IN the early morning, as the tide pulls away, Zulfa Abdallah ties her scarf tightly around her head. She adjusts her goggles, places a snorkel across her forehead, and wades into the chest-deep waters ...

Her farm is a network of ropes suspended between floating buoys, each dotted with porous sponges that sway gently with the currents. Every sponge must be cleaned, monitored, and protected against ...

Zanzibar’s coastal women have turned to sponges instead of traditional seaweed, which is affected by rising ocean temperatures.