How Renewable Solutions Are Transforming Women’s Livelihoods in Zanzibar

On a warm afternoon in Makunduchi, a small village on the island of Zanzibar, 38‑year‑old Hanuni Maulid Haji stands proudly holding the briquettes she has just made – compact blocks of coal dust, charcoal, or household waste used as fuel. Only a week earlier, she had never imagined that kitchen waste, crop residues, and discarded paper could become a clean, marketable energy source. Today, for her, these small blocks carry infinite possibilities.

“Now I can make these briquettes, use them, and help others learn how to do it too,” she says.

Women and Clean Energy in Tanzania

Across Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania, women like Haji play a central role in household energy production and use, from collecting firewood to preparing daily meals. Many women walk long distances to collect fuel, which increases their unpaid care burden and exposes them to protection risks, while the high cost of charcoal strains household incomes. Yet, women are rarely included in the design or leadership of clean‑energy and clean-cooking solutions.

To address this, UN Women in Tanzania is implementing targeted initiatives that strengthen clean‑energy capacities and promote women’s meaningful engagement in climate action through the Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress Towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE), funded by the Governments of Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, and the Zanzibar Joint Programme (ZJP), supported by the SDG Acceleration Fund, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, and participating UN agencies.

Through these programmes, UN Women worked with the Forum for African Women Educationalists in Zanzibar (FAWE Zanzibar) to run a training workshop in November 2025, bringing together 29 women from 17 Shehias across Zanzibar. The workshop equipped participants with practical skills in briquette production and included additional sessions to strengthen women’s leadership in climate governance, deepen community capacity on gender-responsive adaptation, and enhance understanding of how gender dynamics shape resilience.

The initiative was built on successful activities first tested in the Singida Region, carried out in partnership with the Ikungi District Council.

Women’s Voices and the Power of Clean-Energy Skills

For many women, the training shifted perceptions about what clean energy production can look like, turning from something distant and unfamiliar into a practical, community‑led solution.

“It supports us in so many ways - protecting the environment, lowering household costs, reducing long trips for firewood, saving cooking time, and producing far less smoke, which is much healthier,” says Nachumu Muhammad Haji, a training participant from a neighbouring village.

With charcoal becoming scarce and costly due to deforestation, briquette production also provides a business opportunity for many women.

“I’ve seen that with briquette production, I can cut household costs and even earn an income by selling them,” says Nachumu Haji.

Beyond reducing household costs and generating income, clean energy opens pathways for women to participate in emerging renewable energy markets and reinforces their roles as environmental stewards.

A Future Fueled by Women’s Innovation

Back in Makunduchi, Hanuni Haji is already planning her next steps.

“I’ll start making them at home to strengthen my skills, and then I’ll share what I’ve learned with the women who couldn’t attend, so the knowledge continues to grow in our community,” she says with determination.

The transition to clean energy in Tanzania is influenced not only by national policies, technology, and infrastructure, but also by the everyday choices made in households, farms, markets, and community spaces. Women like Hanuni and Nachumu, innovators, educators, and leaders in their own communities, are playing a central role in shaping this shift.

As they gain skills in renewable energy production, climate adaptation, and leadership, they are reshaping the narrative of women’s role in the energy sector, proving that clean cooking is not merely a household task, it is a platform for entrepreneurship, environmental protection, and gender equality.

Most importantly, they are showing why investments in capacity building matter.

Because when women lead the clean-energy transition, communities become healthier, households become more resilient, and the future becomes more sustainable for everyone.