Dar es Salaam. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) says its volunteer programme is helping women and young people build sustainable livelihoods by equipping them with practical entrepreneurship and vocational skills.
The programme offers training in soap making, plastic waste recycling and the production of handmade goods, enabling participants to start small businesses and generate income. The initiatives are among the achievements being highlighted as Tanzania and Japan celebrate 60 years of cooperation through JICA.
Speaking at the 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (Sabasaba), Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer Mr Masahiko Konishi said Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) are demonstrating practical business skills designed to help communities create employment opportunities.
Products on display include handmade soap, yarn-crafted hair accessories and earrings made from recycled plastic bottle caps.
Mr Konishi said students participating in the soap-making project reinvest proceeds from sales to improve facilities at their schools.
"We make soap together with students, and the income generated from sales is used to improve their learning environment," he said.
JICA is also supporting entrepreneurship training at Mkwawa Secondary School in Iringa Region, where students learn business planning, marketing and basic bookkeeping alongside production skills.
In Kalenga Ward, Iringa Region, JICA volunteer Ms Yona Itohara said she has been training women to make hair accessories using yarn and sewing needles.
She said many women already possessed knitting and sewing skills acquired at school but had not viewed them as a source of income.
"Many women do not recognise the value of their skills. They can use them to improve their livelihoods and support their families," she said.
Iringa District Council Community Development Officer Ms Aisha Lugendo said the programme enables women to use affordable, locally available materials, including yarn and recycled plastics, to produce marketable products.
She, however, identified limited access to reliable markets as the main challenge facing participants despite growing demand for the products.
The products are currently being exhibited and sold at the Sabasaba trade fair as part of activities marking 60 years of JICA's volunteer programme in Tanzania.
Over the past six decades, JICA has supported a range of social and economic development programmes aligned with Tanzania's national priorities.
