Maio’s Women Leading in Sustainable Tourism

Photo credit: Fundação Maio Biodiversidade

As fishmongers, the women of Maio, Cape Verde, play a central role in the development and sustainability of the artisanal fishing sector. However, with increasing pressure on marine ecosystems, there is a need to diversify economic opportunities for rural women across the island.

As part of the PaMAR project, implemented by Fundação Maio Biodiversidade and funded by BAF, 13 women are strengthening their knowledge and skills to excel in a new sector: sustainable tourism. A key component of the project was the development of the "Casa de Doces e Licores d'Djarmai" (Djarmai Sweets and Liqueurs House), a small-scale unit that officially opened in December 2025, designed to support women in the production of sweets and liqueurs made from fruit and other local products. Most notably, the women are not only producers but also the main managers of the unit, responsible for the financial management of the initiative, including purchasing, sales and marketing processes.

Fundação Maio Biodiversidade and PaMAR are supporting this effort through a series of training courses on financial management, product production and distribution, food safety and hygiene, as well as the preparation of documents required by industry regulators and the formalisation of the unit.

In the coming months, the women will work to increase their production and distribution capacity in Maio, as well as explore the expansion of commercial visibility through the development of a new logo and marketing plan, focusing on the cultural characteristics of the island of Maio and the distribution network to the market in Praia and Santiago.

A visit and support from the First Lady of Cape Verde. Photo credit: Fundação Maio Biodiversidade

Photo credit: Fundação Maio Biodiversidade

Photo credit: Fundação Maio Biodiversidade