YALI Voices Podcast: Phyllis Zyambo Is Empowering Rural Women and Youth Through Fish Farming Cooperatives
When I noticed these adversities in our community, I started to say, ‘how can we empower women with a profitable business that can help them sustain their family?’ Because when I look at women empowerment mostly, it talks of just giving women something to do, but not something that can be profitable enough to sustain their family… So I looked at what do we [had] available… [and] there was plenty of land and water.”
Phyllis Zyambo, 2018 Fellowship Alumna, Zambia
Phyllis Zyambo, 2018 Fellowship Alumna from Zambia, describes herself as always having a “thirst for knowledge.” Graduating at the top of her class in secondary school, Phyllis attended the University of Zambia. Her studies eventually led her to accept a competitive position at Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, where she now works as an investigations officer, specializing in valuations and real estate management.
But Phyllis’ business ambition remained strong. She was always looking for new entrepreneurial opportunities, and she noticed many problems in her community, such as the lack of fish due to unsustainable fishing practices. To solve this problem, Phyllis worked to create a cooperative for fish farming, with the aim of empowering women and youth in rural areas.
Learn more about Phyllis’ work in this YALI Network podcast, and read the full transcript of the podcast.
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Nombuso Simelane
2018 Fellowship Alumna, Eswatini