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TerraGap
Young Somali dive trainees preparing scuba equipment with an instructor on a boat

Somalia's first PADI diving school

PADI Diving School

Somalia's first PADI diving school, building local marine skills and dive-based livelihoods.

The challenge

Somalia had no internationally certified dive training, so marine research and dive tourism depended on foreign divers and young coastal Somalis had no route into these jobs.

What we did

  • — Established Somalia's first diving school certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).
  • — Trained young Somali men and women as certified divers.
  • — Linked trainees to reef survey work and emerging dive-based livelihoods.

Results

  • A first cohort of Somali certified divers
  • Local divers leading reef baseline survey work
  • A foundation for sustainable dive tourism on the Puntland coast

Gallery

Young Somali dive trainees preparing scuba equipment with an instructor on a boat
A diver recording coral health on a survey slate over a reef off the Somali coast
Aerial view of the arid Puntland coastline meeting turquoise Gulf of Aden water, with small fishing boats

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A diver recording coral health on a survey slate over a reef off the Somali coast

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Let's build resilience together

Whether you fund, research, govern or live on the coast, we'd like to hear from you.

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