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What does it take to turn daily losses into growing income for coastal fish traders?
In Shimoni, the answer started with something simple and is growing into something much bigger.
On a typical day, fish trading comes with a race against time.
“I used to transport fish using a sack and a wooden basket,” says Idi Halfani, who has been trading fish for six years. “The ice would melt before the fish reached my customers, making the fish lose its quality.”
The car he used for transport would smell.
He would be charged an extra KES 200.
And even then, the fish wouldn’t last long.
“That limited the amount of stock I could sell,” he explains.
Working Hard, Losing More
Before the cooler box intervention, fish traders in Shimoni operated individually. There was no structured group, no shared system, and no consistent system to keep fish fresh after harvest.
Fish had to be sold quickly often at lower prices to avoid spoilage.
For these traders, this meant:
- Daily income losses
- High spending on ice
- Limited ability to grow their businesses
Effort was constant. But progress was slow and uncertain.
The Shift Begins with Coming Together
Things began to change when traders came together through the Shimoni Beach Management Unit (BMU) and formed the Tujibebe Shimoni Fish Traders Group - a group of 21 members.
Through the eco-credit model, each trader received a cooler box based on their business needs - contributing 40% of the cost.
That contribution didn’t just go towards repayment.
It became a revolving fund, owned and managed by the group.
Today, that fund enables members to access loans of up to three times their savings. Some have already taken loans of over KES 80,000 investing back into their businesses and supporting their households.
“Being in a group… I never used to save,” says Godfrey Ochieng’, who has been trading fish for four years. “Now I have savings, and I can easily get a loan.”
This shift from earning daily, to planning financially, is helping traders think beyond today.
A Simple Tool, A Big Difference
At the center of this story is something simple: a cooler box.
With it, traders can now:
- Transport larger quantities of fish
- Keep fish fresh for longer
- Reduce spending on ice
- Avoid extra transport costs
“Now I can transport a larger amount of stock,” Idi says. “Extra expenditure have reduced, and my income has increased.”
For the first time, traders are not just reacting to loss.
They are making decisions.
They can plan their sales.
They can grow.
What Has Changed; Beyond the Fish
The change is not just in how fish is stored, but in how traders work together.
The Tujibebe group has strengthened coordination, built trust, and created a shared system that continues to support its members.
- Access to credit is no longer out of reach
- Saving is no longer optional
- Growth is no longer accidental
Why This Matters
This is what happens when support goes beyond one-time distribution and invests in systems that communities can sustain.
By combining access to assets with a community-managed financing model, the eco-credit approach enables:
- Ownership, not dependency
- Circulating funds that support more members over time
- Stronger, more resilient local economies
Hence, an impact that doesn’t end with delivery but continues to grow within the community.
What Still Needs to Change
Even with this progress, challenges remain.
Access to ice is still a daily struggle limiting how far traders can reach, even with improved storage.
The foundation is in place. With the right support, this model can grow strengthening cold storage, expanding ice access, and enabling more traders to benefit.
