The sale of sponges from our first sponge production farm is off to a good start. While the production is still small, we already have more than 1,200 sponges growing in Jambiani and about 700 seedlings in Mtende. We are expanding the production as quickly as possible.
The sales price of USD 15 – 40 per piece is making us optimistic. With a harvest of 10 to 15 sponges every month, $200-300 can be earned at this price. This is twice or three times the minimum wage in Zanzibar. As soon as the farm’s earnings are sufficiently regular we’ll be able to hand the production off to a farmer. When that happens, we will have achieved what we set out to do!
The farmers have been trained to process the sponges after the harvest and are at this point also able to deliver them to stores on their own. We nevertheless are planning to continue to assist them. Our main focus at this time is quality control with a view to further improving the product, increasing production, and developing new farms.