Villages on Kenya's coast have shifted from farming cassava and maize to seaweed as the effects of climate change make it harder to make a living from the land, reflecting a trend of adaptation likely to be seen around the world in the years to come.
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00:00These farmers are harvesting seaweed in their village on the Kenyan coast.
00:06This wasn't always their crop.
00:08In the past, many of these farmers grew cassava and maize.
00:11They shifted to farming seaweed because of higher temperatures, rising sea levels and
00:16drought that have made farming the land increasingly difficult.
00:21Seaweed farming was introduced to Kenya in 2008 and has since expanded to cover 20 villages.
00:28It has brought improvements in infrastructure and electricity, and more economic opportunities,
00:34especially for women, who play leading roles in seaweed farming, while the men of the villages
00:40usually make a living from fishing.
00:42Seaweed farming is a big part of our livelihood.
00:48In 2022, Kenya produced around 100 tons of seaweed worth over 30,000 U.S. dollars, according
01:06to the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute.
01:09Dry seaweed is exported to countries including China, France and the U.S., where it is used
01:14in soap, shampoo and made into powder for food, or used as a raw material to produce
01:20collagen.
01:22Despite the rise in seaweed farming, farmers still face challenges.
01:27We are facing a lot of challenges, and we can't cope with them like we used to.
01:34Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:39Sometimes we get sick.
01:42Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:45Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:46Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:47Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:48Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:49Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:50Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:51Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:53Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:54Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:55Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:56Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:57Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:58Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
01:59Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
02:00Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
02:01Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
02:02Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
02:03Sometimes we don't know where the money is, and we go back to the village.
02:05For neighbouring Tanzania, seaweed has become the country's third largest export,
02:09and the industry employs some 26,000 people.
02:13Kenya is still a long way behind, but farmers are already thinking in terms of added value.
02:18We are hoping to, at least in Kenya, to have an industry which can extract the pure carrageenan
02:24so that we farmers from Kenya can be able to export the carrageenan to other countries
02:31rather than exporting the raw material, because with the raw seaweed, it's less value.
02:37For these farmers, climate change is forcing people to make a living off the sea instead of from the land,
02:44a trend likely to be seen around the world as the climate crisis worsens,
02:49upending ways of life that had previously endured across countless generations.
02:54Howard Jung and Saini Chee for Tarn Plus