A group of 35 young adults with disabilities from Tanga, a coastal town in eastern Tanzania, realize their dream of self-employment by setting up organic greenhouse farming. The land is provided by the local government, animal manure comes from the group's own poultry farming and the products are for sale at the nearby markets in villages and Tanga town.
Being a person with a disability in Tanzania is still understood as a curse and puts these persons into a viscous circle of rejection, exclusion and denial of even basic rights. In order to break through the stigma of disability, persons with disabilities unite to groups in order to get peer support and realize their dreams of having work, an independent and equal life together. This project will directly affect 35 young adults with disabilities between the age of 16-23 and their families.
These young adults with disabilities realized that organic greenhouse farming is a more sustainable way to create self-employment than the traditional way of farming. This group is therefore uniting their experiences from small poultry and traditional farming to provide work for all group members plus to satisfy the high demand on local markets for locally produced vegetables.
The project creates self-employment to 35 young adults with disabilities, who will thereby gain regular income, which will provide for their families, their health and food security. The project activities will also raise awareness and understanding within the surrounding communities and direct customers on the markets about disability and about what persons with disabilities can do, which will finally result in more positive attitudes and behavior towards persons with disabilities.
