A non-profit project helping rural Tanzanian communities in the East Usambara Mountains farm and market native butterflies - reducing poverty while creating a practical incentive for forest conservation.
400rural Tanzanians helped by the project
6villages in the East Usambara Mountains
12volunteer farmers on the elected board
70%of project sales received by farmers
10%of farmer earnings directed into village development
Project model
Community-led farming with a conservation return.
The Amani Butterfly Project is structured around local ownership. Farmers help set prices and policies, control membership, and direct a village development fund towards projects that benefit the whole community, including school building.
Governance
Farmer representation.
The butterfly farmers are represented by an elected board of 12 volunteer butterfly farmers. This board sets prices and policies, and controls the dispersal of the village development fund.
Membership
Growth with restraint.
Membership is controlled by the farmers. New farmers are only allowed to join when there is a need for more production, helping prevent oversupply of species already produced in sufficient numbers.
Women farmers
More than half are women.
More than 50% of participating farmers are women, making the project an important rural income opportunity across the participating communities.
Technical support
Supported by TFCG.
The project is part of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, which provides technical assistance for farming, marketing, export, financial management, and conservation efforts.
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The mission is to reduce poverty and create incentive for forest conservation.
Market route
From village farms to live butterfly exhibits.
Representatives collect pupae twice a week from member farmers. The pupae are sorted, packed, and sent by courier to butterfly houses in Europe or the United States, where they emerge and are released into enclosed garden aviaries.
01
Pupae collected.
Project representatives collect butterfly pupae from member farmers twice a week.
02
Sorted and packed.
Staff sort and pack the collected pupae into cardboard boxes lined with styrofoam and cotton.
03
International journey.
The following day, the pupae begin a three to four day journey by courier to live butterfly exhibits.
04
Public education.
After arriving, the pupae are hung until they emerge, then the butterflies are released into enclosed aviaries for visitors to learn from and enjoy.
Value of butterflies
Small-scale farming, meaningful income.
In a community where households typically earn less than $400 a year in cash income, butterfly farming creates a valuable side income. The project notes that the average participating household has seen a 25% increase in income since starting to farm butterflies.
Under $400
Typical annual cash income.
The source page describes local households as typically earning less than $400 per year in cash income.
25%
Average household increase.
Although butterfly farming is a side activity for most households, the average household has seen a 25% income increase since joining.
250–500
Eggs from one female.
A single female butterfly can lay between 250 and 500 eggs in her lifetime, so few females are required to start captive populations.
2–3
Week exhibit reorder cycle.
Due to short tropical butterfly lifespans, exhibits typically order new pupae every two to three weeks.
Conservation has to become a benefit, not a liability.
The project links income to forest access, host plants, and genetic diversity, turning standing forest into an asset for local farmers.
What is at stake?
The East Usambara Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc, a world-renowned biodiversity hotspot. The forests on these mountains have been isolated from other wet forests for millions of years, allowing a wide range of unique primates, birds, chameleons, frogs, and insects to evolve.
At the same time, the slopes receive high rainfall and are attractive places to farm. As human populations have grown, forests have been cleared for tea estates and small farms. Local farming practices can be unsustainable, with people clearing forests to access more land.
The forests are also under pressure as a source of building supplies, charcoal, and firewood. The result is a landscape rich in unique species but under threat of extinction.
To protect remaining forest, the government of Tanzania has set aside forest reserves. However, this can increase poverty in communities that depend on forests for logging income and expanding farms, while government resources for protection remain limited.
The conservation link
Forest access lowers costs and strengthens stewardship.
Butterfly farmers in Amani rely on nearby natural forests for host plants and genetic diversity. This makes the forest directly connected to their livelihood, especially because many of the forests accessed by farmers are inside protected areas.
Host plants
Natural forest as farming infrastructure.
Farmers use natural forests near their communities as a source of host plants for their butterfly farms - making standing forest directly connected to their livelihood.
Genetic diversity
A safeguard against inbreeding.
Farmers may trade male butterflies or capture more from the wild to help maintain healthy captive populations.
Lower capital costs
A fairer route into export markets.
Access to natural forest reduces the cost of recreating humidity, shade, and other conditions needed for butterfly farming.
Further detail
Notes from the source page.
The following content condenses the page's supporting detail into editorial rows for easier reading in a modern static template.
Preserved butterflies
The Amani Butterfly Project also sells some preserved butterflies to dealers and collectors.
Market limits
The main limit on further expansion is the relatively small size of the live butterfly exhibit market.
Souvenir markets
To increase the market for farmed butterflies, the project has explored creating butterfly souvenirs for tourist markets in Tanzania and gift shops of live butterfly exhibits in Europe and the United States.
Wild populations
Because butterflies have high reproductive capacity, the source page states that very limited extraction by farmers should not affect the health of wild populations.
Primary threat
The page identifies habitat destruction as the primary cause of butterfly extinction, positioning butterfly farming as an incentive to conserve butterfly habitat and the wider species communities found in the East Usambara Mountains.
Positive behaviour change
The page notes that a 2006 study suggests the conservation link has had a positive effect on butterfly farmers' behaviours and attitudes towards forest conservation.
Amani Butterfly Project
Livelihoods and conservation, designed to support each other.
By turning forest-dependent butterfly farming into a source of household and community income, the project creates a practical reason to protect the same forests that sustain the butterflies.
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