Y2Y2 Replication Fund Project DescriptionPROJECT No 4

PROJECT: Crab Fattening Businesses for Youth Economic Development

ORIGINAL IMPLEMENTINGORGANIZATION: TAEZULI

TAEZULI is an organization committed to advancing the economic development of itscommunity members through environmental conservation activities. Its members are localyouth, familiar with the coastal land in the Mtwara region and its resources, but also challengedby lack of economic opportunities. The organization recognizes that unemployment and loweducation levels hinder the ability of villages and surrounding areas to engage in entrepreneurialactivities. The main objective of TAEZULI is to support Mtwara youth to empower themselvesand improve their livelihoods, through the introduction of alternative fishing methods

LOCATIONOF THE PROJECT:Mtwara region, Southern Tanzania

Mtwara is a region of southern Tanzania. It is a rural area that has been underdeveloped for along time due to a lack of highway and energy infrastructures. The regions economy is basedmostly on fishing and agriculture.

TARGET GROUP: Young men and women living in 15 selected villages in the Mtwara region.These youth lack employment opportunities in the villages and have low levels of education. Thetarget population includes youngmothers and small scale fishermen along the Mnazi Bay area.

KEY ENTREPRENEURSHIPCHALLENGES:One of the key challenges facing potential youth entrepreneurs in the target region is theirinability to access technical training facilities. Most members of TAEZULI have indigenousknowledge of the life of crabs and their environment but lack the technical skills in crabfattening to increase market value. They are in need of additional support to acquire thetechnical skills needed for this type of business. They also lack the relevant skills to start andsustain a business as they do not have access to entrepreneurship and business developmentopportunities. Sources of start-up capital and financing are a particularly significant issue due tolack of information and exposure to available sources. As a result, they are unable to establish

businesses in their respective villages. There is also the presence of an environmental hazard,waste found on the shores in the community. This has created a need for clean-up initiatives.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:Most members and beneficiaries have indigenous knowledge regarding the life of crabs andtheir environment. Enabling them to acquire the practical knowledge and skills in crab farmingwill increase their ability to become self-employed. To address the above mentioned challenges,the project offers the following key services to their youth beneficiaries:Construction of Demonstration Site: Securing a location to be used as a demonstration site forthe prawn pond is an important component of this project. The youth are involved in theestablishment of the pond, learning the skills to later replicate it. The site is used to provideongoing technical training on crab fattening, hatchery construction and maintenance.Technical Peer Learning & Mentoring: The project utilizes a Training of Trainers (ToT)approach where experts from the partner organization train identified youth on how toconstruct a hatchery, drive in cages, and fatten crabs by feeding them fish waste. These trainedyouth then serve as indigenous trainers and mentors delivering the same practical on-sitetraining to the project beneficiaries using the demonstration site and mentoring themthroughout the fattening process. The approach compliments the indigenous skills of the localyouth by providing them with technical training skills in crab fattening to convey to their peers.To supplement the training in crab fattening, the project trains the target group on the rightkind of fish waste to collect for crab food as well as the benefits of fish waste collection forenvironmental conservation.Entrepreneurship Training: To support the beneficiaries further, training on how to start andrun a business is provided through the ILOs Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) trainingprogram. This is delivered by an ILO certified SIYB trainer. Training materials and workbooks arealso provided for the beneficiaries to produce their business plans.Marketing and Packaging Training: As part of the entrepreneurship training, beneficiaries areintroduced to successful marketing strategies for their product. They are also taught how topackage their product properly to attract customers.Formation and Formalization of Business Groups: The project staff supports beneficiaries toorganize groups and to formalize themselves as registered businesses.Supporting Access to Finance: The project supports beneficiaries to identify formal and informalsources of capital, which they can access to seek for start-up capital. The crab fattening businesshas relatively high start-up costs. Engaging as a group enables beneficiaries to meet some of thestart-up costs, and to minimize some of the limitations to accessing finance (through bargaining

and borrowing collectively). The project also engages key partners and other stakeholders tolink beneficiarieswith financial institutions and subsequent loans.

KEY LESSONS LEARNT TO BE CONSIDEREDBY NEW IMPLEMENTER:

Experiences in implementing various Y2Y Fund projects across East Africa have provided generallessons to be considered by new project implementers. One issue to consider is the importanceprojects must place on selecting their beneficiaries carefully, focusing efforts on motivated youth,who are intent on generating a successful business and who are interested in the specific field ofbusiness identified in the project. The implementing organization must also put sufficient emphasison facilitating access to finance. This will ensure that targeted youth are provided with theknowledge, skills and environment to access youth friendly financing. Implementing organizationsshould also ensure that even after beneficiaries start their businesses, they will receive access toproper business development services and other required technical assistance. It is important thisprocess be included in the project design itself. Furthermore, projects need to be regularlymonitored and followed-up, so that any problems which arise can be identified in a timely mannerand targeted technical assistance can be provided. Involvement and coordination ofknowledgeable partners is also crucial for the success of projects. Valuable partners cancomplement the skills and capacity of implementing organizations.

In addition to incorporating general lessons learnt, the new implementing partner must considerseveral issues specific to this project, including:

Health and Safety Regulations: As this project deals with perishable foods, it is important tounderstand the need to abide by health and safety regulations to avoid contamination. Thetechnical trainings provided should include specific modules on cleaning, storing and packagingof sea food and other health regulations.Selection of Trainers: The role of local crab fattening peer trainers is crucial for the success ofthe project. The identification of the most qualified and capable trainers should be given properemphasis in project implementation.Marketing: Beneficiaries tend to focus on already existing markets for fish, rather thanidentifying and entering new and different markets available for crabs. Where this is the case,the training on marketing should focus on supporting the beneficiaries to identify new marketsand design marketing strategies for their specific product. This can significantly increase theirscale of production and sales.

Packaging: The packaging of the crabs is typically done with very little attention to thepresentation and hygiene of the packaging materials and the products. The packaging trainingshould thus include elements of product presentation and how to impact customer decisions byproper packaging and presentation, as well as the abovementioned safety standards.Location and Commitment of Beneficiaries: The beneficiaries selected in the first project werefrom 15 different villages. It is difficult to monitor their progress and support them in theimplementation due to high transportation costs. The distances may also lead to low beneficiaryturn out in some cases. The new implementer should consider the issue of location and distancewhen selecting potential youth beneficiaries.Project Costs and Time Estimates: In the original project, the estimated time and cost of buildingthe work site was not accurate. This caused delays in implementation. The new implementershould ensure that sufficient resources and time have been dedicated to this stage in the projectplanning and budgeting.External Factors Affecting the Businesses: The project is sensitive to weather conditions. Duringthe sunny season, the crabs experience slow growth and early mortality causing a loss for thebusinesses. The new implementer should consider this during the project planning stage andsupport the beneficiaries to find alternative options to mitigate risks in implementation.WHAT NEEDS TO BE IN PLACE TO IMPLEMENTTHIS PROJECT:

There are generic requirements that apply across all Y2YF projects, including the identification ofmarkets for relevant products/services, strong implementation capacity of the applicantorganization, and strong beneficiary ownership and commitment. In addition, there are somespecific requirements that need to be in place for an organization to consider implementing thisparticular project:Availability of Similar Resources: The new implementer must be located in a region similar toMtwara region. They would be best situated in areas where the necessary natural resources (i.e.crabs, appropriate marine habitat, fish waste, large spaces to construct hatcheries and cages,etc.) are abundantly available.Markets for Crabs (tourism): The area should have either an established tourism industry orhighly productive and diverse fisheries. This would ensure the availability of a sizeable marketfor the crabs.Technical Knowledge: Preferably, the members of the implementing or partner organizationshould have indigenous knowledge of crab fattening and fishing.