantage on the expedition. Tasked to ferry loads up Everest, Pemba got the opportunity to carry gear for a client on a summit day. On May 19, , about 6 a. In his family's lodge, a photo of Pemba on top of the world is displayed prominently. He's dressed in his father's old down suit, and between his gloved hands he cradles a blessing card from Lama Geshi , the monk who bestows benedictions on hundreds of climbers each year. It's a pose reenacted in countless photos of Sherpa climbers and hung in homes and teahouses all over the Khumbu. In the photo from Pemba's second ascent, in , he crouches with his hands in a gesture reminiscent of an L. A card from Geshi is tucked into one of his pockets. Pemba says working expeditions isn't just about the money; he's fallen in love with climbing. But when we get back down, we forget all those hard times,' he says, echoing a sentiment common to mountaineers everywhere. Like most year-olds, Pemba also appreciates the independence and break from home life that expeditions give him. But Pemba won't be climbing this year, and the reasons are more complex than just the lingering trauma of last year's avalanche. Born a quarter century ago, in the year of the iron sheep according to the Tibetan calendar, Pemba has entered what is known as a gyak year pronounced 'kack'. According to Nyingmapa, the form of Tibetan Buddhism that Sherpas traditionally practice, gyak years are supposed to be a period of obstacles and increased danger. Da Nuru has summited Everest 16 times. Eight of Daki's sons have worked as mountain guides. For many men, this means taking a break from risky activities such as guiding on high peaks. The predominant gyak years consist of three cycles of three years each: 12, 13, and 14 years of age; 24, 25, and 26; and finally, 36, 37, and 38, with the middle year of each cycle feared as the most potent. According to some lamas, age 25 is the worst year for women, and 37 is most dreaded for men. With his 25th birthday looming, Pemba says he has a special incentive not to work on Everest this year. There's a lot to do and worry about—you're a little stressed getting ready for Christmas Day. December 25 is the big day—that's where all the attention goes, the main gyak,' explains Sange Dorje Sherpa, whose grandfather was sirdar to the famous Irvine-Mallory and Hillary-Norgay expeditions. As his family's youngest son, Sange Dorje worked in the safer trekking business, which sticks to hiking trails and lower peaks, instead of the riskier high-altitude climbing industry. Da Nuru Sherpa, Pemba's next-door neighbor who has ascended Everest 16 times, turned 37 last year, and like other Sherpa born in the year of the horse, he patiently bided his time trying to remove obstacles and minimize risk through pujas and prayers that his father, Nima Rhita Sherpa, Phortse's head lama, prescribed for him. Specific readings and decoys, called Lu , can also help redirect the malevolent forces. Because of his gyak year, Da Nuru did not work on Everest last April, so he missed the avalanche. This year, his parents, wife, and children have made it clear that they want any climbing he does on Everest to be done on routes on the Tibet side of the mountain, which avoid the deadly Khumbu Icefall on the Nepal side. But Da Nuru will not be returning to Everest this year after all. The mountaineers who have hired him have decided to climb the 23,foot 7, meters Baruntse instead and save Everest for next year. This month, as Phortse transforms into a ghost town devoid of young men who work as guides on Everest and other mountains in the region, Pemba admits that a part of him would like to go too. Instead he'll be working in the lodge, guiding a few trekking peaks, and visiting lamas such as Da Nuru's father and Lama Geshi. Each lama will consult the Khunu Lodu , an almanac of Tibetan astrology, for advice on which will be the most 'auspicious' times for Pemba to hang prayer flags and perform purifying ceremonies and specific mantras for minimizing the dangers and obstacles of his gyak year. The next time Pemba travels to Kathmandu, he'll free 50 birds and fish, sold in the Sherpa section of town, to help combat gyak forces. Secular cynics will dismiss all the tiptoeing around the calendar as superstitious pageantry, but for many Sherpas, the 'auspiciousness' of one moment versus another is crucial and represents a complex interplay of cosmology and astrological elements, like wind and fire, which can be calculated down to the second and are specific to the exact time of each person's birth. So, what happens next year once Pemba's gyak year is over? That depends on whom you ask. Pemba would like to return to Everest despite last April's avalanche. He says the Nyingmapa belief that the day of one's death is predetermined helps quell any worries about returning to the icefall. And he acknowledges that concept might be hard for a foreigner to understand or embrace, but he is not alone in attributing the avalanche, in part, to an isolated event orchestrated by unhappy mountain deities. I won't have the fear until there's another,' he says, referring to last year's avalanche in the icefall. And if his parents say no? Like many other concerned parents and spouses, Pemba's mother has made it clear she doesn't want him going back. People say sometimes you need to listen to your elders. I listened to them this year,' Pemba says. His voice trails off, leaving the difficult question unanswered. This year the Khunu Lodu predicts that April 18 will be a fortuitous day. The complementary elements of earth and water will dominate, making it an excellent day for planting and farming. And mountain climbing? Nuptal Rinpoche, a lama from the Manaslu region who is studying in the United States, says making predictions about climbing is very hard to do. After all, in ancient times, when the Tibetan texts were written, there was no such thing as mountaineering. While Pemba's neighbors farm potatoes and his friends, cousins, and uncles shoulder loads through the icefall, Pemba will light 32 butter lamps—two for each victim—in honor of those who died in the avalanche. Molly Loomis is a writer based in eastern Idaho. All rights reserved. By Molly Loomis. Of the estimated adult men in Phortse, more than 90 percent have summited Everest. Photograph by Andy Tyson, National Geographic. He heard the voice of Mingma Tshering Sherpa, also from Pemba's village of Phortse, who he knew was carrying loads closer to the avalanche's main impact zone, scratch over the radio: 'Just backpacks. This time, 'I was almost near the death. I listened to them this year. The Year of Highest Danger But Pemba won't be climbing this year, and the reasons are more complex than just the lingering trauma of last year's avalanche. Annual Migration to the High Mountains This month, as Phortse transforms into a ghost town devoid of young men who work as guides on Everest and other mountains in the region, Pemba admits that a part of him would like to go too. You May Also Like. United States Change.

Buying blow Pemba