{"id":3217,"date":"2025-11-13T15:58:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T20:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yci.org\/herstart\/?post_type=blog&p=3217"},"modified":"2026-05-13T16:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:09:07","slug":"binti-in-bloom-how-young-women-in-zanzibar-are-growing-a-better-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/yci.org\/herstart\/story\/binti-in-bloom-how-young-women-in-zanzibar-are-growing-a-better-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"BINTI in Bloom: How Young Women in Zanzibar Are Growing a Better Tomorrow\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
Written By: YCI Staff <\/span>and Inaara Merani & Ljilijana Medovarski (HerStart Fellows)<\/h5>\n

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What happens when you mix permaculture,\u00a0therapy and gender equality?<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

In Zanzibar, Tanzania, 20 young women recently came together to take back control of their lives\u2026 and they\u2019re\u00a0just getting started.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From 2023-2024 t<\/span>he Practical Permaculture Institute of Zanzibar (PPIZ), a local organization passionate about sustainable farming, teamed up with Youth Challenge\u00a0International through HerStart’s\u00a0Partner Innovation Fund (PIF) to launch a pilot project that would change lives for local women.\u00a0<\/span>The project?\u00a0<\/span>BINTI \u2013 Believe in a New Tomorrow Initiative<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BINTI was designed to support young women who had experienced early pregnancies and child marriages,\u00a0common challenges\u00a0in Zanzibar due to deeply rooted cultural norms. Many of these women had faced gender-based violence\u00a0(GBV), lost access to education, or were trapped in cycles of poverty and trauma.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Women participants of BINTI learning permaculture practices at a hands-on training<\/p><\/div>\n

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BINTI\u00a0is\u00a0Born<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

With the Partner Innovation Fund opportunity, PPIZ wanted to try something new. They weren\u2019t just interested in farming skills or job training. They wanted to combine permaculture education, sexual and reproductive health (SRH)\u00a0 and\u00a0 mental health support into one holistic an empowerment program.<\/span> They saw huge gaps to support women in these positions and took the PIF opportunity to test out some innovative ideas to address them.
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BINTI \u2013 which means young woman in Swahili \u2013 was created as the acronym for the project, “Believe in a New Tomorrow Initiative”. A support program for vulnerable women who experienced early pregnancy and marriage, BINTI strived to support them through knowledge and skill development in permaculture, SRH and psychosocial wellbeing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why BINTI\u00a0was\u00a0Needed<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Early marriage and teen pregnancies are unfortunately common in rural Tanzania. A 2022 survey found that 112 out of every 1,000 Tanzanian adolescents are\u00a0affected, and many girls are pushed into adult roles before they even finish school.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>In Zanzibar\u2019s South Unguja region where BINTI was based, this issue is especially severe. For girls with less education, the average marriage age is\u00a0just 17.8, compared to 23.6 for girls who have completed secondary school.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>The early marriage and early pregnancy problem is deeper than we firstly imagined;\u00a0we realized we only understood the\u00a0tip of the iceberg. It is linked to many other problems such as poverty, environmental\u00a0issues\u00a0and participation into socio-economic activities.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u2013\u00a0Agness,\u00a0PPIZ staff\u00a0&\u00a0HerStart\u00a0Trainer<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, with YCI’s support through the HerStart program, PPIZ created a solution that attempted to tackle everything, all at once.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The BINTI\u00a0Approach<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

With support from YCI international\u00a0volunteers and a local Gender Equality Consultant, BINTI rolled out an ambitious pilot program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

20 young women were selected and split into two smaller groups where they attended regular sessions on:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n