Snail farming is empowering rural women farmers in Nimba county, Liberia – providing them with year-round income, improving their livelihoods, building new skills and protecting the planet. 

“Snail farming is not just about snails – it’s about hope and change,” says Kou Domah, chairperson, Tonwain Women’s Group. She is standing in front of a newly-constructed snail pen – about 25 feet long by 15 feet wide. It’s made of simple, affordable materials – wooden planks and tree branches, netting and plastic sheeting. In effect, its a greenhouse for growing snails. 

These snail pens are popping up across different communities in Nimba county in northeast Liberia -  Dompa, Zuaplay, Towain and Borpea – and they’re helping around 125 women improve their livelihoods. The initiative, which is supported by the FFF through Liberia Rural Women for Empowerment, started in January 2025 and promises a brighter future for these rural women farmers. 

Snail farming provides a year-round income

Before the project, most of these women grew cassava, rice and other crops mainly to feed their families. Sometimes, they sold a little of what they grew, but the money was never enough to fully support their households and they were reliant on the farming season to earn anything. This made life difficult and unpredictable due to the changing climate. 

Whilst in the wild, snails are usually only found during the rainy season from May to August and then disappear, if raised in the safe home of a greenhouse, the snails grow faster and stay healthy, enabling these women to earn money all year round. 

The woman grow Achatina achatina, the giant African land snail, which is well-suited to local conditions and highly valued in Liberian cuisine. These snails are low-cost to raise as they do not require special feed – they eat the leaves and peelings of vegetables including cassava, papaya, potato, mango and plantain. It usually takes six to twelve months for a snail to grow big enough to sell (200-300 grams) and they grow faster in the greenhouses than in the wild. They are also quick to reproduce – a single snail can lay between 400 and 500 eggs at a time and can do this four to five times a year. The eggs hatch in about three to five weeks, and young snails start laying eggs after just five to eight months. 

A sustainable livelihood

The women sell their snails at local markets in Nimba, including commercial areas such as Ganta, Saclepea, and Tappita, where they are bought by local families who cook snails as food, market vendors, and small restaurants or street food sellers. 

Through this initiative, women have created a new way to earn money, enabling them to support their families while providing a nutritious source of protein with less labor compared to growing crops. It also a more climate smart type of farming, lessening the environmental impact associated with unsustainable farming methods, such as slash-and-burn techniques (where vegetation is burned to clear land for farming), and the use of chemicals and pesticides, with which the women had been engaged in the past. Snails also do not need much water to grow. The women regularly sprinkle the enclosure with water and use local materials like banana leaves to retain humidity.

Building stronger communities and better futures

For the women involved, this project is more than just farming—it’s about hope and change. They can now pay school fees for their children, improve their health and food needs, and feel proud of their new skills. “The project has given me confidence and the chance to work together and help each other,” says Lucy Kargou, chairperson, Zuaplay Women’s Group. Snail farming is about more than snails – it’s about building stronger communities and better futures for women in Nimba.