In brief
Chako Zanzibar, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Anneloes Roelandschap, collects discarded glass bottles from hotels and resorts in Zanzibar and upcycles them into sales‑ready goods. Women such as Mwanamkuu Mussa use the profits to cover school fees, medical expenses, and to build homes. The enterprise has prevented over five million bottles from landfill and trained more than 400 locals, illustrating a viable model of sustainable development.
In Zanzibar, a form of waste management has become a catalyst for personal empowerment: the Chako Zanzibar social enterprise turns discarded glass bottles into marketable souvenirs while giving women a steady income line and a pathway to education and healthcare for their children.
Dateline: Zanzibar, October 30, 2026 – Mwanamkuu Mussa, 52, stands outside the Chako workshop in Stone Town, clutching a new set of hand‑blown glass vases that were once plastic‑filled cups. Before 2021 she was a nursery school teacher, but the progressive venture has since enabled her to replace her hourly wages with a steady cash flow and a sense of ownership in the business.
The upcycle—translating discarded items into higher‑value products—is at the heart of Chako’s operations. The enterprise, founded by Dutch entrepreneur Anneloes Roelandschap, gathers glass bottles and plastic from boutique hotels and resorts. After thorough cleaning, sorting and processing, these materials are fashioned into functional and decorative items such as drinking glasses, lamps and ornamental vases, which tourists purchase as souvenirs.
The annual output of the Chako workshop has spilled over five million bottles out of potential landfill, while more than 400 community members receive skills training in glassworking, design, and small‑business management, Roelandschap said.
Mwanamkuu Mussa explains how the income shift has altered her family’s daily life. She uses the proceeds to pay for her children’s school fees and necessary medical care, and she is now opening a small DVD library that doubles as a community study space.
Mussa said:
Working at Chako has helped me become an independent woman.
Her statement underscores the social enterprise’s dual mission: to contain the waste stream spawned by Zanzibar’s bustling tourism industry and to inject economic mobility into the local economy, especially for women who historically face limited job prospects.
Chako’s founding narrative started in 2008 when Roelandschap’s hotel in Stone Town confronted the paradox of tourism’s benefits—jobs and commerce—against the costs—waste management. By 2012, she co‑founded Chako to turn that waste into opportunity, cementing a partnership that bridges corporate responsibility with community empowerment.
In practice, the workshop functions as a skill hub. New artisans—including Mussa’s own niece—undergo workshops that cover bottling, cleaning, molding, and finishing techniques. The instruction extends beyond craft: participants learn marketing, inventory bookkeeping, and customer service, ensuring the business remains viable and profitable.
According to local community reports, women who train at Chako report a notable increase in household budgeting power. Children’s school attendance rises as families can afford tuition, and health expenses that previously strained budgets are now met with earned income.
The Zanzibari government has recognized the communal benefits as well. By reducing the volume of waste, Chako mitigates the strain on landfill capacity and curtails environmental degradation that would otherwise accompany unchecked tourism growth.
Looking ahead, Mussa’s next goal is to construct a single-family dwelling, a significant milestone that signifies the compounded effects of sustainable entrepreneurship. “The workshop taught me how to turn something as intangible as hope into a tangible roof over our heads,” she remarked.
Chako’s Zanzibari model resonates beyond the island, offering a blueprint for other destinations where tourism and waste management collide. The enterprise demonstrates that local resourcing, coupled with skill development, can drive both ecological and economic resilience.
In summary, the Chako Zanzibar initiative exemplifies how upcycled waste can fuel female-led economic independence, enhance community well‑being, and endorse environmentally conscious production—a triumph in Zanzibar’s evolving narrative of sustainable development.
